Cutting wires on a extra sata connection to power coin slot lights?

[zamboniguy]

Hi. I am trying to power 2 12v coin slot bulbs in the cabinet I am building.  Is it possible to cut the yellow &  black wire off an unused sata connector  and wire them to the bulbs to get them to light up by the power supply? Thanks for any help.

[DaOld Man]

Yeah that should work.

[zamboniguy]

Yeah that should work.

Thanks for the reply. And the hard drive which is also connected to that same cable won't be affected?

[DaOld Man]

Shouldnt be, as long as you don't cut any wires from power supply to the hard drive connector.

[zamboniguy]

  thanks again.

[zamboniguy]

Shouldnt be, as long as you don't cut any wires from power supply to the hard drive connector.

It's all 1 cable from the power supply,  just different connector..  Still good to go?

[DaOld Man]

Should be. The only problem that I see MIGHT happen is if the bulbs draw too much current and pull the voltage down on the hard drive. I doubt this will happen, but if the computer does weird things, but returns to normal when you remove the bulbs, then it will be a problem. If this happens, you may have to swap the bulbs out for LEDs, which draw quite a bit less current than incandescent bulbs.
There are several online shops that sell leds that directly replace incandescent bulbs. Holler if you need some links to them.

[zamboniguy]

I see your point.  I will pay close attention to the hard drive after I hook it up. 

Would I have to change any hardware to get these led bulbs to work?

[DaOld Man]

I don't think so, if you buy the ones that directly replace the incandescents. Just unplug the old and plug in the led. Leds are polarity sensitive though, whereas incandescants are not, so you might have to reverse the wires going to them. I wouldn't worry about that until you find out if you need leds or not.

[DaOld Man]

Here is a thread about swapping incandescants for LEDs.
You might find it interesting:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=73976.0

[Phreakwars]

I am using the power supplies 12v source as well. What I'm doing, so that I'm not cutting up the power supply, is buy a couple of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812196873

I would think they sell them in the SATA flavor as well. Splice into those instead. That way if the power supply ever goes out on you, swapping it out won't be a hassle.

[zamboniguy]

Good call! Thanks

What are you using the 12v to power? Coin slot lights also?

I am using the power supplies 12v source as well. What I'm doing, so that I'm not cutting up the power supply, is buy a couple of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812196873

I would think they sell them in the SATA flavor as well. Splice into those instead. That way if the power supply ever goes out on you, swapping it out won't be a hassle.