Fan Making Grinding Noise After Cleaning PC

[flyoffacliff]

I built my PC a few months ago and just cleaned it for the first time. I was amazed by the dust, their was a thin layer covering everything. I spent an hour cleaning it with canned air and a new paint brush. I turned the fan a few times with my fingers, but I don't think this could cause a problem. I lowered the speed setting on the fan from medium to low, but I left the fan's motherboard voltage at 50%. When I started the PC back up, I heard this loud grinding noise that lasted no more than a few seconds. It took me no more than 30 seconds to find the non-spinning fan and set the speed back to medium. The fan started up fine. It is now the next day and when I started it today, I heard the grinding noise rependidly and it did not go away. I changed the fan speed to high and then back to medium to stop it. I restarted the PC again as a test, this time it just did it for a few seconds. Also, ever since I cleaned it the fan's RPM has been 5% to 10% slower. Could bumping the fan slightly while its stopped messed it up like this? Or did a damage it by starting it with a low voltage? Is their any way to fix it?

It is an Antec 120mm 3 speed fan with 3 blue LEDs (1 burned out since I got it!)

Thank you

 

[scout_03]

my advice would to get a new fan for your case it wont cost a lot this one could be on is way out of service .

 

[Barney6262]

Tough one...

Could be afew things...

Firstly the fact an led burnt out might suggest an over volt of somekind maybe damaging the bearings by spinning the fan faster than it was designed for.

It COULD be the bump or something, but you would probly snap the blades first than damage the bearings enough for this to happen.

Also possible that the canned air you used created moisture in the bearings, breaking SOMETHING no idea what part exactly but I remember seeing a fan getting sprayed with canned air, getting the moisture inside the bearing and it just stopped working.

It could also be the medium to low change. Maybe dislodging something into the bearing.

Either way, it is clearly a problem with the bearing and unless it fixes itself somehow I think it would be better just to take it back to the shop and get a new one. I can't give an exact diagnosis without having the fan with me but from what you described it could just be a faulty fan that was waiting to go wrong...

 

[flyoffacliff]

I got it, It was actually a different fan making the noise. My graphics card has 3 fans, and their was a SATA cable touching one of them. I adjusted it and the noise is gone. The fan I thought was making the noise is still spinning a little slower though. The burned out LED was like that when I got it. I did not bother to RMA it because it does not affect the prefermence.