Advice on Case Fan Vibration Solution

[anonymousal]

A week or so ago I fixed a problem with some hardware on my tower (thanks to a user here) and a few hours after fixing it, closing up the case and starting up I noticed a low hum sound. Any audio playing on the computer drowns out the noise but it's annoying without headphones. The noise is intermittent and lasts maybe 10 minutes of every hour. I thought the case fan was dying but it's working as it should and not wobbling. Someone else here had a similar problem and got the answer of it being a vibration issue.

Placing a small amount of pressure on top of the case which the fan is screwed to (it's the top case fan on a vertical tower) stopped the noise. So I got a 50g weight and placed it on the centre of the fan, or rather, the outside of the tower where the centre of the fan is below, which doesn't block any airflow and the noise stopped.

Is this dangerous and is the vibration noise an indication of a need for repair or replacement of the fan? It still works perfectly currently other than the noise. It's a 160mm CoolerMaster.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

"Dangerous" is a stretch. If a fan fails, it fails. The bearing could be going bad. You could simply try re-screwing it even. Does it seem loose at all?

 

[anonymousal]

"Dangerous" is a stretch. If a fan fails, it fails. The bearing could be going bad. You could simply try re-screwing it even. Does it seem loose at all?

How can you tell when a bearing is going bad? It doesn't seem loose but I'll try re-screwing it on next shut-down.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Usually it'll start vibrating.

 

[Solandri]

Most cheap fans which ship with your case don't use a bearing. They're just a greased bushing. They can still start vibrating the same way as they get older, or if you've banged it up (warped it slightly) so it's no longer balanced.

You say a small weight on the case where the fan is screwed to stops the noise? Try loosening the screws holding the fan and see if that gets rid of the noise. You probably warped your case slightly, and the fan being screwed to the case in all four corners is also being warped as well, leading to the vibration. To tighten it, turn each screw a bit in sequence. One screw a half turn, the 2nd screw a half turn, the 3rd screw a half turn, the 4th screw a half turn, repeat. That'll allow the fan to retain its proper shape as long as possible while you're screwing it in.

 

[anonymousal]

Re-tightening worked, the vibration stopped. I'm kind of loathe to try any maintenance myself without advice these days since every problem I fix creates another one. Case in point that when I logged back on one of my external drives was having problems. I did the windows diagnostic and then the manufacturer diagnostic and found no errors. Then I swapped out the USB cable with another and it worked fine. I must have damaged the cable at some point during the GPU repair/replacement or this vibration problem so I ordered a replacement cable. Lots of panicking for a bit there thinking I lost my oldest and dearest external.

This forum is amazing by the way as there are so many helpful answers and easy explanations. It's like finding a diamond in the desert. Thank you both for helping me.