N8-sp
08-06-02, 12:15 PM
I recently ordered a Swiftech MCX4000 w/ TMD 37 CFM fan. The fan does not turn on when the system is powered up. The blades jiggle back and forth a few millimeters for several seconds, then stop moving entirely. I tried hooking it up to several motherboard headers, and it does not work on any of them. I even tried an adapter to hook it up to a standard 4 wire plug and it does not work.
If you start to turn the blades with your finger while the system is powered up, it will start turning, but makes a grinding noise for several seconds. Even while it gets started by this method, the fan RPM does not report in the bios.
In addition, the CPU temperatures soar into the 70 C + range while the fan is running once I 'finger-start' it. I do not think that this fan is putting out full CFM values.
I attached a 40 CFM Panaflo 80mm fan, and temperatures stay around 50C full load, so I know that this 37 CFM TMD fan is not working properly at all.
I did some additional testing on the TMD fan yesterday. When it is not attached to the heatsink, it works fine. When it is not attached to the heatsink and has the stock zinc-coated-steel bolts in the four holes, it works fine. When it is attached to the heatsink with normal tightness, it does NOT work. When attached to the heatsink very very loosely, it does work, but it is very loose and not safe to keep running like that.
It seems the bolts are grounding out the windings in the corner magnets, either from being too tight and creating some magnetic dampening or causing the TMD fan casing to touch the windings and ground out. There is not much room between the windings and the fan casing. When the bolts are tightened to normal tightness, the fan can start moving if I use my finger to get it started, but the metal fan casing gets very hot, like the current is grounding out through the frame into the bolts.
I found some brass bolts that are the same length as stock (2"). These brass bolts are the kind with the tapered shoulder at the head, not a flat base. This prevents the fan casing from being squished down while tightening. Anyway, the fan works just fine now while tightened all the way on the heatsink. I don't know for sure if it is the design of the shoulder, or the bolts being brass, or both these facts. I wanted to use nylon bolts, but couldn't find any at the time, so I just used brass. I think nylon would work the best, however.
If you start to turn the blades with your finger while the system is powered up, it will start turning, but makes a grinding noise for several seconds. Even while it gets started by this method, the fan RPM does not report in the bios.
In addition, the CPU temperatures soar into the 70 C + range while the fan is running once I 'finger-start' it. I do not think that this fan is putting out full CFM values.
I attached a 40 CFM Panaflo 80mm fan, and temperatures stay around 50C full load, so I know that this 37 CFM TMD fan is not working properly at all.
I did some additional testing on the TMD fan yesterday. When it is not attached to the heatsink, it works fine. When it is not attached to the heatsink and has the stock zinc-coated-steel bolts in the four holes, it works fine. When it is attached to the heatsink with normal tightness, it does NOT work. When attached to the heatsink very very loosely, it does work, but it is very loose and not safe to keep running like that.
It seems the bolts are grounding out the windings in the corner magnets, either from being too tight and creating some magnetic dampening or causing the TMD fan casing to touch the windings and ground out. There is not much room between the windings and the fan casing. When the bolts are tightened to normal tightness, the fan can start moving if I use my finger to get it started, but the metal fan casing gets very hot, like the current is grounding out through the frame into the bolts.
I found some brass bolts that are the same length as stock (2"). These brass bolts are the kind with the tapered shoulder at the head, not a flat base. This prevents the fan casing from being squished down while tightening. Anyway, the fan works just fine now while tightened all the way on the heatsink. I don't know for sure if it is the design of the shoulder, or the bolts being brass, or both these facts. I wanted to use nylon bolts, but couldn't find any at the time, so I just used brass. I think nylon would work the best, however.