New Laptop Fan runs when laptop is off!!!!

Hi,

I have a strange problem. I just replaced the fan in my laptop. The laptop works fine but the fan runs constantly, even when the laptop is off! The only way to stop the fan from running is to disconect the laptop from power and remove the battery. Any Ideas on how to get the fan to operate normally? The old fan does not do this. The laptop is a Sony Vaio VGN-SZ340.

Thanks for any advice!

 

Looks like the fan controller circuitry is broken. RMA the laptop.


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RMA the Laptop? Do you mean fan?

 

Have you checked for possibly a BIOS setting causing this issue?

 

Agree. It most likely isn't the FAN itself. Are you sure you have connected it correctly? Check the connection and all relevant wires.

Do you have any accessible FAN settings in your BIOS? Unless you have an unlocked BIOS, those are usually hidden and not accessible to laptop users.

 

I did check the bios for a setting because I did need to unplug the internal battery. No setting for fans in the bios. The fan is conected correctly. To remove the fan you must take out the motherboard but you can unplug the fan just by accessing the heatsink panel on the bottom. I can plug in the old fan and it works normally (just a bit noisey, thats why I am swapping it out). I am chalking it up to a bad fan. Don't buy at computerlogin.com. They are crooks. $10 for shipping a 2 oz fan with a $10 return fee and a 25% restock fee? Crooks.

 

Could be the FAN then... but I can't really figure out what the reason might be. Normally computer/laptop FANs don't have internal controller... no idea about yours - it seems to be incompatible then or defective

"Return fee"??? US surprises me every single day... and rarely positively I must say! This is a no-go in Europe! This term simply does not exist - you don't like it - you return it. No questions asked, no fees.

 

The strangest thing to me is that it runs while the laptop is off. Even on just Battery. Yup, computerlogin.com is dumb and a lot of the US is as well. A good learning experience for me though. I am a little less dumb knowing that they are dumb -_- Thanks for the advice.

 

Yes, that's quite strange... But even when the laptop is off, some components are still under voltage. Something is not controlling the fan correctly or not at all I guess. Does it change speed when the CPU gets warmer? Is is some kind of a standard FAN or is it specifically for your laptop? Is it an original part or an alternative solution from another manufacturer?

 

You may want to double check the fan connector. On some laptops it's possible to plug the fan connector in backwards. There should be a marker tab to guide the plug in the correct direction (most laptops are three pin plugs nowadays), but since the fan header is often open on the other side, the guide pin wont prevent it from going in backwards. Double check that connection.

 

This is exactly what I suspected, but he says he checked it. Do it once again and if possible - try to plug it backwards!

 

Gracy, I scanned thru the thread and missed that post somehow - sorry. Yeah I'd go ahead and try it backwards even if you think its in correctly. The wires on that fan may be reversed. They're fairly universal, with power and ground (red and black or orange) being at the ends and the middle (grey some some machines) being variable. You can't hurt the laptop electrically by plugging it in backwards (other than indirectly because the fan wont be working).