Question PSU Fan Constantly Turns On And Off

[Emircan]

Hello everyone,

I was having some problem while booting up my PC, so I forcefully made it open the troubleshooting screen. While doing so, I switched on and off from the button of my PSU, at the back of my case. I did it a couple of times. Anyways, half an hour later, while I was playing a video game, PC shut itself down out of nowhere. I booted it up and the same thing happened. After messing around inside my case, I figured that it was burning. Therefore I concluded that my PC was shutting down due to overheating. I cleaned the dust and kept it off until it was cold again. When I restarted, I realised something: the fan below my PSU was working for some time, around 5-6 seconds, and was shutting down after that. After staying deactivated for 5-6 seconds, it was repeating the same thing. Now my question is that, is this loop normal? I mean, can it be automatically turning on and off itself? For example, I figured that it kept doing this despite heating up while playing Bannerlord. Is there a way to check this, from the software? I really wouldn't like to do things inside the case.

My specs are:
AMD fx 8350 eight-core processor as CPU
AMD RX 580 as GPU
MSI 970 GAMING as the motherboard
12 GB DDR3 RAM
Corsair CX 750M grey label as PSU

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

From the title I assume you are referring to the PSU fan --- not sure what you mean by "the fan below my PSU"?

When powered on, the PSU fan should spin all the time and at a fixed speed.

Please confirm you are referring to the PSU fan?

 

[Emircan]

From the title I assume you are referring to the PSU fan --- not sure what you mean by "the fan below my PSU"?

When powered on, the PSU fan should spin all the time and at a fixed speed.

Please confirm you are referring to the PSU fan?

I am referring to my PSU fan, but I thought that PSU's and fans are two separate parts. This one inside my case seems to be one unit.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

A PSU fan is always inside the PSU, behind a mesh grill on the PSU itself.

Any other fans are either case fans or CPU/GPU fans.

 

[Emircan]

A PSU fan is always inside the PSU, behind a mesh grill on the PSU itself.

Any other fans are either case fans or CPU/GPU fans.

This is what my PSU looks like: https://ibb.co/kX8032h
The fan is looking upside down. Isn't this how this is supposed to be?

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Fan pointing down is okay as long as there's empty space below it for air to blow out from it.

 

[Emircan]

Fan pointing down is okay as long as there's empty space below it for air to blow out from it.

Alright, no problem on that. What about my fan problem? How can I fix this?

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

If it's the PSU fan --- replace the PSU 'cos you really should never open a PSU (potentially dangerous).

If it's case fan, it's quite normal for them to fluctuate in speed according to cooling requirements at the time if the fan is connected to motherboard sensor. Any doubts about the fan itself, replace it.

 

[Emircan]

If it's the PSU fan --- replace the PSU 'cos you really should never open a PSU (potentially dangerous).

If it's case fan, it's quite normal for them to fluctuate in speed according to cooling requirements at the time if the fan is connected to motherboard sensor. Any doubts about the fan itself, replace it.

The problem is in the fan that is inside my PSU, the fan under the iron bars. So you are telling me that there is no control over this fan from the software? And I need to replace my PSU?

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Yes, PSU must be replaced. There are no user-servicable parts inside a PSU, and it's dangerous to crack them open anyway (risk of shock even when it's unplugged from mains socket).

The PSU fan speed is not controlled from elsewhere in the system, absolutely not.

 

[Emircan]

Yes, PSU must be replaced. There are no user-servicable parts inside a PSU, and it's dangerous to crack them open anyway (risk of shock even when it's unplugged from mains socket).

The PSU fan speed is not controlled from elsewhere in the system, absolutely not.

That's what I was afraid of 🙁 Now how am I going to replace this PSU in this quarantine environment. I opened one side of my case and will play games/run applications that will not use that much power. I hope this will prevent overheating and not cause some permanent damage to other components. Anyways, thank you!

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

"Now how am I going to replace this PSU in this quarantine environment?"

Online vendors >> home delivery (eg Amazon etc).

Any reason you can't do that?

From Amazon UK website:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Can I place an order? Will Amazon deliver my parcel?


Yes, Amazon continues to serve customers. You can check the current delivery times at order checkout or via Your Orders in your account. When selecting a delivery address, be aware that companies and businesses may be closed and unable to receive parcels.

 

[Emircan]

"Now how am I going to replace this PSU in this quarantine environment?"

Online vendors >> home delivery (eg Amazon etc).

Any reason you can't do that?

From Amazon UK website:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Can I place an order? Will Amazon deliver my parcel?


Yes, Amazon continues to serve customers. You can check the current delivery times at order checkout or via Your Orders in your account. When selecting a delivery address, be aware that companies and businesses may be closed and unable to receive parcels.

The biggest reason would be me. I can't do the replacement because I have absolutely no knowledge about hardware working. And from what I heard, PSU's are kinda dangerous if you're going to move them around.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

The biggest reason would be me. I can't do the replacement because I have absolutely no knowledge about hardware working. And from what I heard, PSU's are kinda dangerous if you're going to move them around.

So you didn't build that PC?

You don't know anyone who can help you with new PSU installation?

 

[Emircan]

So you didn't build that PC?

You don't know anyone who can help you with new PSU installation?

No, I got help from a friend. Well, I will take my PC to a family friend vendor, so that he can help me with the PSU problem. Maybe that is something he can fix, but maybe this will need an actual replacement. We'll see.