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Fan has spontaneously stopped spinning.

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C

ClutchHunter

Member
​
Joined
Nov 29, 2012
Location
North London, UK
3770k & CM Hyper 212 EVO

Yesterday it was fine, today it won't spin; leading to a few crashes on Battlefield before I realised what the problem was. Now I've underclocked it so that the heatsink and air flow (and the newfound lack of dust) are enough to make the CPU usable in terms of temperatures.

I've checked the header and it's in there firmly. Occasionally the CPU fan spins for a second and then stops, as if it tries and just can't manage it somehow. Everything else is working just fine.

What steps do I take to troubleshoot this?
 
Plug a different fan into that header and see if it works. If it does, replace the fan on the 212.
If it doesn't, you have a MoBo issue.
 
Sounds like a bad bearing. In that case, replace the fan (I recommend a 1A - 1.5A rated variable speed Delta). In the meantime, you can oil the existing fan to stay up and running until the new fan arrives.
 
Soulcatcher668 said:
Plug a different fan into that header and see if it works. If it does, replace the fan on the 212.
If it doesn't, you have a MoBo issue.
Click to expand...

Do you mean a chassis fan?

NiHaoMike said:
Sounds like a bad bearing. In that case, replace the fan (I recommend a 1A - 1.5A rated variable speed Delta). In the meantime, you can oil the existing fan to stay up and running until the new fan arrives.
Click to expand...

What fan would you recommend specifically (that's available to the UK)? :)
 
NiHaoMike said:
Sounds like a bad bearing. In that case, replace the fan (I recommend a 1A - 1.5A rated variable speed Delta). In the meantime, you can oil the existing fan to stay up and running until the new fan arrives.
Click to expand...

Sorry for such a late reply, I've just found the time to start trying to diagnose this again.

I wouldn't know how to oil it so for now I'm just underclocked - that and the low ambient temps (and air flow, and heatsink, etc) are keeping the CPU under 75C max.

I plugged the CPU fan into another header and it made no difference, nor did changing the fan power settings in the UEFI. I also noticed that the CPU fan feels heavier for want of a better word than the chassis fans, despite one of them being seemingly identical. Whereas the chassis fan would spin with just a flick of my finger, the CPU wouldn't budge without a bit of force and it wouldn't stay spinning by itself for more than half a second. So yeah, I'm thinking it's the fan itself that's having problems.

What fan would you recommend to replace it? :)
 
Definitely sounds like a bearing to me, probably has dust or dirt stuck in it with the lubricant all dried up.

On the backside of the fan motor there should be a sticker denoting the brand, model, etc.

Peel that sticker back and you should see a hole (normally referred to as an oil well or oil fill hole), or you might see a rubber or plastic plug covering the hole (in which case you would just remove it and then you could get at the oil fill hole).

I don't know what types of oil are available to you in the UK, but here in the US I normally use 3-in-1 machine oil/motor oil to lubricate fan bearings. It can usually be found at most hardware stores (Ace, Lowes, Home Depot, etc).

I haven't had a problem with 3-in-1 yet, have used it on many fans and they now spin without any problems.

Delta is a brand of PC fans.

Edit: forgot to mention, just use a single drop of oil and that should be enough to lubricate the bearing. It's probably a sleeve bearing.
 
Last edited:
Tech Tweaker said:
Definitely sounds like a bearing to me, probably has dust or dirt stuck in it with the lubricant all dried up.

On the backside of the fan motor there should be a sticker denoting the brand, model, etc.

Peel that sticker back and you should see a hole (normally referred to as an oil well or oil fill hole), or you might see a rubber or plastic plug covering the hole (in which case you would just remove it and then you could get at the oil fill hole).

I don't know what types of oil are available to you in the UK, but here in the US I normally use 3-in-1 machine oil/motor oil to lubricate fan bearings. It can usually be found at most hardware stores (Ace, Lowes, Home Depot, etc).

I haven't had a problem with 3-in-1 yet, have used it on many fans and they now spin without any problems.

Delta is a brand of PC fans.
Click to expand...

Would rather avoid oil etc for now but it's something I'll look into in the future.

Delta fans seem to be difficult to find and then extortionately expensive in the UK, e.g. Amazon UK Search.

How would this be? Noctua 120mm - Also someone in the reviews said they used two on a Hyper 212 EVO; am I misreading it or is that possible? If so, how?

Thanks :)
 
Noctua is aimed for very low noise, low power applications like HTPC. They're not very good for high performance machines unless you water cool and use many of them.

Also look for Nidec and Sanyo, the variable speed versions in particular.
 
I'd go with a Scythe Gentle Typhoon D1225C12B5AP-15 based upon that link you posted.

I have two of them and they're very good fans (and quiet). Perhaps a little more expensive than some fans, but they're really well built from what I can see. They work well on both water cooling radiators and air-cooled heatsinks.

I'll likely buy more of them.
 
Last edited:
I really like my AP15s, they are quiet. I have them on my Ven-X. They are worth getting.
 
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