Question New build, cooler fans will not spin up (in the case)

[jhansman]

So, put together a new build today, and at first power up, fans in BeQuiet cooler would not spin up. Case fans work fine, graphics card fans ran, all else appears good. Corsair 550W PSU, Asrock B450M Pro 4 mobo, Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, Corsair LPX 3200 RAM (2x 8GB). Power leads from fans on correct headers on mobo, all leads from PSU connected to mobo. The only thing I can think is either borked mobo or bad fans on cooler. Tomorrow I'll swap out the Dark Rock Pro for the stock cooler and see if it spins up; if not, what else could it be but the mobo? If you all have any ideas for me, please send them along. I'm about to tear it down and start over, but I'd rather not if I don't have to. TIA for any help you can lend.

 

[crashtech]

Have you tried to plug the CPU cooler into a different fan header temporarily?

 

[UsandThem]

Have you tried to plug the CPU cooler into a different fan header temporarily?

This.

If you plug it into a different fan header and it works, you might have a bad fan.

Plus, your motherboard has two different fan headers for the CPU fan, so you can use either one. Otherwise, the motherboard might not boot if it doesn't detect a (working) fan on one of those particular headers. Also, make sure you aren't plugging it into the RGB LED header (might not be physically possible, I've never used that particular header for anything).

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450M Pro4/index.asp#Specification

 

[jhansman]

Today I am starting over, but first will a) try the stock cooler on the affected headers, and b) plug on of the fans into a case fan header. If the problem should be a faulty header, then I guess the next move is to return the mobo to the Egg, but I've never done such a return and have no idea what is involved. What I am hoping is that the problem is a short, which I will eliminate as a cause, but if that is the case, it would have to be only on the circuit that feeds those headers, which seems unlikely. I'll report back any useful info I may gather. Thanks.

 

[jhansman]

Well, pulled it all apart, set up outside the case and sure enough the CPU fans spun up. So, unless I am mistaken, there was a short created in/by the case. Have put it all back together but haven't fired it up yet. Question: if it doesn't spin up, what would likely be the cause? I've never had a system build not at least boot into the UEFI settings, so I need a strategy if this build fails to do so. Any and all suggestions welcome. Many thanks.

 

[crashtech]

The obvious thing is to make sure that all the motherboard standoffs in the case match the holes in the motherboard. There are slight differences in hole patterns. It's entirely possible that the case came with a standoff installed in the wrong spot.

 

[jhansman]

Yep, made sure of that when I started over; now every standoff in the case supports the motherboard and has a screw. If this turns out to have been the issue, it strikes me as odd that the manual (such as it is) doesn't make a point of letting the user know. Will fire it up today with fingers crossed.

 

[UsandThem]

Yep, made sure of that when I started over; now every standoff in the case supports the motherboard and has a screw. If this turns out to have been the issue, it strikes me as odd that the manual (such as it is) doesn't make a point of letting the user know. Will fire it up today with fingers crossed.

Is this your first time building a PC?

 

[crashtech]

Perhaps there is a need for a condensed SOP sheet for PC building, something that covers 90% of common problems but still fits on one page. Two common items are illustrated in this thread, the first being that checking functionality of the parts outside the case is a helpful way to start, the second regarding the standoff/hole pattern.

 

[jhansman]

Is this your first time building a PC?

No

 

[jhansman]

Perhaps there is a need for a condensed SOP sheet for PC building, something that covers 90% of common problems but still fits on one page. Two common items are illustrated in this thread, the first being that checking functionality of the parts outside the case is a helpful way to start, the second regarding the standoff/hole pattern.

I agree, and had I thought of it (Doh!), I would have tested the mobo outside the case. Had never run into the standoff problem before, so I didn't suspect it until I put my thinking cap on. Life is for learning, yes?

 

[Steltek]

It happens to everybody at least once.

BTW, the motherboard almost certainly has separate headers for a CPU fan and a CPU watercooling pump, so make sure that the CPU fan is plugged into the fan header and not the pump header.

 

[jhansman]

It happens to everybody at least once.

BTW, the motherboard almost certainly has separate headers for a CPU fan and a CPU watercooling pump, so make sure that the CPU fan is plugged into the fan header and not the pump header.

Must have been a short. Connected just one of the fans for the BeQuiet cooler, it spun right up and F2 took me right into the BIOS. Thanks for the suggestions and help.