CPU fan not working

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ata01

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Jul 31, 2011
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I have a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 CPU Cooler and the fan stopped working. Looks like it's stuck or needs oiling since it doesn't spin easily when I push it with my finger as do other fans in my computer.
Is it necessary for the fan to work (I don't know how long it's been like that) and if so how can I fix it?
 
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pepe2907

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Yes, it's absolutely necessary!
You may try to stir it up by hand.
Also look if there is a lot of dust or fibres, especially arround the axis. Try to clean it by some brush if it's possible.
If nothing helps you should probably buy a new fan - only the fan, not the whole cooler.
 
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diellur

diellur

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Depending on the CPU you have it on, and whether or not it's overclocked, will determine how necessary it is to have the fan working on that cooler. It's heat-sink area is reasonable, and the ventilation from other fans in the PC may provide enough airflow. However, it is a very good idea for it to be working!

The Coolermaster Blademaster fans that go on the Hyper-212 cost about £10, and they're PWM as well. I'd pick another one up and replace the dodgy fan. You could always get 2, set it up in push-pull and have a bit of redundancy in case a fan fails again.
 
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ata01

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I tried stirring it by hand and leaning the dust but I don't have very good access with the cooling ribs blocking the way to the fan. Will it be safe for the cooler to unscrew the top two front screws so I can take out the part that attaches the fan to the cooler or is there another way to take out the fan?
 
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ata01

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I have a E8400, not OC. I checked with core temp and I got 40C for core0 and 27C for core1, but that's mostly on idle since my graphics card has gone bad (which was the reason I opened up the case in the first place).
When I bought the computer I asked for a super quiet one so maybe the guy who assembled it shut down the fan back then. I can't really ask him now since the store doesn't exist anymore.

Can you elaborate a bit about what it means to set up two fans in push-pull and how it is done?
 
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diellur

diellur

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Are you sure you have a Hyper-212? Your description about removing the fan sounds odd...the fan should be clipped on with a bracket to the heat-sink, shouldn't be anything blocking access to it.

Push-pull is where you use 2 fans to improve air-flow by having them combined to move air in the same direction. The fans are mounted on either side of the heat-sink so that they're moving air in the same direction. Fan 1 pulls air into the heat-sink and pushes it through to Fan 2, which pulls the air being pushed by Fan 1 and then expels it, hopefully into an exhaust fan.

Air ---> FAN1 >> ¦HEAT-SINK¦ >> FAN2 ---> Air
 
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pepe2907

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Can you attach a picture of your cooler? Because if it's not that model, it may operate differently. There realy are coolers which fans may stop - as not ratating at all, just not the model you say you have, so after all it may be OK for it to stop :)
 
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diellur

diellur

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Very fair point...what motherboard do you have? I've not heard of coolers where the fans stop (other than in PSUs) but the motherboard my have logic which stops the fan spinning at all below certain temps.
 
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ata01

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Thanks for the explanation about the push-pull mechanism. Sounds good though if I mount another fan on the other side of the cooler it would be extremely close to the case fan, so I'm not sure if it's a good idea.
I have a Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L motherboard. As for the cooler here's a picture of it:

http://i52.tinypic.com/ru07yu.jpg

In order to take out the fan I need to take out the black part on the top where it says Cooler Master since the fan is screwed to it from the inside.
 
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diellur

diellur

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Yeah, that looks like the fans mount slightly differently from the one I have. Still, concept is the same.

Check the motherboard documentation and forums to see if the motherboard disables fans below certain speeds...might be what's happening. If the fans are PWM (4-pin) then check the setting for this in the motherboard menus. Not sure exactly where it would be, but it might be the source of the issue. If they're 3-pin, do the same for voltage control with the motherboard.

If none of that looks like it's the source of the issue, replace the fan.

As for push-pull, the temperature differences aren't going to be huge - I did it just because I could, and I OC. Seeing as you don't, there may be no point. However, if you do, just remove the exhaust fan. The flow from the closest CPU fan will cause air to exhaust anyway (although perhaps not as efficiently). You could also mount the exhaust fan external to the case and put a guard on it to prevent fingers getting nipped. But I'm going off-topic now. ;)
 
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ata01

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Well I replaced the bad graphics card, so now I was able to test the fan and CPU while playing games.
The bad news is that the fan doesn't work at all.
The good news is that core temp got max readings of 50C/45C for core0/1.
 
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