Basic PSU Question: should fan immediately start up?

[hithere_1975]

If I plug my power supply on and flip on the power switch, should the fan of the PSU start working? I'm building a computer and I was testing multiple fans on a power supply. I got nothing. So, I took it out, plugged it in, and turned it on, just to see if there was any indication of any activity, and there is no fan movement at all within the PSU and no indication to me that it is working. Should the fan start up immediately, or does it start up after a bit?

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

yes

 

[hithere_1975]

Wonderful

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Sorry, but fans are always the first thing on, or noticebly so

 

[hithere_1975]

So much for XFX! And I made a major screw up--I turned in the UPC code for a mail in rebate. I didn't even think about the possibility of it not working. I fear a customer service nightmare is ahead.

 

[hunter315]

The fan will not start up until the PSU starts up, setting the switch on the back of the PSU to on does NOT turn it on, it needs the green wire shorted to ground to tell it to turn on. Test your power supply using the method shown in this video, because the method you described using should NOT cause the fan to start up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Did you register your card?

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Yea, you do need a ground to complete the circuit

 

[hithere_1975]

Yes it is registered. This helps. I am obviously new at this, so I figured I would run into problems. I'm currently in cable organization hell for all of the fans, but once I get that set up, along with the motherboard, then I'll test it out again. I was NOT doing it right, according to the video, so more than likely, I'm ok. I'll give an update later. Thank you so much, guys. I'm sure I'll have more crises throughout the next day or two.

 

[Randomacts]

Some good PSUs like cosiar do not start there fans until they get about a 200w load on them.

 

[hunter315]

Many of them need some load which is why that video suggests a case fan, because even if you have a PSU that starts out fanless(no corsairs do AFAIK but some Seasonics do) you will see the case fan spin up telling you the PSU is alive.

 

[Randomacts]

Many of them need some load which is why that video suggests a case fan, because even if you have a PSU that starts out fanless(no corsairs do AFAIK but some Seasonics do) you will see the case fan spin up telling you the PSU is alive.

Lies mine does this, and a few other corsairs do.

 

[hunter315]

which one do you have? i had never read about any of them with a required fan start load

 

[Randomacts]

which one do you have? i had never read about any of them with a required fan start load

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015




Oh...

I thought you meant at the point the PSU fan turns on.

 

[Paperdoc]

You may NOT have any problem at all! The point is that some PSU's have built into them fan control circuits that regulate its speed according to the measured internal temperature within the PSU itself. It's the same principle as case cooling - you only run the PSU fan as fast as necessary to keep its internal temperature under control. On that type of design, the PSU fan will NOT start up right away. In fact, it will not start until the PSU is delivering enough power to the computer and all its devices that it generates some heat inside the PSU itself. So even if you switch it on, connect a tiny load like one fan to its Molex connector, and short the appropriate wires to get it to "start", that internal PSU fan still may not come on because it is doing so little work.

To check whether your PSU is like this, read its manual carefully. I have at least one PSU of this type and its manual clearly tells you the fan will NOT start up until the PSU warms up, so don't worry!

 

[hithere_1975]

Best answer selected by hithere_1975.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey