Anyone know how to fix a power supply fan?

[shadowx089]

I just bought a power supply and it works fine.....I got it to power my HD 4870 which I like very much but he problem is this Silent fan power supply is ironicly enough...making a strange noise somewhere between high average speed. I have it on Average fan speed from the switch on the back but its fine right now but later it will start making a rattling noise, Its really annoying.

So besides a random ratteling fan at some random speed near average I like it.

I wanted to know if anyone would know how to fix this strange little problem. I can take apart the power supply but I wouldn't know how to fix the fan or even why its making a noise just above average...maybe its off or tapping something idk.

On high speed its fine....wooshy...lol.....average its okay for a while but seems to speed up just enough to make that strange noise.

I figured I ask before I have to return it to the retailer I bought it from....sigh.....I hate waiting for mail men.

 

[geofelt]

Taking the cover off your PSU will probably void the warranty.
Check to see if there is something loose that might be touching the fan blades.
Otherwise exchange it while you can. Those small annoying things can only get worse.

 

[dallasjoh]

+1 on RMA

 

[cliffro]

I have a similar situation....Except I have already voided my warranty due to the same issue the first time.

I have an Ultra X-Connect 2 550w PSU. Great PSU plenty stable enough for what I have right now. But the stupid fan is crap....

Long story short:
About 5-6 months ago, it started making a clicking sound it was random, only seemed to do it every once in a while, well I was going to RMA to Ultra since I had a L.L.W. and they are in the same state, till I realized they needed/wanted me to "purchase" the replacement and then get refunded after they received my defective one.

Well at the time I literally did not have the funds to make said "purchase" but that noise was getting worse and more frequent...So I decided a properly working PSU now(then) was better and opened the PSU.

The cause of the sound to me was the Mesh covering the fan had, came unglued. I tried gluing it back on but it still did it. so I just removed it.

FastForward to Now, Its doing it again, and in similar fashion do not have the funds for (the forseeable future, 2-3 months) to replace the entire thing.

So I am considering replacing the fan, something I should have done in the first place.

My question is, will replacing the fan with one that does not have a shroud impact it much(cooling)?

And would there be any issues splicing wires since the current fan is a 2 wire?

Here is the fan for reference to the Shroud.

 

[shadowx089]

Okay strange, i set the fan speed for my power supply to high to make the rattling stop and after a few hours I got sick of the wooshing of air pumping out of it..lol.....so I put it back to average....and it has not rattled in a long 6 hours.

Hmm, now I question if I need to return it....oh well I got like 20 more days to decide.

 

[rubix_1011]

RMA...you are better off sending it back and getting a working PSU without worrying about screwing something up. Remember, its the single component that powers the rest of your machine...is it worth it if you screw something up and fries everything in the box?

 

[shadowx089]

Idk, I'll consider my options.

Cliffro, thats funny my old power supply has a that fan, the Ultra one...I just took it out of my old power supply not really gonna need it...but it still works and so I keep the old power supply.
But the fan worked fine on my Ultra power supply.

Coolmax is the one I'm complaining about....sigh.

 

[cliffro]

Well Last month mine became 2 years old, an saw most of those two years running close to 24/7.

Compared to an average user mine probably saw a lot more use. And again I have no issues with the performance of it either, just that stupid fan.

I just know that I want to be sure eliminating a wire from a Case fan to hook up the power to it wont cause any issues before I go about doing it.

I'm still undecided on which 120mm fan Im going to use. Ive been looking at a Xigmatek and a pair of CoolerMaster fans(for redundancy if one fails) They are only a dollar apart price wise. And both 3pin connectors, although aren't some of the 4pin really only 2 wire? Making conversion even easier?

 

[shadowx089]

hehe, oh this is just mind boggling. I took out my new power supply and put it in its box and put my old one back in and its making engine sound....I was like omg!..lol.....not this one too.....So since this one is like 5 years old or more...I took the metal grate off....and it worked.

Hmmm, now I'm wondering if my new power supply noise is coming from the grate...perhaps it loose? not put on correctly and it vibrates with the fan and makes a noise?

Bah!.....but opening this power supply seems harder than my old one. THe new one doesn't seem to come apart but the sides.