The fan is not spinning -- what is the most likely cause?

Hello all,

After some good years, my D610 started to lose USB connections and freeze after about 20 minutes.

My first guess was there is some shortage due to dust, so I disassembled entire laptop, cleaned it (there was not much regular dust, rather tiny plastic dust, I think because of friction inside fan), and put it together. It didn't help at all, the same effects.

So I checked the fan, if it works, because it might be due to overheating -- and this time I was right.

When I turn laptop on, fan is not moving, the BIOS boot up kicks in, and at this point fan jerks like it would like to move, but it does not. And it stays it that way, and computer just gets hotter.

I can move the blades myself, and fan spins without any problem for long time.

Before I buy new fan, I would like to make sure I didn't miss some "obvious" thing -- so does it look more likely the fan is broken (I didn't notice any smoke during work, or sparks), or this is something outside the fan (sensors telling fan to stop).

In other words -- the most likely culprit is the fan itself here, or something that controls the fan (power, sensors, etc)?

Thank you in advance.

Cheers,

 

If the fan jerks it is trying to move but can't, either a winding or brush issue etc. Also the fact you say it will spin for a long time if manually started says it wants to run. Unfortunately fans go and it sounds alot like yours has..................

 

Try spraying Jigaloo (silicone) to the motor/bearing assembly and spin it with hand for about 2 minutes

 

Thank you, for the record "if manually started" -- I meant it spins like you spin a wheel in a bicycle to check if there is a friction, NOT something like first planes, when somebody has to spin the propeller to start the engine, and then it continued to spin.

Anyway, a fan to buy for me

 

I found out, that this is a lubricant, so it seems you think the fan has problems with friction, it is not the case -- the fan spins effortlessly (when I blow a little air at it for example).

 

My bad luck -- the fan arrived, I plugged it in, however the results are exactly the same -- it just jerks when BIOS is booting up.

So it is not fan, if not -- what then? A shortage -- were to look for it? (I already sprayed entire motherboard with pressurized air).

 

That should be just a plain old 3 wire 5V DC fan. One wire is a tach. From what your saying I would guess a motherboard problem, not enough startup current to kick over the fan but enough to keep it running? Old laptop so I would just download I8kfanGUI V3.1, fire it up and never turn it off unless needed. You can use I8kfan to monitor fan speed and set the speed. If you don't get RPM back, then that might point to a fan connector or board problem. GL

 

@hydra, thank you but I didn't say MB is able to keep it running. _I_ am -- by blowing air at the fan, or by spinning it by hand -- I did it to check if fan is not stuck (mechanically). It is not, talking it terms of friction, the fan is perfect.

So again, computer is NOT able to start fan (it just jerks) and it is NOT able to keep fan spinning when I give it a hand.

 

Ah, OK. How about checking for your 5Vdc at the fan header? Red and black should be the power wires. If you don't see (5vdc), or only a volt or two, then you may be able to run it off a 5vdc usb port or pick off 5vdc on the MB, or, just power up with an external 5vdc supply. You can check for a MB on ebay or ask Dell for a falt rate repair if your not able to solder.

Old laptops are just that, hopefully you can get the fan powered up to get you some time for other options. I ran my old dell e1705 sitting on a 110v box fan waititng for dell at home to arrive, but needed to work now! Both fans were DOA so needed MB swap.

GL!

 

If you have a way to tap power from the usb try the fans just to be sure they both run. There is the chance your new fan is a DOA. It is also possible the pins on the header just are no longer making good contacts so you may want to check them as well. Also try a boot without a fan at all, if it doesn't boot or errors then you will know thte MB sees the fan just is not running it.