Fan noise problem

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xta · #1 Post by **xta** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:44 pm

Hello,

I'm trying to pinpoint my issue and then solve it. My T60 has been extremely loud and audible for the past week, where I am worrying about it's lifespan. I have had it for a year or two, and it has always had what I would consider to be a noisy fan. However, the laptop is now noisy to the point where I worry about it's failure. I've tried the ThinkVantage power settings and that seems to have no effect whatsoever. Also, I only use my laptop for low stress programs such as MSN and Firefox.

Would it be possible to order a replacement fan from Lenovo and switch it out? What would you recommend?

Thanks

#2 Post by **Harryc** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 2:28 pm

I'd try to clean the fan first. Remove the keyboard, hold the fan blades still with a pencil, spray the entire fan cavity with compressed air. What you don't want to do is to allow the fan blades to spin freely with the compressed air.

pae77 · #3 Post by **pae77** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:03 pm

If it's still very noisy, making unusual sounds, after trying to clean it as recommended above, then it should be replaced, unless you want to risk it going out on you at an inconvenient time. If it does go out, your TP is supposed to just shut down when it starts to overheat which would be pretty fast.

If you machine is still under warranty and you live near an authorized IBM service shop, you could try bringing the machine in, seeing if you can get them to order the part for you and then giving you a call when the part arrives. Then see if they'll let you bring the machine back and replace the fan while you wait, or at worst perhaps in 1 day. I got a place in SF to do it that way under warranty for me on a T30 a few years ago.

I don't know if you could talk IBM into sending you the part free under warranty for you to replace it yourself. I'd like to hear if they would agree to that.

If no longer under warranty, sure you could just purchase the part from IBM at your own expense and replace it yourself or just go that route anyway if you don't mind paying for something that should be covered under the warranty.

xta · #4 Post by **xta** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:59 am

i tried using the air duster on the fan and the laptop was quiet for the first few minutes but then my laptop is noisy again

unfortunately, i'm out of warranty, whatever the default one year period is

so i may have to find an authorized repair facility (near san jose, ca) or order it through lenovo. still, even if everything was fixed back to when i got this laptop new, that would still mean a laptop that is noisy

Agotthelf · #5 Post by **Agotthelf** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 5:11 am

I would download and install some software.

http://fancontrol.de/view/

This shows your current fan speed and temperatures.
Also it serves a mode to adjust fan speed and temperatures thresholds.

xta · #6 Post by **xta** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 5:13 pm

tpfan is useful, i think the issue is now my laptop's heat

1 cpu 68°C (0x78)
2 aps 42°C (0x79)
3 crd 44°C (0x7a)
4 gpu 76°C (0x7b)
5 no5 22°C (0x7c)
7 bat 22°C (0x7e)
9 bus 44°C (0xc0)
10 pci 52°C (0xc1)
11 pwr 58°C (0xc2)

so i'm posting in the tpfan thread http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... &start=900

zern · #7 Post by **zern** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 11:01 am

I had a rattling fan for a few months and only recently had it replaced by Lenovo Singapore. I tried cleaning it multiple times to no avail. Luckily it had the default 3 year warranty (bought in Australia).

It took 2 working days - I was amazed. The tech said the fan was actually wearing out. The laptop is about 2 years old and is my primary machine.

Now the fan is as silent as when it was new. Bliss.

xta · #8 Post by **xta** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:09 pm

zern wrote:I had a rattling fan for a few months and only recently had it replaced by Lenovo Singapore. I tried cleaning it multiple times to no avail. Luckily it had the default 3 year warranty (bought in Australia).

It took 2 working days - I was amazed. The tech said the fan was actually wearing out. The laptop is about 2 years old and is my primary machine.

Now the fan is as silent as when it was new. Bliss.

you had it replaced under warranty?

my t60 is out of warranty so i'm wondering how easy it would be to order a new fan and replace it myself

zern · #9 Post by **zern** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:17 am

Yes I had it replaced under warranty. I was almost 2 years into a 3 year warranty.

I had a look at the Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) and replacing the fan does not look straightforward as it involved pulling heat pipes off chips like the CPU and reapplying thermal grease.

I am ok replacing RAM, HDs, and keyboards. But this I am not prepared to undertake. Not on a primary machine anyway.

Good luck!

xta · #10 Post by **xta** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:51 pm

Talking to lenovo, out of warranty repairs start at $150 minimum. the way the phone support person (who doesnt enjoy his job) described it, it would be $150 to open a ticket and then to start to figure out the problem

I wasn't able to get an estimate on how much replacing the fan out of warranty would be. I'm not sure if i want to get it replaced or if I would buy lenovo in the future

#11 Post by **Harryc** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:42 am

We have plenty of forum members out in California. Put an ad in Marketplace and maybe one of them will replace the fan for half the price or free.

xta · #12 Post by **xta** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 2:30 pm

ok thanks for everyone's advice, i appreciate it

i went through the marketplace and ended up buying a replacement fan from ibm/lenovo. then i was able to get the manual for self-replacement instructions. the only thing i'm not sure about is what the fan kit comes with, it appears i'll need my own thermal grease, but that shouldn't be a problem

xta · #13 Post by **xta** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:57 pm

I'm wondering why this t60 is giving so much trouble

After the t60's fan was successfully replaced with the same appropriate part 41V9932, the fan noise is still extremely loud from a new ibm fan. By extremely loud, I mean that it sounds like it's broken.

Could the noise be caused by anything else? I don't think so since in TP Fan control when I set it to zero, it is completely silent. When I got this laptop new, it never started out this bad.

Fan noise problem

Fan noise problem

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