Question Fans won't work unless I swap the connections

[Duke Eastwood]

I'm a major noob at anything inside my computer... today I noticed the top fan wasn't working... all other fans (the CPU fan and the remaining two case fans WERE working).

I start taking the plastic case apart in an attempt to clean the fan that wasn't running. When I reboot now all 3 case fans won't fun.

Long story short... what got them working again was swapping the connections; I have a gigabyte motherboard, one connection runs one fan the other runs to two other fans. I already have seen after multiple shutdowns and restarts the even after swapping the wires the fans will, again, not work after a restart from the power off. What the HECK do I do?????? At least I can keep working after swapping the wires... but how do I actually fix this problem so I don't have to swap wires just to get the fans to run?

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

Make and model fans?

Test each fan individually.

Then test them in pairs.

Last test them all together in different configurations.

Likewise for the fan connectors. Methodically swap in known working fan cables, splitters, etc..

Hopefully just one bad fan or connection path.

 

[JeffreyP55]

I'm a major noob at anything inside my computer... today I noticed the top fan wasn't working... all other fans (the CPU fan and the remaining two case fans WERE working).

I start taking the plastic case apart in an attempt to clean the fan that wasn't running. When I reboot now all 3 case fans won't fun.

Long story short... what got them working again was swapping the connections; I have a gigabyte motherboard, one connection runs one fan the other runs to two other fans. I already have seen after multiple shutdowns and restarts the even after swapping the wires the fans will, again, not work after a restart from the power off. What the HECK do I do?????? At least I can keep working after swapping the wires... but how do I actually fix this problem so I don't have to swap wires just to get the fans to run?

If you swap the cables and the problem moves to the other fan then it is the cable. If you swap cables and the problem stays with the fan in question. The fan has somehomhow become FUBAR.

 

[Duke Eastwood]

If you swap the cables and the problem moves to the other fan then it is the cable. If you swap cables and the problem stays with the fan in question. The fan has somehomhow become FUBAR.

Let me clarify... swapping the cable causes ALL fans to WORK. After a reboot from power completely off all three fans will not work again until I swap the cables again (back to the first position they weren't working in, in the first place). So... all fans work and the power to all fans work... it just stops working somehow after a reboot.

I have already reset Bios and have no idea what to do... I'm on my way to seeing if there is an update for my motherboard's BIOS right now

 

[JeffreyP55]

Let me clarify... swapping the cable causes ALL fans to WORK. After a reboot from power completely off all three fans will not work again until I swap the cables again (back to the first position they weren't working in, in the first place). So... all fans work and the power to all fans work... it just stops working somehow after a reboot.

I have already reset Bios and have no idea what to do... I'm on my way to seeing if there is an update for my motherboard's BIOS right now

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Duke Eastwood]

So what I found out was: none of the fans were connected to the designated fan connections on the motherboard (there are 3). All there of mine were connected into this rats nest of a harness that seems to go to the front of the computer up near the USB port on the top of the computer. So up there is something I'd completely forgotten about... a slider above the USB ports that does nothing. I'm pretty sure it's meant to be a way of controlling the fans' speed. All of these connections seem to connect to the motherboard at the "F panel" section; which I now realize is where the front light on my computer is connected, which also doesn't work anymore.... so the F panel doesn't seem to be working.

None the less, I disconnected the three fans from the extenders leading to the dimmer and connected them to the three separate pin connectors on the motherboard; which has so far caused the fans to work on reboots and from a complete power off.