Strange T42 fan problem

[legnoguado]

A few years ago, I replaced the short fan with an M10 long fan, after reading here how that model was quieter and better in general. Worked fine until recently, when it began to get louder intermittently, but was still turning and cooling fine.

Then today, when I attempted to turn the T42 on, I got the "Fan Error" followed by immediate shutdown. I opened up the machine and cleaned it out with compressed air, made sure the 2-pin connector was attached, put back together, but no good. I figured the fan had been slowly failing (the noise) and now had failed. I wasn't that surprised because of the recent noise.

I had kept the original short fan, so I put that one in (wiping off previous thermal compound and applying fresh), but got the same "Fan Error" followed by shutdown. I've found that I can use the Esc key to get the computer to start up, but obviously I don't want to bypass this problem.

The short fan was working when I took it out, just replaced for the quieter M10. Anyone been through similar, any thoughts? Could buy another fan, perhaps the short fan is not working for some reason either.

Thanks very much in advance.

[ajkula66]

I'd venture a guess that either the connector on the board, or the fuse that controls the fan have gone bad.

Do you hear the fan spinning at all before you're presented with the error message?

[legnoguado]

No, the fan doesn't seem to be spinning before I get the message. If it is the connector or fuse, I guess it's unrelated to the growling I heard recently?

[ajkula66]

No, the fan doesn't seem to be spinning before I get the message. If it is the connector or fuse, I guess it's unrelated to the growling I heard recently?

I can't say much without looking at the machine, but you should be getting 5V if I remember correctly from the board going to the fan. If the voltage is there, try another fan - they're cheap enough nowadays. If not...there's something blown on the board.

[legnoguado]

Can anyone recommend a software voltage monitor? I know a multimeter would be more accurate, but I don't have one.

[ajkula66]

How exactly are you planning on monitoring the voltage output to the fan via software is beyond me, but I'm always willing to learn new things...

[legnoguado]

A friend told me about motherboard voltage monitoring software, as I'm not an expert I didn't realize exactly what that meant.

[ajkula66]

A friend told me about motherboard voltage monitoring software, as I'm not an expert I didn't realize exactly what that meant.

Have your friend do the testing for you...

[legnoguado]

Not possible, unfortunately. I do / have done a lot of repair/upgrade stuff myself, but not soldering on the board and don't have a multimeter.

[legnoguado]

I do wish I had someone to test this fan problem, but unfortunately I don't. On the other hand, it's always good to learn more, even if it's the hard way.

I think I may be able to borrow a multimeter; I wonder if someone could walk me through testing the fan connector? Thanks very much in advance for any help.

[systemBuilder]

There is a little white power connector for the fan(s) and you need to be certain it is seated and the fan is working before you put everything back together. It's not difficult to plug everything together and turn it on and do a visual check (look under the keyboard and palm rest) to make sure the fan is spinning.

The "Long Fan" and "Short Fan" is a misnomer, I think. Actually it's a long-heat sink and a short heat-sink, the fan is the same in both cases. I am using a laptop where I pulled a dead fan from a long heatsink, and with a combination of duct tape and silicone I put a new $4 fan from ebay back onto the heat sink. Pulling off the fan in my case required using a dremel to grind out 2 small rivets. This system is working fine today. I was so happy with the results that I bought a stockpile of $4 fans.

[ajkula66]

The "Long Fan" and "Short Fan" is a misnomer, I think.

The reason why most of us have adopted these terms is the fact that it's how the HMM refers to them...

[legnoguado]

Thanks for the additional input. I actually purchased a brand new fan, but installing it just confirmed that the problem is something on the board, a fuse, connector, etc. Was hoping that I just happened to have two defective fans!

[Orclas]

Why don't you start by locating and checking the fuse, that's after all something you can do without special tools. How it's done you'll have to google or ask here since I have no clue myself.

My electro engineering knowledge is close to zero, but I think a MacGyver multimeter can be made with a suitable light bulb (rated at around 5v, such as those for flashlights) and a bit of thin cable. Connect to lamp and then to the two connectors on the motherboard and if a 5v lamp shines at normal brightness you have your 5v, if it only glows you have less (I would think a voltage lower than fan spin up should still result in a slight glow). And if you for example have/get a 3-4 volt lamp, then it should burn very bright if you have 5v, normal if you have 3-4v etc - you get the idea. Whatever you do make sure you dont short circuit anything, if you feel there's any risk of so then don't try it.

And if I were you I'd also wait a little to see if any of the real techy guys here - such as Ajkula - gets back and declares that I'm an electro half-wit who should better refrain from posting about things I don't know enough about

[RealBlackStuff]

If you remove the keyboard and KB bezel, you can see if the fan spins at boot time.
It'll spin for only a few seconds, and then stays off till it gets hot(ter).
Most fans have 3 wires Red= Plus, Blue/Black= Gnd, Orange= Rev-sensor.
Fuse F4 to the left of the fan-connector on the mobo could be the 'sinner'.
Go to the nearest Sears/HomeDepot/Lowes and buy a digital multimeter, something like this:
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digital- ... ockType=G2
It can be set (continuity check) to give a beep if two measuring points are connected (such as both ends of a fuse).
If the fuse were dead, it would not beep.
With a VDC setting, you can check if your fan has power, hold the red probe against the red fan cable-connection, and the black probe against the blue/black fan cable.
These contact points are tiny and very close, so be careful that you do not 'short' them.