Changing fan on the PSU

[Druga Runda]

Well not that I like doing that for fun, but the rear fan on the Enermax 465AX-VE started with rattling noise a few days ago....

Very loud and very annoying, the fan is one of those "adjustable sort" and it has a 3 pin connector that connects inside the PSU... it's an 80mm fan as far as I can tell.

So what to do.

The easiest route is to open this thing up and change it - at least it appears to be.

What I want to avoid is
1. killing myself
2. killing the PSU
3. making this thing work silently again (as that fan was really quiet for my taste when it was working)

So any tricks/ advice?

What would be the fan of choice?

Ideally one that comes with a three pin power connector as standard, and in addition does not make too much noise.

I guess I have to avoid touching any capacitators/ other PSU stuff while open, and hopefully this thing is just as easy to put back once you open it.

And in principle I don't care for adjusting the speed as long as the fan works.

Any opinions/advice please...

 

[digitalwanderer]

I've done it before once, but I was scared pretty shitless the whole time. Make sure you're careful not to touch any of the capacitors and take your time and you should be alright.

One note, if the fan has already failed I wouldn't recomend replacing it. The PS could have already been damaged and you could just be creating a timebomb to kill your PC. (I think that MIGHT have happened with my fan replacement PS, the mobo literally blew out about 4 months later in a painful blue flash and a puff of acrid smoke. :? )

My new rule-o-thumb is if the PS is at all wonky, just replace it. It just ain't worth screwing around with a dodgy PS, your whole system could be at risk.

 

[Druga Runda]

well fan is not dead, it just started rattling... but thanks for that tip

so I think that the PSU itself is OK... and it is fairly new too... meh theQ-tec - "timebomb" that I have in one older PC is all fine and dandy for a lot longer, and this supposed "flagship" Enermax is not... ermmmm...

I'd just change the thing...

btw... what kind of fan did you buy, as I haven't really scrolled the "replacement fans" yet... I presume that there are ones with good default connectors...

btw .. what's up with EB last few days?

 

[digitalwanderer]

Hey if the fan is still working I'd change the thing too, and I ain't sure it was the PS that killed that mobo...it might have just been that mobos time. (I had been OCing it pretty high for years and all, it wasn't like it was a new system.)

btw... what kind of fan did you buy, as I haven't really scrolled the "replacement fans" yet... I presume that there are ones with good default connectors...

No clue, I just grabbed a good looking ball bearing 80mm out of my parts drawer.

btw .. what's up with EB last few days?

No clue, it is driving me nuts too though. We'd had problems getting hit with the santy worm early last week and it took us down, but Dave B here was kind enough to tip me off to that and let me forward the fix to our webmaster.

This time? I have no clue. It seems we're back up now, so I'm a happy guy.

 

[Druga Runda]

OK - just did that... plain ol normal 80mm Antec fan...

so well it was easier than I thought - as there is no clips or anything on the PSU, just pull the metal part out, and that is all (unscrew first of course ) took the whiney one out, put this one in, goodbye "fan adjustment" (but who needs it anyway) and on default comparing the two while working normally, this new one is a fair bit louder, but frankly who cares, as it works...

so Enermax PSU with Antec fan... lovely

 

[Dr. Ffreeze]

Druga Runda,

If you wanted to, you could look up the datasheet for the fan you took out and find out how much cubic feet per minute it moved. Then find out how much your new fan moves. THEN put a resistor in series with your new fan so it slows down a bit but still moves as much air as your old one did when it was at max speed.

Kind of a pain, but might be fun, and it might just quiet down your power supply while still providing as much air as you Enermax needs at max load.

Just a thought,

 

[YeuEmMaiMai]

here is what you do

1. unplug your PC from the wall with it on at the bios screen

2. do the following

remove top cover
check airflow direction on fan
remove fan

Do step 3 or 4 depending upon fan in PS

3. if your fan has a 3 prong connector (mine did for monitoring) replace it with another 3 prong fan). If it has a 2 prong connector you can use a 3 prong one by removing the center one and moving one of the end ones to the center.

4. if it is soldered to the PS board, just cut the leads 2" from the board and solder in the new one matching the polarity (red is usually hot and any other color is usually ground but use a VM to be sure)

5. install fan so air goes out of the PS or in to PSU (check original fan for airflow direction)

6. turn on PS and make sure fan works most ps will spin the fax for a sec and then turn off as they charge up.

7. reassemble PS case and put back in

 

[vb]

here is what you do

1. unplug your PC from the wall with it on at the bios screen

...................

????????????

 

[digitalwanderer]

here is what you do

1. unplug your PC from the wall with it on at the bios screen

...................

????????????

Double !

DO NOT EVER intentionally unplug your PC from the wall with it on, period. Bios screen or not, it just ain't a good idea! :?

 

[Diplo]

DO NOT EVER intentionally unplug your PC from the wall with it on, period. Bios screen or not, it just ain't a good idea! :?

Erm, why?

 

[digitalwanderer]

Erm, why?

It's bad.

 

[Diplo]

It's bad.

Please, don't get technical on me

Seriously, I can't think of a single reason why it would be 'bad'.

 

[Tim Murray]

it's not bad. Dig's just stupid. it's the same as holding in the power button to force the machine to turn off when it's hard locked.

 

[YeuEmMaiMai]

here is what you do

1. unplug your PC from the wall with it on at the bios screen

...................

????????????

Double !

DO NOT EVER intentionally unplug your PC from the wall with it on, period. Bios screen or not, it just ain't a good idea! :?

ONLY WAY TO (removed properly) DISCHARGE ALL OF THOSE CAPS (added) doesn't look like he has any tools to properly discharge the PS (end of addition).

It would kinda suck if you hit one with a screwdriver.

All HDD made since like 1990 have an auto park feature and you will not harm them and having the machine at the BIOS screen will not result in any settings getting lost unless you have a crappy mb. I usually turn off the power strip to kill it that way the ps drains and there is less chance of you getting zapped.

 

[digitalwanderer]

it's not bad. Dig's just stupid. it's the same as holding in the power button to force the machine to turn off when it's hard locked.

I beg to differ. Unplugging it while on the bios screen is not the same as pushing the power button to force the machine to turn off when it's hard locked.

You have the option of exiting the bios before you unplug it in the first case, as opposed to being forced to manual cycle the power to reboot in the second.

Killing the power whilst in the bios just strikes me as wrong, I'd think there is a chance you could screw it up.

 

[martrox]

Had the exact same problem with the exact same PS....replaced the fan with a generic 80MM....still working fine 2 years later!

Baron, while I agree that pulling the plug is not nessasarily a bad thing, it should be avoided...that's what a friggin OFF/ON button is for. And there is no reason to call names here - Even IF it's DW.....

1. unplug your PC from the wall with it on at the bios screen

This is not a very smart statement. No one that has any knowledge would do this UNLESS there was no other way.... Just pull the plug AFTER you shut the computer off. If you want to drain the PS's caps, cycle the ON/OFF switch a few times after the computer is unplugged.

However, never trust ANY method of draining the caps, because just in case the caps didn't drain ....well, that can kill you!

 

[YeuEmMaiMai]

Had the exact same problem with the exact same PS....replaced the fan with a generic 80MM....still working fine 2 years later!

Baron, while I agree that pulling the plug is not nessasarily a bad thing, it should be avoided...that's what a friggin OFF/ON button is for. And there is no reason to call names here - Even IF it's DW.....

1. unplug your PC from the wall with it on at the bios screen

This is not a very smart statement. No one that has any knowledge would do this UNLESS there was no other way.... Just pull the plug AFTER you shut the computer off. If you want to drain the PS's caps, cycle the ON/OFF switch a few times after the computer is unplugged.

However, never trust ANY method of draining the caps, because just in case the caps didn't drain ....well, that can kill you!

unfortunately that will not work since all newer mainboards do not power up unless they get a "power good" signal from the psu. cycling the power switch with the unit unplugged is not effective like it used to be. You are not going to get a "power good" signal, the machine will not attempt to power up.

 

[Guden Oden]

If it has a 2 prong connector you can use a 3 prong one by removing the center one and moving one of the end ones to the center.

Don't do this, as it will either just make the fan not work, or kill it outright.

The third pin/wire in the connector of a fan is always the sensor wire (usually yellow, but colors aren't entirely consistent on fans). First wire is marked with an arrow or such on the connector plug; this is +12V (typically red in color but not always consistent like I mentioned). Just place the 3-connector plug on the 2-connector socket so the first two wires are connected (red and black, typically). That's it.

6. turn on PS and make sure fan works most ps will spin the fax for a sec and then turn off as they charge up.

You better bolt down that fax machine then man! You don't want it spinning like that and whirl paper all over the place...

Anyway, IME, it's not really neccessary to turn the PC ON before unplugging it; ATX mobos are always "on" when the power cord is attached to the wall. Just pull the AC cord out of the rear socket and simply press the front power button a couple times. That, along with the "always on" feature of ATX mobos will discharge the caps long before the user has had time to open up the casing and started unplugging cables...

 

[martrox]

unfortunately that will not work since all newer mainboards do not power up unless they get a "power good" signal from the psu. cycling the power switch with the unit unplugged is not effective like it used to be. You are not going to get a "power good" signal, the machine will not attempt to power up.

Then rig a switch up to the power supply.... it's easy to do. Pulling the plug while on the bios screen, while it will work, can cause so many issues/problems that it's not a very wise approch. Just take a little time to consider the cost of everything in your computer vs. a switch....this is really a no brainer. BTW, not all newer motherboards do this........

 

[Guden Oden]

This is a non-issue really. I seriously doubt there are any major caps on the high-voltage side, that's not where they're really needed. Instead the big phat ones are on the low-voltage side and human skin has such high resistance to electricity we wouldn't feel a thing if we touched something that still carried a charge. Besides, like I said, the mobo will trickle the caps dry anyway EVEN THOUGH IT'S TECHNICALLY "OFF"...