Can a dying case fan do any damage?

[VicVega1]

Hi, everybody!
One of my case fans (left side) started to make a loud buzzing noise lately. I took it out, cleaned it but nothing changed, so I guess the bearing is slowly dying. If I turn the RPM down to about 850 the annoying sound is barely audible and it doesn't seem to have any influence on temps inside the case (core temps are also the same).
So my question is should I just use it on 80% untill it stops/becomes noisy on lower speeds, or should I just replace it right away?
Can a dying fan cause any damage like a short cicuit or something?

 

[Cons29]

well, it can heat up.

replace it, would you take a chance on such a (relatively) cheap part?

 

[sincreator]

Naw, the worst that will happen is the case fan could die altogether. I've had a few fail over the years, and it is nothing to worry about. Replace it when it dies.

 

[leo2kp]

If your temps are stable at the lower RPM, then you can wait until it just stops working. Just keep an eye on temps.

 

[VicVega1]

Ok, guess I'll leave it until it gets worse. thanks for the advice, guys

 

[King Kevain]

Ok, guess I'll leave it until it gets worse. thanks for the advice, guys

Leaving it is relative to the type of fan it is - if its a bearing fan for instance and it fails, it can seize up, overheat and potentially burn itself out.

Fans are the cheapest component you will ever buy for your PC, just get a replacement and don't listen to these muppets that say to just leave it there until it fails - bad choice! Spend $5 and just replace it so it's a non issue.

Why would you even consider having a noisy, damaged, inefficient, likely to fail with unknown results fan in your system any longer than absolutely necessary? You said you cleaned it, didn't work, so just replace it. Instead of grabbing a Burger for lunch tomorrow, just go buy a Fan and have an apple instead!

 

[VicVega1]

To be honest I just never came across a situation like this before. I once had a dead fan, but it just died giving no noticeable symptoms before. And since this one is still working with no noise at lower speeds, temps are fine, the fan doesn't heat up itself too, so why would I replace it.
I know they're cheap and I really shouldn't even be asking, but I don't like to just throw out stuff that may still work fine because of a minor issue. Of course I'n not sure if the issue is in fact minor, that's why I'm asking here.
It's standard Cooler Master case fan (a12025-12cb-3bn-f1), like this one: http://www.avadirect.com/A12025-120mm-Black-Case-Fan-3-Pin-Power/Product/1891958
By "cleaning it" I meant dusting the surface and using compressed air to get the filth out from the inside of it. I never took the blades of, because I can't find an info anywhere whether they're detachable or not. I only know it has a sleeve bearing.

 

[sincreator]

To be honest I just never came across a situation like this before. I once had a dead fan, but it just died giving no noticeable symptoms before. And since this one is still working with no noise at lower speeds, temps are fine, the fan doesn't heat up itself too, so why would I replace it.
I know they're cheap and I really shouldn't even be asking, but I don't like to just throw out stuff that may still work fine because of a minor issue. Of course I'n not sure if the issue is in fact minor, that's why I'm asking here.
It's standard Cooler Master case fan (a12025-12cb-3bn-f1), like this one: http://www.avadirect.com/A12025-120mm-Black-Case-Fan-3-Pin-Power/Product/1891958
By "cleaning it" I meant dusting the surface and using compressed air to get the filth out from the inside of it. I never took the blades of, because I can't find an info anywhere whether they're detachable or not. I only know it has a sleeve bearing.

I currently have one fan that makes a racket at the top speed, so I dropped it to low speed and it has been fine for well over a year like that. A fan uses 1-3w of power so the heat generated if it seizes up won't be much, lol. Usually they will let out a big squeal right before they stop/seize. If it's fine at lower RPM and it's not making a difference temperature wise in your system, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[VicVega1]

Yeah, exactly - "squeal like a pig"-type sound and dead. Once I had a noisy fan in laptop, but I disassembled it, put i tiny drop of mechanical lube in it and it was quiet again, so perhaps I'll try that with this one as well. That is if I ever find an info on whether blades are detachable on it.
Thanks again!

 

[VicVega1]

As it turns out it does affect the IOH temp. 52-55°C @1000RPM and about 60°C @850RPM. I'm replacing it with a Be quiet! Pure Wings 2 140mm fan and perhaps try to fix it when it's no longer used.

And for the record - I do not scarf burgers down for lunch! 😉

 

[King Kevain]

As it turns out it does affect the IOH temp. 52-55°C @1000RPM and about 60°C @850RPM. I'm replacing it with a Be quiet! Pure Wings 2 140mm fan and perhaps try to fix it when it's no longer used.

And for the record - I do not scarf burgers down for lunch! 😉

Heh heh, wasn't implying you do (though for the record, I don't mind scarfing a burger here or there) was merely stating that buying your lunch is more expensive than buying a replacement fan for your PC

As for a busted fan not doing any damage, I've seen one burn before, it was completely seized and it literally had smoke coming out of it, burnt dripping plastic running down the Mobo onto the GFX card and a small smoldering fire in the motor (probably due to a particularly flammable dust bunny). It was a very old fan - can't remember the brand, the Fan itself was bright red with a cone on it like a mini airplane propeller housed in a black frame - looked pretty cool until it melted - I wasn't saying run out and buy new fans as soon as it starts to make a bit of chatter, but don't leave it in until it completely gives up - you don't know what it might do and what sort of power feedback it might be sending back to the CPU or MOBO if the fan motor is buggered (Not just voltage, but think return current, static noise, EMF etc. for the sake of $5, it's just simpler to replace it so that it is a 'non issue'.

 

[VicVega1]

Heh heh, wasn't implying you do (though for the record, I don't mind scarfing a burger here or there) was merely stating that buying your lunch is more expensive than buying a replacement fan for your PC

Yeah, I got a laugh out of that And don't get me wrong, burgers can be great, I just rarely eat them. In Poland, where I live, you can usually get a cheap, fastfood crap-burger or a fancy, healthy expensive one. There's nothing in between - like a reasonably priced, healthy, tasty burger.

As for a busted fan not doing any damage, I've seen one burn before, it was completely seized and it literally had smoke coming out of it, burnt dripping plastic running down the Mobo onto the GFX card and a small smoldering fire in the motor (probably due to a particularly flammable dust bunny).
[...]
for the sake of $5, it's just simpler to replace it so that it is a 'non issue'.

Holy crap! That almost sounds like a Stephen King horror story. Perhaps I was too fast selecting the best solution (I don't think I can undo that?).
Anyway, the new fan should be delivered any time now, so I hope my PC won't catch fire 😉

 

[VicVega1]

So funny story. I got the new fan, put it in place of the old, buzzing one and it turnes out it makes the exact same noise. It's a lot less loud than the old fan, but it makes the same noise. Propably it's some vibrations of the case wall. I'll try and put some silicone pads between the fan and the wall.
Could it be something else? Perhaps the header on the mobo is faulty in some way? I've noticed the old fan could do a top speed of 1000RPM whereas a same exact fan on placed on the rear of the case can do 1200. This new one is supposed to do 1000RPM, but SpeedFan only reports 850 at 100% speed...

 

[King Kevain]

Under voltage maybe? If its a Molex connection and not a MOBO header and you have more than one 12V rail on your PSU, try switching it to another rail (remember the Fan on the PSU itself counts as one fan ) Also, not all Fans are designed for every orientation....some work better on top, others at the rear - depends how cheap the fan is!

 

[VicVega1]

No, it's plugged directly to the mobo and it's quite a good fan - http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/448
I've put some rubber pads between the fan and the case panel, and that helped a little, but the noise is still there. I think it's caused by air flowing through the latticework on the panel, not vibrations.