Sony Vaio Z13 (VPC-Z13) Fan Speed 100% (although cold), emergency shut down, no Software issue

Dear all,

Following problem occurs with my Sony Vaio VPC-Z13 Notebook (bought in Mid 2011) from time to time.

The fan speed increases to 100% although the device itself is really cold. The fan only blows a lot of cold air to the outside. After some time (approx. 1 to 2 minutes), the notebook shuts down. Probably, the notebook “thinks” that becomes is too hot… However, all temperatures are fine (checked with several programs).

This issue stays sometimes for two to three days, sometimes for more than a month – I can’t use the notebook in this time because it will always shut down before, while or after starting the operating system. I than always try different things like removing the battery for a long time or switch the notebook on only with AC and without battery. Also different graphic settings (it has a switch for “speed”, “stamina” and “auto”) do not make any difference. After the mentioned random period of time, the issue is gone and everything is fine again. I had this issue now for 4 times, shortest time was two days, longest time more than one month.

It is definitely NOT a software issue. When I switch on the notebook and go to BIOS or just wait at the TrueCrypt Password screen, the fan immediately speeds up to 100%, I can wait 2 to 3 minutes and the device shuts down – everything before any access to operation system. Also temperatures displayed in BIOS are cold.

Does someone have the same problem? Any ideas for a solution?

Thanks in advance!

 

Check the fan cable and connector. It seems that the feedback from the fan (speed data) is not reaching the embedded controller which 1. speeds up the fan to maximum, and 2. shuts off the system thinking that the fan is not rotating.

Contrary to what you might think, this could still be a software issue. See my posts in this forum about my struggles with a similar issue.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/716628-vpcz1-fan-cycling-off-every-4-seconds-so.html?highlight=
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...ost-always-laptop-overheating.html?highlight=

 

Thank you for this hint - sounds very logical and I did not thought of this possibility.

Fan cable checked. Everything seems to be fine - the connector was plugged in alright, the cables are not loose at all. Of course, I could not check the soldering points inside the fan .

This is such a stupid problem. Now, everything is fine, but tomorrow the fan could speed-up again. If (or better: when) this problem occurs again, I will try to buy a new fan. Do you have any suggestions where to buy one? I found one item at ebay for aprox. 150 $ - seems to be a little bit expensive for a rotating engine with flaps ;-).

btw @antimer: your fan problems sound even stranger ;-)

 

He he. In my case the fan had jammed solid, and the embedded controller had tried several times to run it, and had then triggered a shutdown. It seems that Windows detected that the embedded controller was shutting down the system repeatedly, and had subsequently disabled it, preventing it from running!

If (when) the problem occurs again, try browsing through your program files folder and checking the properties of the files in the Sony utilities installed there. Also, look at the programs blocked by DEP (data execution prevention) to see if anything Sony related is listed there.

 

Check this out

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...noise-almost-out-warranty-makes-me-angry.html