CPU Fan slows to crawl when fully plugged in to 4 pin connector, normal speed when partially plugged in.

[Nogs28]

CPU fan slows to a crawl on a 4 pin connector, ~90-100 rpm, when plugged in all the way. My guess is that the PWM pin wire has a short. When I move the wire the fan will speed up to normal or stop spinning. I've done a temp solve by bending the PWM pin on a different header (Front header, front fans are molex) away and plugging in the fan which then runs at normal full speed.

The question is, am I going to have any issues running like it is as a 3 pin connector? I monitor my CPU temps and have the side door off to keep a visual on the fan. My mobo doesn't have a stop issue for zero cpu_fan rpms.

 

[nostall]

You didn't mention your motherboard, but if the cooling profile or selections are activated in the BIOS that might explain the slow down when plugged into the 4-pin connection. Check your BIOS and turn off anything resembling ASUS's "cool and quiet" feature, plug the fan back into the 4-pin and see what happens. On some mobo's you can also set the minimum fan RPM in the BIOS, if yours allows that, then turn it up a bit.

 

[Nogs28]

It's an intel board, DH67CL. Even with the cooling profiles set to manual and at 100%, it will still be at ~90-100 rpm. If I just barely have it plugged in, connectors touching the pins, it will run properly, with the PWM pin out of the picture, it runs at normal speed. So as I stated earlier, I think it is the PWM wire on the actual fan that has a short. I'm just looking for confirmation if I will have any future issues with using it as a 3-pin.

 

[nostall]

It's an intel board, DH67CL. Even with the cooling profiles set to manual and at 100%, it will still be at ~90-100 rpm. If I just barely have it plugged in, connectors touching the pins, it will run properly, with the PWM pin out of the picture, it runs at normal speed. So as I stated earlier, I think it is the PWM wire on the actual fan that has a short. I'm just looking for confirmation if I will have any future issues with using it as a 3-pin.

Probably o.k. for awhile, and heck maybe forever, but those fans are relatively inexpensive and intel might even just send you one if you contact their support. I did that once with a CPU and 36 hours later I have a complete, new CPU cooler without charge. Worth a try