Should case cooling fan run continuously?

[Yogurtbear]

Hi
I have just replaced the PSU on a 6 year old PC.

I just noticed that the case cooling fan is not running.
Should a case cooling fan run continuously?
Or is it waiting for a thermostat to tell it to turn on?

The cooling fan is a 12v DC brushless type made by ANTEC. When I open up the case and try to move the fan blade it doesnt run freely????
Should a fan blade always run freely?

I wonder if the PSU failure was in some way connected to the failure of this fan? If it has failed?

PC is running for about 60 mins on new PSU, no issues, to date.

Appreciate any help, First time poster so apologies if I have not followed all the rules in this posting.

Cheers Yogurtbear (someone was already registered as Yogibear)

 

[Harvey]

If the fan has two wires, it's intended to run continually. If the fan has three wires and a three or four pin connector, it's designed to be controlled.

If you really want to be sure, check the manufacturer's spec for model number and/or check your motherboard manual spec for the connector.

 

[daw123]

If the fan has two wires, it's intended to run continually. If the fan has three wires and a three or four pin connector, it's designed to be controlled.

If you really want to be sure, check the manufacturer's spec for model number and/or check your motherboard manual spec for the connector.

I thought all fans can be controlled by adjusting the voltage to them (or if the fan has 4-pins you use PWM).

The difference between two, three and four pin fan connectors, as I understand it, are that the first two pins are ground and +12V, the third pin is for monitoring the fan RPM and the fourth pin is PWM.

Is the fan connected directly to the PSU or is it connected to a header on the motherboard. If the fan was connected directly to the original PSU that died, then it could have also killed the fan as well.

If it is connected to the motherboard header, have you tried replacing it with another fan to see if the motherboard is working correctly.

I'm also wondering whether there are any BIOS options for controlling the fan. Maybe have a look in your motherboard manual.

Was the fan working before you replaced the PSU?

Have you got the fan connected to the correct fan header on the motherboard?

I'm just throwing out some ideas here as to what the problem could be.

Edit: Welcome to the Forums.

 

[Zap]

6 year old PC.
...
The cooling fan is a 12v DC brushless type made by ANTEC. When I open up the case and try to move the fan blade it doesnt run freely????

A six year old sleeve bearing fan that doesn't spin even if you nudge it with your finger?

"He's dead, Jim."

 

[Harvey]

6 year old PC.
...
The cooling fan is a 12v DC brushless type made by ANTEC. When I open up the case and try to move the fan blade it doesnt run freely????

A six year old sleeve bearing fan that doesn't spin even if you nudge it with your finger?

"He's dead, Jim."

There is one last desperation trick you can try to save the fan. Remove it from the case, and shoot some WD-40 into the bearing, and see if that frees it up. It may not work, but has for me several times, and you've got nothing to lose by trying it.

 

[Yogurtbear]

By the sound of things and subsequent posts "he's dead Jim"

But to answer the other questions

Q. Is the fan connected directly to the PSU?
Ans. Fed from the PSU

Plus it has 2 wires only so it should be running continuously. Thanks for that piece of information as well.

Q. Was the fan working before you replaced the PSU?
Ans. Dont know

I found another case fan in an older machine. It is a 4 wire fan so I will try to connect that up tonight - I may have to come back to the forum as replacing a 2 wire with 4 wire will challenge me - which wire to cut?

Thanks for all your help
Yogurtbear