Question Loud grinding noise from (I think?) my AIO Water Cooler

[erkanektiren]

Hey guys!

I purchased a be quiet! Silent Loop 120mm Watercooler for my PC Build a little over a year ago. Recently, like a week ago, my PC has been making a loud grinding-like noise. At first, the noise went away when I shut down and restarted the computer (a normal restart didnt help, it had to be completely shut down). Now, the sound will NOT go away.

I am not completely sure where the sound is coming from, at first I thought the sound came from the fans but after turning them off and on the sound seems to be coming from my watercooler. I have a video of the sound and I'll try to add it to this post somehow.

EDIT: Here is the link to the video (the sound is very loud, lower your volume)

View: https://youtu.be/e8LErykflDU


Does anyone have a clue what this can be about? I read somewhere about bubbles in the cooler however it seems as if their noise is different from the ones mine is making. Appreciate any help!

 

[scout_03]

try to press one of the tube from pump to cooler when system is on and see if sound change .

 

[rubix_1011]

That's a very interesting noise and incredibly bothersome.

Here are some things to do to isolate the noise:

Disconnect the case fans and see if the noise persists, It certainly does not sound like a fan, but at least this can help you rule that out. Also, you can apply pressure to the center hub of a fan with a finger to slow/stop it; this can be done if you don't want to disconnect the cabling.

Power down and remove the graphics card, boot back up. Most systems will still boot at least into BIOS without a display adapter and the cooler and any other items should be running (AIO pump or fans, etc). Once you have determined the sound isn't coming from the GPU fans, power down, replace the card, etc.

Similarly, you can disconnect any platter/spinning drives in attempt to see if they are causing that noise.

Lastly, find the power for the AIO pump, whether that is a PWM cable or power from SATA or MOLEX. Disconnecting this for a brief time won't cause issues with overheating, but you would want to only disconnect for a short time before re-connecting.

Curious to see what you find out.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

very odd sound.
like rubix_1011 stated, try stopping each fan(case, radiator, & GPU) one at a time and see if one of them could possibly be making it.
also try and make sure it is not some kind of a motherboard warning alarm. check the manual and product site for a description of any alarms.

outside of the issue; the setup of your fans/cooler doesn't appear to be the best layout. having the front fan(s) pulling in cooler air and your rear and top fans blowing out warmer air is usually the best option.
placing the cooler's radiator and fan in the top front-most position should be beneficial with overall system temps. pulling in cooler air brought in from the front and pushing it out through the top.
and placing case fans 2x front, 1x rear, & 1x top rear-most.

 

[erkanektiren]

That's a very interesting noise and incredibly bothersome.

Here are some things to do to isolate the noise:

Disconnect the case fans and see if the noise persists, It certainly does not sound like a fan, but at least this can help you rule that out. Also, you can apply pressure to the center hub of a fan with a finger to slow/stop it; this can be done if you don't want to disconnect the cabling.

Power down and remove the graphics card, boot back up. Most systems will still boot at least into BIOS without a display adapter and the cooler and any other items should be running (AIO pump or fans, etc). Once you have determined the sound isn't coming from the GPU fans, power down, replace the card, etc.

Similarly, you can disconnect any platter/spinning drives in attempt to see if they are causing that noise.

Lastly, find the power for the AIO pump, whether that is a PWM cable or power from SATA or MOLEX. Disconnecting this for a brief time won't cause issues with overheating, but you would want to only disconnect for a short time before re-connecting.

Curious to see what you find out.

Thank you for the tips! I unplugged the 12V pump connection from the mobo and the sound is indeed gone. What does this mean exactly and am I in trouble?

 

[erkanektiren]

very odd sound.
like rubix_1011 stated, try stopping each fan(case, radiator, & GPU) one at a time and see if one of them could possibly be making it.
also try and make sure it is not some kind of a motherboard warning alarm. check the manual and product site for a description of any alarms.

outside of the issue; the setup of your fans/cooler doesn't appear to be the best layout. having the front fan(s) pulling in cooler air and your rear and top fans blowing out warmer air is usually the best option.
placing the cooler's radiator and fan in the top front-most position should be beneficial with overall system temps. pulling in cooler air brought in from the front and pushing it out through the top.
and placing case fans 2x front, 1x rear, & 1x top rear-most.

My current setup blows in from the front, and pulls out from the back and top. I assume that this is wrong? Should the water cooler fans be pushing out air or pulling in air?

 

[erkanektiren]

try to press one of the tube from pump to cooler when system is on and see if sound change .

I tried this, is a bit hard however since the tubes are protected by metal springs. Didnt seem to change the sound however.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

My current setup blows in from the front, and pulls out from the back and top. I assume that this is wrong? Should the water cooler fans be pushing out air or pulling in air?

if you have it setup in a push/pull configuration with fans blowing into it and fans pulling away at the same time it is the best option for almost any radiator. but you are pushing the warmed air into the case and raising the overall temperature inside. this should be avoided if possible.
having this setup blowing out through the top would avoid adding any heat to the rest of the system.

the way i described in the original post is the best option for your setup.

Thank you for the tips! I unplugged the 12V pump connection from the mobo and the sound is indeed gone. What does this mean exactly and am I in trouble?

are the fans also powered by this connection or are they plugged into separate fan ports? it may be the pump making the noise but rule out that it is definitely not the fans first.

 

[erkanektiren]

if you have it setup in a push/pull configuration with fans blowing into it and fans pulling away at the same time is the best option for almost any radiator. but you are pushing the warmed air into the case and raising the overall temperature inside. this should be avoided if possible.
having this setup blowing out through the top would avoid adding any heat to the rest of the system.

the way i described in the original post it is the best option for your setup.
are the fans also powered by this connection or are they plugged into separate fan ports? it may be the pump making the noise but rule out that it is definitely not the fans first.

Thank you! I will take a look at how I can fix my layout. So the water cooler emits warm air? Makes sense I guess, I'm a hard rookie lol.

Regarding the pump, it seems to be the only thing powered by the connection I removed. The other fans are on seperate ports.

 

[grimfox]

The pump is likely bad/going bad. If it's under warranty contact the manufacturer. If not then you'll want to buy a replacement cooler.

 

[rubix_1011]

That isn't a sound you want coming from a cooler. Time for an RMA or refund.

 

[erkanektiren]

That isn't a sound you want coming from a cooler. Time for an RMA or refund.

Yeah I was hoping this was not the case but I was pretty sure it was ** judging from the sound. Thanks for the input everyone, I'll try and get a new one!

 

[rubix_1011]

Glad to help, hopefully you can get some quick resolution. If not, you know what to avoid spending your money on in the future.

Just a reminder, try to keep the swearing to a minimum. This is part of forum policy.

 

[erkanektiren]

Glad to help, hopefully you can get some quick resolution. If not, you know what to avoid spending your money on in the future.

Just a reminder, try to keep the swearing to a minimum. This is part of forum policy.

My bad brother, I'll keep that in mind for future posts and replies