Just getting my system up and running and having issues that seem like a lack of power. The setup -

Fan header 1 - DDC 1T Plus 18w pump. Set to power control. Wont start at all.

Fan header 2 - 3x EK Vadar 3000 RPM wired using splitter cables. Set to PWM control. Max RPM set to 3000. These struggle to start at first then fire up but stall at around 1400 then occilate.

Fan header 3 - As above

Fan header 4 - As above

Flow - Aqua high flow meter connected

USB - Connected

Only power supply is on not full computer (jump 24pin). My power supply seems to be making an odd noise (Bequiet 1200w). The Aquaero is powered into a Sata / molex port using a bought cable as didnt come with one. Pump runs fine if I power it directly from PSU.

I'm using quite a lot of PWM extension / splitter cables. Not sure if they are causing issue but can't see why?

Help!

Okay with some further testing. Running the pump exclusively on it's own works. Yet I cannot control the speed at all via power change. It reports back around 4000 rpm. I'm not sure if that is full speed or not.

For the fans i am using Akasa extension and 3 way splitter cables, should these be okay?. The PWM signal seems to be causing issues. I cannot control the speed of the fans at all and again they cut out around 1500 rpm or so then build back up. At the same time my pump connected to a different fan channel also cuts out. In time with this my PSU also 'whines'.

On the Akasa 3 way splitters. 1 has full 4 pins and the other 2 have the RPM pin missing. This is so you only get feedback of one of the fans rpm speeds which makes sense. however when i disconnect only this one, the other 2 fans spin up to the full 3000 rpm as they should at 100% power..

Is it possible there's an issue with my aquaero unit, or are these Akasa PWM splitter cables at fault? It must be one of those two i would think.

Edit - I can get up to 3 fans running full power in RPM mode, any more and they just spin up half way and keep cutting out / restarting. The aquaero screen flickers at the same time. In RPM mode (with only a couple of fans) I can change the fan speed. In PWM mode they go back to oscillating at low speed again. Connect more and they just bog down completely in both modes. Pump also doesnt start unless on its own or with 1 fan in RPM mode.

It seems to me that the aquaero is knackered. PWM doesn't seem to work and the whole thing seems to be struggling for power. Unless I'm missing something glaringly obvious. I bought this from yourselves a few months ago but have only just tried it as been saving for other parts, so it's brand new.

Double Edit! - So it seems PWM does work. Before I was trying to change fan speed with RPM control. Tried it with power control with PWM selected and it works (presume that is correct?). BUT the power issue still exists. Basically i can run one bank of 3 fans or lone pump and it works. Add more fan headers and everything starts cutting out as if it's struggling for power.. Lastly, I cannot change the speed of the pump at all in either power or rpm mode. I just get the same ~4050 rpm feedback. That's where we are at, sorry for confusion!

Hmm, so further investigation has me see that these EK Vardar 3000 fans might have a max load of ~1.5A each. So 3 of these on each header would exceed the Aquaero 6 max load of 2.5 - 3A per header. Correct? It seems obvious this is the problem. I got these fans cheap and never thought a dedicated controller would not be able to power them easily.

If that's the case, surely I can program them to spin up slowly or something to pull less current, no? I will never be running them at full tilt anyway. Or am I screwed and need different fans?

Any help?

It seems my Power supply is overloading not the Aquaero 6. I can get 6 fans running at 80%. If I then plug my pump into the PSU (not aquaero), it bogs down and starts occilationg on and off quickly.

This seems odd because previously my Bequiet 1200w had a Tbalancer connected with 9 fans (though not as powerful as the Vardar), the same pump and all the HDD / disc drives (7 total not currently connected). Per the PSU manual, there are apparently 2 rails for the 4 SATA / molex connections, with a 20A capacity each. It's not clear which 2 sockets are which rail but I've tried all combinations.

Question - Is the PSU capable of running at full capacity when it's just jumpered, or does it need to be fully plugged in to the MOBO etc to enable full power?

I'm really at a loss with this, initially I though the Aquaero was struggling for power but now think it could be the PSU that's feeding it. With 3 fans running at full speed on 1 header the aquaero reports around 1.5A, which should be fine as I understand. Also with more connected and it doing it's cutting out thing, the Aquaero is only reporting around 0.5A per header. Also I have the programmable fuses on and set to 2.5A and they have never tripped.

Hopefully someone can help or should I email support?

Nevermind, that was exactly the problem. Not enough juice with hotwired PSU!

all working now