Hi there! I hope that this is the correct category for this question. I’m new to the microcomputer sphere and I’m trying to get my little le potato set up as a password server. I don’t have any trouble with the programming side of things, but I am struggling to understand the GPIO header diagram. I’m trying to use the fan that came with my case, but when I plug it in to (what I think are) the right pins, the fan doesn’t show any signs of life.
I’m needing a 5v pin or a 3.3v pin and a ground and I’m trying to use pin 2 and pin 6, but am not 100% sure that I’m installing it correctly or that I’m even using the correct pins. Is row two the row of pins at the outer edge of the board, or is it the inner row and do the fan pins need to be oriented in a certain direction to work, or does it not matter?
The pin numbering is left to right, top to bottom,with the top being the edge with the LEDs and the bottom being the USB/Ethernet edge. 2 and 6 are the first and third pins on the outside edge starting from the LED side. They are indeed 5V and Ground.
You can find the pin map here:
You probably don’t want to reverse the polarity of a fan, at best it will spin backwards.
Okay, wonderful! Thank you for the confirmation. I suspect that my fan must be non-functional then, as I had it installed correctly, but no signs of life.
I use the S/PDIF header for my 5V fan, since that goes unused. You could try that to double check. The 5V is towards the HDMI, ground towards the audio jack, nothing in the middle.