Z420 front panel issues

[sleepymel3863]

Transplanted an HP z420 into an NZXT H500i case. Got it powered up, boots ok, but have some errors. Here's what I'm trying to sort out.

-Not connected errors
Front USB 3.0
Front USB 2.0
Front 1394

FireWire is easy fix, I'll plug it in and hide it in the lower portion of the case, it never gets used. The front USB, the 3.0 and 2.0 stock cabling wasn't used because the original cables were too short, so I'm assuming I need to find either a way to extend them or a way to make the front panel ones from the case work. I need the 3.0 to work. I think I read somewhere where the 3.0 piggybacks off the 2.0 for some reason, can't find that article anymore.

-Other issues
Ambient Temperature Sensor

Fan Speed is good for about 90 seconds, then the jet gears up for takeoff!! I've got the front and rear fans connected, as well as the memory fan, but they ramp up to full speed and I believe it has something to do with the ambient temperature sensor. It's hooked up (I hacked the original connector until I got the individual pin headers I needed) with the ground, but I'm not sure why it's ramping up.

I'll try and get pictures of the setup in it's current state later and figure out how to add them.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

sleepy3863

[DGroves]

your questions have been asked and answered quite a few times and are not unique to the 420 they cover all of the HP workstation lines  from the 200/400/800 and the x20 lines

the ambient temp sensor is embeded into the z series power cable and the pins it connects to are documented in the user service manual for your workstation (which can be DL from HP)

the quickest fix is to see if you can use the USB 2.0/3.0 I/O panel from a z820  as it has the longest cable

please take the time to search this forum for some of the previous posts relating to usb/fan speed issues

[sleepymel3863]

I did search prior to posting, perhaps I should have mentioned that in my original post. 

The issue with the results I found were more or less people either not using the front USB 3.0 and grounding the pins to get rid of the error, or ourchasipua 3rd party pcie card and running the case USB header to that. 

The ambient temperature sensor is built into the factoy header and runs with the power button to the front of the case, which I was able to get out of the factory harness. However, even though I have it connected, the fans still ramp up to full speed. 

I took the pinoutfrom this post here to get the pins for the headers I needed initially. I took an exacto knife and (carefully) dissected the original header until I had only the individual pairs for each component I needed.

I didn't initially think it necessary to go that far into detail to get someone to help point me in the right direction. 

[DGroves]

well seeing how nobody that i know of has the ability of reading minds, then yes it's a requirement that you do post a short description on what you have done so far

the ambient tem sensor MUST BE CONNECTED CORRECTLY.......if you connect it backwards it will destroy the transistor that is being used as a diode sensor this is why the wires to it were color coded you can replace the transistor with a npn 2n222a

make sure to wire it up the exact same way in reguards to base/emiter/collector, and again make sure the transistor leads connect to the correct motherboard header pins

as for the USB issue you need +5/gnd to all USB ports (these two pins are common to all USB ports) and the actual USB signal pairs marked "+" and "-" for a basic USB 2.0 connection (USB d 2/3 in the pinout you linked to)

usb 3.0 uses more wires with +5/gnd again being common and this time you need the 4 wires for each port (six in total)

so each usb 2.0 port needs +5/Gnd/USB +/USB-

and usb 3.0 +5/gnd  and TXDP (two connections) and RXDP (two connections)  TX= transmit pair RX=receiving pair

again proper wiring to each pin is important, you can not swap wires around as each TX and RX pair is +/- in itself

[sleepymel3863]

Sorry, I linked the wrong post. This link is the link I meant to refer to. I used the other one to find out I need to ground pin 10 of the USB 3.0 for the cable detect to sense the connection and not trigger for at every boot. Thanks for the tip on the z820 header for the USB! I doubt I'll find one quick enough for my needs, but appreciated nonetheless. 

The ambient sensor was installed the same way it was removed, based on the Pinout I linked in this same comment, NOT from my previous comment. 

The usb 3.0 header from the case needs pin 10 grounded but not sure if it will allow normal operation of the ports. The way the case is designed, using the factory ports from the front panel wont work, they are recessed and have a board the ports screw into, and that board screws into the case so the ports are flush with the top (not front) of the case. Trying to locate pics online for reference since I'm not near the machine currently and not getting any luck.

[DGroves]

modding a workstation motherboard into a diffrent case is not something that's recomended for several reasions

the I/O ports and custom  I/O headers is one such reasion, also the non HP case usually offers no tanagable benefits over the stock HP cases, but as it's your system you get to decide what you want to do with it

i personally have modified the HP xw6200 case to support a asus x-99 motherboard and i changed the front I/O header from a USB 2.0/audio to one that Has dual usb 2/3 ports and HD audio ports, this required locating a new I/O front panel header from a diffrent system then modifying it to fit within the xw6200's front panel and the doing the custom rewiring for all front panel connections.  this is not a beginers project as it required wiring and metal working skills along with plastic modding of the front case so i do know how much work is involved in what your doing and i wish you the best in your current project

[Justgosh1]

@Sleepymel3863 The USB 3 header should be grounded on the ID pin to avoid the error.  Some folks solder a bodge wire to one of the 3 ground pins on the header.  It's a 2mm header if you are buying/making a jumper.  If you solder it on the backside you can still use the header.  The USB 2 orange header has power on one side of the header for an active repeater inside of the stock USB 3 cable along with one USB 2 port.  Some folks have warned against using a long USB 3 cable with this chip and without a repeater but YMMV.  A final option is to remount these stock ports on a different case with a bit of JB Weld and a Dremel.  Or there are a few 3.5 inch bays with USB ports you can modify for the 3 stock if they don't work as is.

I came here looking for the pinout on the 1394 port.  @DGroves I've seen you respond to a few of these z420 posts and your responses are often wrong, discouraging, and unhelpful. These responses are good examples.

[sleepymel3863]

I did finally get it figured out and my customer was extremely happy. Overall  temps went down 7C at idle and just over 10C under full load. 

This was NOT an easy mod.  For the USB front panel I ended up using the stock cables and got some extensions and hid the wiring in the case. If I can figure out for to upload pics from my phone I'll add some of the finished product installed in the customer's location.

[Justgosh1]

I personally haven't found this mod to be overly difficult from a technical perspective (tap a few holes, Dremel a few tabs, and extract/move a few pins) however reading unhelpful, discouraging, and inaccurate responses has been a very draining.
I like your idea of internal extensions.  Simple is good.  Look forward to seeing the photos!

[Justgosh1]

Couldn't find 1394a pinout info, so I made it.  Posting my info below.

Power Supply

Front Panel IO

z420 Front IO

USB 3 Header

z420 USB 3

1394a

z420 1394a