Introduction:

   Are you looking for that one more thing you can mod? Maybe some interior tidying up is what you're looking for. Today I'm going to show you a quick guide to modding your power supplies cables, and give them a fresh high tech look. For those of you that own Enermax psu's, you'll recognize the cable sleeving I'll be using to mod up a couple of the basic Molex lines on the psu.

Cable Sleevin` How-to

    Many, MANY have requested that's I write up an article covering the basics to wrap your own psu cables using the same kind of cable sleeving made famous by the enermax brand psu's. I admit it is a very cool look, giving the normally nasty, power supply cables a fresh new appearance.

   Now let me give you the briefing before I jump in with the pics and descripts. Today, I'll be showing you two "wrapping sessions". The first I'll be using some cheap Radio Shack heat shrink tubing for the finish work.

   The second I'll be using some quality heat shrink tubing. I hope to give you an idea of how they each look as the finished product and I'll tell you why NOT to get cheap with the heat shrink :o)

The Mod:

   The cable sleeving I'll be using for this little how-to was picked up over at FrozenCpu.com. They were the first, and still "only(?)", cooling shop to stock and offer this quality cable sleeving in the two most popular sizes, 1/4" and 1/2". I'l be using the 1/4" size in this article. Ok, let's get started...

(left) 1/4" (right) 1/2"

iCute 420w psu

Stock psu cables

   I picked the iCute 420w psu to mod up alittle here since It needed some loving, and was the only one I had readily available. My enermax's we're stuck in some complicated setups. I didn't feel like tearing them down for this little article :o)

   OK, let's get started with the mod!

Bend retaining pins in

Remove molex wires

The retaining pins

   I used a tiny precision screwdriver ( a must have!! ) to bend in ( loosen) the retaining pins that hold the Molex wires into the plug. If you look at the pic on the right you can see there is just two little wings located at opposite sides, that sort of fit into the plug like a "harpoon" tip.

   Just carefully insert the precision screwdriver tip into the Molex plug and bend each fin in enough to be able to slide the wire right out.

   Once you do one or two you'll like a master and you'll be popping plugs off in seconds. :o) Just remember: before you re-attach the wires into the molex plug later on, you'll want to bend these wings back out. Do this by inserting the precision screwdriver into the hole of the molex wire and bending the wing out. Just about a 25% outward bend will be plenty.

supplies

Trim to length

Sample

   The first psu cable I wrapped had two Molex connectors on it. That means we have to take all the Molex plugs off to wrap the innermost part of the cable. I wrapped the innermost part as a test before I started the how-to part, so you'll be seeing the wrapping of the outermost section right here.

   Take your 1/4" cable sleeving and stretch it out to the desired size. Just remember to leave about 1 1/2" - 2" from the ends to allow for the heatshrink you'll be using to have something to grip onto. You'll see in the next step .......

Start insertion o_0

Massage it thru o_0

Use inchworm method o_0

Heatshrink slipped over

Heatshrink 50/50 over end

Heat, shrink, and done!

Now it's time to start working the cable sleeving over the end. Once you've solved world hunger and World peace has been established, it'll almost on there! LOL! j/k!! It only took a few seconds. After you've got the sleevin into the desired spot and the length is acceptable, cut a couple pieces of heatshrink. If you look at the pics above, that's the cheap radio shack heatshrink.

   On a quick note, I wouldn't use this stuff again even if I "owned" Radio shack!!%#! LOL!! It's like black plastic!!

   The first time I showed it to wolfie he said, and I quote "LOL!! ELECTRICAL TAPE!!!" .........%$@!@!#.....I was like "NO! ITS CHEAP HEAT SHRINK DAMNIT$!@!#@".....LOLOL! So take it from me, do your best to get the good heat shrink for the extra penny! Any who, slide the heat shrink over to the desired location, heat it up either with flame or heat ( hairdryer works good ) and reinstall Molex plugs AFTER you've bent back out the little wings I mentioned earlier. Otherwise the wires will not stay in the plug. Ya get all that? :o)...No? Well, I'll do one more for ya....this time using quality heat shrink.... =)

WIRE #2:

   This time I'm gonna be sleevin` up a three (3) connector psu wire. Yes , that means even more work! UGH! That means I've got to slide the long piece of cable sleeving past, not one, but TWO sets of molex pins.....well, let's get to the pics since they'll explain it most of it best!

Remove end plugs

All connectors removed

Let the slidin` begin!

  First remove all connectors. Again, A precision screwdriver worked fine for me. With any connectors outta the way, lay out the line and the cable sleeving together and cut a piece that will fit. Remember to cut the sleeving a couple inches short so you have room on each end to place your heatshrink.

Always catchin` on something!$@!#

Almost there!

FIRE! FIRE!

  Just some more pushin`, pullin`, slippin` and sliding here. Thankfully, we'll be heatshrinking the ends of the cable sleeving since it gets really frayed by the time you get to your final destination, especially when you got this far to travel!. You can use a hairdryer of some good olf fashioned flames to shrink the heatshrink into place. I used one of those big, long grill lighters. Use a back and forth motion if when heating the shrink. Especially when using flames like I did. :o)

Phase one complete!

First molex re-connected

Snake another piece on..

   Welp, I got the first section done here. Looks might good I think. After bending back out the little wings on the molex wires, just "click" the molex connector back on. After that cut another piece to fit the next section and proceed to do it the same way.

  Ok, second section done. It's getting easier by the minute! Just pop the second molex connector back on ( of course only after bending the little wings back out right? ..heh) Now, just cut a small piece of cable sleeving for the last section, slide it over, cut a couple small pieces of heatshrink, and slide them over as well before putting the final connector back on. Apply heat and enjoy the "ShrinkShow!"

Conclusion:

   Well, that's all folks. From here you should be able to figure out what you need to do. Now, in case you're wondering why I didn't wrap the ATX power supply cable......well, its because this sleevin just wouldnt fit. There was "no way in hell" I was getting it over the atx connector plug, and there was "no way in hell" I was taking that plug apart!.....LOL! But, since I'm guessing the majority of you will be wrapping your enermax psu cables, that won't be a huge deal.

   If you happen to have an iCute like this one though, don't sweat it. There's plenty of alternatives to using this cable sleeving on the main power cable. You could use the "wire loom", "spiral wrap /loom" , just plain electrical tape for the strictly ghetto look....heh

   If you like what you see here and wanna try this little mod, head over to Frozencpu.com and pick up some cable sleeving for yourself in either 1/2" or 1/4" sizes. Just so you know, I used strictly 1/4" cable sleeving for the psu cables. Frozencpu doesn't stock heatshrink yet ( hint*hint) but you can pick up some quality stuff for cheap at home depot, or even allelectronics.com.

  Over and out!