What to do when 1 CPU fan fails but 2nd is OK

[TitusPullo]

Hi, I have a Vigor Monsoon LT III CPU cooler, which is two 120mm fans on either side of a massive heat sink.

The rear-facing fan stopped turning, it must be out of oil or something. When I move it with my finger, it spins slowly, as if something is gunking up the inside.

When powered the rear fan won't move, triggering a CPU fan failure warning from my motherboard sensor.

Now I can still run the PC just fine with 1 dead fan, right now idle CPU temp is 30-33C, but I had to drop all my overclocks.

What do I do to replace the fan? It's connected to the front-facing and functional fan by the same 4pin CPU fan power cable. Should I attempt to re-oil the dead fan? Or somehow split the power cable and add a new 120mm fan?

I don't want to buy a new CPU cooler, not when the heatsink is perfectly good and one fan still works. This unit is only about 14-15 months old, too.

Thoughts?

 

[Raduque]

I would just replace the rear fan by clipping the wire and splicing in a new fan's power wires.

 

[TitusPullo]

OK I have never done that before... how do I do that? What tools do I need? Or is there just a website where I can find a tutorial without bothering you guys, sorry lol!

 

[Paperlantern]

OK I have never done that before... how do I do that? What tools do I need? Or is there just a website where I can find a tutorial without bothering you guys, sorry lol!

I would just pick up some shrink tube, then splice them in using either wire stripper tool, or even a razor blade to take the sheath off the wire. Heat the tube to cover the exposed splices... done, and clean.

 

[TitusPullo]

Once the sheath is off, you'd splice using just your hands to tie the wires together?

Also how do you heat the shrink tube, what heat source would you use?

 

[Paperlantern]

Hands are fine. To do it by the book, a dab of solder would be ideal, but i wouldnt expect you to have a soldering iron and solder laying around. Ive used everything from a heatgun to a lighter to shrink the shrinktube.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Or just remove the fan and remove the sticker on the back, typically there is a hole here you can use to add some oil

 

[bruceb]

Or get something like this

http://www.outletpc.com/c2226.html

Since you need to order a fan anyway, order this at the same time. Just plug it into the mobo and the 2 fans into each connector. Clip off the wires from the bad fan at the old connector shell.

 

[pcgeek11]

Hands are fine. To do it by the book, a dab of solder would be ideal, but i wouldnt expect you to have a soldering iron and solder laying around. Ive used everything from a heatgun to a lighter to shrink the shrinktube.

Never ever do it this way. Ghetto.

1.) Pick up a soldering iron and solder $15 bucks and do it correctly.
2.) Match the wire colors, Connect bare wires together.
3.) Place tubing over the wires away from the bare wires.
4.) Heat with soldering iron while touching the solder to the wires until they flow together.
5.) Cool.
6.) Slide tubing over bare wires and heat it with a blow dryer or match or lighter until it is tightly drawn around wires.
7.) Done.

Or do what Bruceb stated above.

 

[TitusPullo]

Or get something like this

http://www.outletpc.com/c2226.html

Since you need to order a fan anyway, order this at the same time. Just plug it into the mobo and the 2 fans into each connector. Clip off the wires from the bad fan at the old connector shell.

I actually HAVE a replacement fan, but it has a 3 pin connector. Will it work in the 4 pin splitter?

Also my replacement fan is 1200 RPM max while the Monsoon fans were 2000 RPM max. Would it be a problem to have one fan operating at 2000 RPM and another at 1200 RPM on either side of the Monsoon heatsink?

 

[bruceb]

Not directly, it would need an adapter. Also, on a 3 pin fan, the wires are small, as the fan is usually as well. Better off with a proper 4 pin fan. The mobo may get mixed up trying to control the 2 fans with one a 3 wire and the other a 4 wire.

 

[TitusPullo]

Not directly, it would need an adapter. Also, on a 3 pin fan, the wires are small, as the fan is usually as well. Better off with a proper 4 pin fan. The mobo may get mixed up trying to control the 2 fans with one a 3 wire and the other a 4 wire.

The 3-pin fan is 120mm S-Flex, same size as the stock Monsoon fan, just lower RPM and running on a 3-pin power cable.

The power cable itself is the same size, too, it just ends in a 3-pin plug instead of a 4-pin.

Sounds like I should just buy a 4-pin fan and adapter and forget about using this 3-pin fan... save it for a failed case fan or something.

Right?

 

[Paperlantern]

Never ever do it this way. Ghetto.

1.) Pick up a soldering iron and solder $15 bucks and do it correctly.
2.) Match the wire colors, Connect bare wires together.
3.) Place tubing over the wires away from the bare wires.
4.) Heat with soldering iron while touching the solder to the wires until they flow together.
5.) Cool.
6.) Slide tubing over bare wires and heat it with a blow dryer or match or lighter until it is tightly drawn around wires.
7.) Done.

Or do what Bruceb stated above.

Yes it is ghetto, but it would work. I doubt very seriously a low voltage fan would have any issues from a finger splice over even several years. Also, i DID mention the correct and proper way to do it "by the book", but no, you make it sound like the machine could blow up if you do it this way. It wont. I stand by my original saying: Hands are fine, solder is better, and correct.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Yes it is ghetto, but it would work. I doubt very seriously a low voltage fan would have any issues from a finger splice over even several years. Also, i DID mention the correct and proper way to do it "by the book", but no, you make it sound like the machine could blow up if you do it this way. It wont. I stand by my original saying: Hands are fine, solder is better, and correct.

Something that is a potential place for the rig to short or even catch fire isn't a "fix" by any means. Its how systems and people get hurt. Yes, this is low voltage but it could be a safety hazard

 

[pcgeek11]

Yes it is ghetto, but it would work. I doubt very seriously a low voltage fan would have any issues from a finger splice over even several years. Also, i DID mention the correct and proper way to do it "by the book", but no, you make it sound like the machine could blow up if you do it this way. It wont. I stand by my original saying: Hands are fine, solder is better, and correct.

I never said it would blow up, but it could come loose and the bare wire could touch the motherboard and take out the CPU, RAM, Motherboard or PSU.

1.) It looks like crap.
2.) Doesnt work as it should higher resistance in splice which heats up.
3.) It could cause a massive failure of the PC in numerous ways.
4.) It is NOT Correct nor is it an Acceptable way to join two wires. ( Even Speaker wires).
5.) It is ignorant to twist 2 wires without a mechanical junction or solder even with shrink tube.
6.) Did I mention it looks like Crap.

Working in electronics ( 35 years ) and finding Crap like this and having to repair the aftermath of these types of connections gone horribly wrong. It pisses me off to see this being passed off as an acceptable practice esp in a knowlegable forum such as this. Highly irresponsible to say the least. No answer at all would have been more acceptable.

Sorry if this offends but it is the undeniable truth.

 

[TitusPullo]

The 3-pin fan is 120mm S-Flex, same size as the stock Monsoon fan, just lower RPM and running on a 3-pin power cable.

The power cable itself is the same size, too, it just ends in a 3-pin plug instead of a 4-pin.

Sounds like I should just buy a 4-pin fan and adapter and forget about using this 3-pin fan... save it for a failed case fan or something.

Right?

OK, I took a close look at my Scythe S-Flex, it is a 3-pin power cable that includes an adapter, but the adapter also has 3 pins in it... is it designed just to make it fit into the 4pin CPU fan power slot on the motherboard?

 

[Paperlantern]

Why would it come out of the shrink tube? Man you guys are insane. It looks the same as the solder one, and okay, yes it has higher resistance, but its minuscule. Fine you're right, but you are over paranoid.

And again for the record, i didnt say it was the optimal fix, i just said it would work, or be "fine". Because it WOULD. My intention was to get him the cheapest working fix, just a small package of srink tube would be like a buck, if he's going to buy all the parts to do it absolutely correctly (most of which he may not be comfortable using, or have even ever used before), he might as well just buy new replacement parts. I'm not arguing that you are correct, solder and shrink tube is the CORRECT and PROPER way to do this, i ALREADY SAID that, even before you tore down my post by bolding the not so right part and ignoring my advice that the correct way IS the way you again repeated.