PSU fan

[Haggenator]

Hey guys my fan is going out on my PSU. Its making a horrible noise and well its bothering me and that is usually a sign a fan is going out. My question is can I replace my fan in my PSU im sure I can but im not about to just go open my PSU up and dig around. Please post a link if you know of a good how-to on how to do this.

I have a ABS tagan bz series 800w PSU.

Thanks.

[deadlysyn]

Is the PSU still under warranty? I would recommend checking into an RMA if it is. By doing that you could be voiding any warranty that might be left. If the warranty is out, then you can just take the cover off, and replace the fan with the new one.

[mudajama]

i swapped mine w a casefan. Had a 3pin conector. So i just ran it out and to a molex adaptor. Id go for a higher cfm while your at it. Helped my temps alot

[cyberfish]

Let it sit for a few days unplugged before opening!

The caps can still contain dangerous charges after a long time.

[$SOLID$Necro]

Before I remove the psu, as somone mentioned..you should let it sit for a few days with the power cable unplugged from it (Very important, so someone doesn't try and power it up and put you back to square 1)

It's also a good idea to cycle the power switch on the back of it a few times to help it discharge...so I have been told, never goten zapped so I think it's worth the effort.

[Younglin]

I took a 120mm fan out of an old psu I had and it is in the front of my case right now.

[deadlysyn]

Let it sit for a few days unplugged before opening!

The caps can still contain dangerous charges after a long time.

There is a faster way to do this as well. Flip the switch on the back of the PSU, unplug it from the wall, and hit the power button on the case. The fans should spin up for a second, and then die. I have done this several times replacing fans in PSU's and never had a problem.

[cyberfish]

I have never done this myself, so I will take your words for it :).

Are you sure that discharges all the capacitors? Probably not the output ones, but those are a lot smaller anyways.

[deadlysyn]

I have done it numerous times to replace fans and haven't gotten shocked yet. Another way that might work would be to boot up with a Ubuntu LiveCD, and then flip the switch, but it would be much harder on your hardware. As long as the board will jump the PSU to start with the power to it disconnected or switched off, you will be fine.

[$SOLID$Necro]

There is a faster way to do this as well. Flip the switch on the back of the PSU, unplug it from the wall, and hit the power button on the case. The fans should spin up for a second, and then die. I have done this several times replacing fans in PSU's and never had a problem.

Hmm...I Think that is a great solution, much better then my method wich was based on things I had read over the years...thanks for passing that on :attn:

[deadlysyn]

Hmm...I Think that is a great solution, much better then my method wich was based on things I had read over the years...thanks for passing that on :attn:

It may be a quick and dirty method of discharging them, but it works well, and doesn't harm anything. I don't really recommend the LiveCD method that I posted earlier, since doing it too often can be harmful to the hardware. It does make things go a lot faster than waiting for a few days just to replace a fan though.

[cyberfish]

Why a LiveCD? Booting into the BIOS would do, too.

The motherboard may shutdown before complete discharge, though (voltage of capacitor drops exponentially as it's discharged).

Actually, the regulator in the power supply will probably stop working first, leaving some charge in the caps.

I really know too little about this to make a recommendation, but waiting for a few days is a way that works for sure.

Just because you didn't get electrocuted is not enough to say it's safe. Maybe you were just lucky (you need to accidentally touch a few points on the circuit board at the same time to get a shock). If you drive drunk, CHANCES ARE you will be ok, too.

[CompuTamer]

Just hitting the power button with the PSU unplugged has always worked for me. It starts for a second or two, then it dies, and the caps should be discharged then... maybe not all the way, but enough to where it won't kill you if you accidently touch one... just be careful in there anyway though.

[deadlysyn]

Why a LiveCD? Booting into the BIOS would do, too.

The motherboard may shutdown before complete discharge, though (voltage of capacitor drops exponentially as it's discharged).

Actually, the regulator in the power supply will probably stop working first, leaving some charge in the caps.

I really know too little about this to make a recommendation, but waiting for a few days is a way that works for sure.

Just because you didn't get electrocuted is not enough to say it's safe. Maybe you were just lucky (you need to accidentally touch a few points on the circuit board at the same time to get a shock). If you drive drunk, CHANCES ARE you will be ok, too.

The reason I said a LiveCD, is because you can put a load on it, which will cause the amount of discharge to be higher. BIOS is a no load situation, which doesn't demand nearly as much from the PSU. You could wait a few days, but if you don't have a spare, then you don't have a rig for a few days as well.

Also, comparing drunk driving to working on a PSU is a bad comparison. Using the methods I have stated to discharge the caps does work, but if for some reason it didn't, the only person that can get hurt is yourself. If you are driving drunk, anyone on the same roads as you, as well as near the roads you are on is in danger. If I am in my office working on a PSU that I just took out of a rig, my wife and daughter in the other room are not in danger, however, if I was following them while driving drunk, they are both in danger, as well as anyone else on the roads.

[cyberfish]

The reason I said a LiveCD, is because you can put a load on it, which will cause the amount of discharge to be higher. BIOS is a no load situation, which doesn't demand nearly as much from the PSU. You could wait a few days, but if you don't have a spare, then you don't have a rig for a few days as well.

Last time I checked a PSU won't run a PC for a few days unplugged :).

Capacitors are not like batteries. Their energy densities are MUCH lower. Even a super-charged big capacitor can hold no more than a few hundred joules. Your computer, even at no load, will use that up in less than a second.

Also, comparing drunk driving to working on a PSU is a bad comparison. Using the methods I have stated to discharge the caps does work, but if for some reason it didn't, the only person that can get hurt is yourself. If you are driving drunk, anyone on the same roads as you, as well as near the roads you are on is in danger. If I am in my office working on a PSU that I just took out of a rig, my wife and daughter in the other room are not in danger, however, if I was following them while driving drunk, they are both in danger, as well as anyone else on the roads.

Yeah, bad analogy on my part.

My point was, even if you don't discharge the capacitors at all before opening it, you will PROBABLY be fine, too, except there is a very remote chance of something bad happening.

For this kind of hazards, personal anecdote is not good enough. You could just be lucky. We need to prove that it is safe, by measuring the voltage across the capacitor before and after your discharge method, for example.

Before anyone does that, I will recommend sticking to the "wait for a few days" method.

[pik4chu]

For this kind of hazards, personal anecdote is not good enough. You could just be lucky. We need to prove that it is safe, by measuring the voltage across the capacitor before and after your discharge method, for example.

Before anyone does that, I will recommend sticking to the "wait for a few days" method.

Already done this because I worked with someone who was equally skeptical that not all the power was gone.

I took a computer that was running, turned it off. unplugged the power cord and tried to turn on the pc a couple of times. Unplugged the psu from the comp and hooked a tester to it, showed no voltage, hit several spots on the board near the cap leads, no voltage. Licked a finger and touched the underside leads of one of the large caps, nothing. Though I did nearly give my buddy a heart attack by faking that I was electrocuted ;)

Its fine guys no need to wait a few days or anything like that. That was only ever the case with CRT monitors and their cathodes (or was it anodes...w/e) if you didnt want to do the discharge method. (which admittedly was much more scary than pushing a power button...)

[deadlysyn]

Already done this because I worked with someone who was equally skeptical that not all the power was gone.

I took a computer that was running, turned it off. unplugged the power cord and tried to turn on the pc a couple of times. Unplugged the psu from the comp and hooked a tester to it, showed no voltage, hit several spots on the board near the cap leads, no voltage. Licked a finger and touched the underside leads of one of the large caps, nothing. Though I did nearly give my buddy a heart attack by faking that I was electrocuted ;)

Its fine guys no need to wait a few days or anything like that. That was only ever the case with CRT monitors and their cathodes (or was it anodes...w/e) if you didnt want to do the discharge method. (which admittedly was much more scary than pushing a power button...)

If someone is really that worried about the caps having some kind of charge left, they could also just jump the terminals on it with a screwdriver. I was told this by a guy that works with industrial motors, and the capacitors that go with them. He said it was quick and safe (as long as you aren't touching metal on the screwdriver). If a guy that works with them every day says that it is safe, I would tend to believe that it is safe.