PSU Fans quit working help needed!

Hi, I bough a brand new computer last year and purchased an ultra 600 watt PSU for it in April. Anyways my PSU has been working without any problems until the other day.

The fans just stopped spinning. I bought a can of compressed air and used it to clean out the dust, but the fans are still not working.

It is still under warranty, so I can ship it off for a replacement as soon as I call them. But I was wondering if a normal fan like one used to cool apartments in the summer would work as an alternative? I have my computer near my window and its winter time here and if I crank the window a bit and blow the cold air through the psu with a regular fan would that be ok?

Or should I just forget about that and get a replacement PSU as soon as possible?

Thanks.

If it's under warranty, I would send it in right away. No sense using something that is broke, if you can replace it for free.

if you know what your doing you can easily solder in new, higher powered/better quality fans but its generally not what i'd recommend.

your best either buying a new psu (they are cheap) or send it back under warranty.

if you put your hand on the comp case right where the psu is, it should not be much more than warm. if its really warm or hot then you've got problems.

i have known ppl to jam a regular fan right up against the psu and keep using it for a while but eventually you need to deal with it properly.

if your psu over heats or failts it may actually take a bunch of other components with it. it all depends on the quality of the psu

What specific model Ultra 600? Ultra make pretty good supplies. They aren't like "cheap" or anything. Some do spin down their fans as part of power saving features. I mostly use Enermax cuz the local guy is so easy to deal with. I have a Galaxy 1000 that shuts it's fans off... but it's supposed to... it also runs after I shut it down... it's supposed to. All kinds of bells and whistles and beeps and tones. LOL.

See if you have the manual for your model Ultra or get one online. If is at or near warranty just swap out the fans if they are always on fans and have failed. JMC make nice replacement fans. It would be very starnge for both fans to fail at the same time though - just boom stop. It's possible though. They have a connector to the board so they are easy to change. You could read the rating on the fan and scrounge something similar from a fragged supply maybe.

Best luck,

Vic

I don't want to change the fans as I have no experience with PSU's and I read that you can kill yourself if you accidentally touch something you aren't suppose too.

Also the second I open it up is the second I void the lifetime warranty. No use in voiding that.

Its kind of funny the household fan i'm using now seems to keep the PSU a hell of a lot cooler then when my 2 computer fans worked.

The PSU is always cool to the touch now even under high loads because the household fan I'm using is very powerful.

But I agree I am going to ship it as soon as I can, because I could be dealing with a bigger problem then just the fans not working.

So far the voltages seem stable though. But just to be safe I will ship it out.

Thanks for the advice.

I will search for my PSU manual though as well.

The PSU is an X-Finity 600 Watt PSU.

Well, go buy a new one or wait for warranty. Yes there are capacitors inside... I've been zapped. Yeah, some folks shouldn't be allowed to have screwdrivers, multi-meters, Fluke devices or sharp pointy objects either. LOL. That's rich llike putting a fan on it to blow on it. The kid who stays with us is splitting a gut laughing her 18 year old blonde ass off.

Next time find a good shop... create a relationship of trust and purchasing loyalty, one where you plunk broken stuff on the counter and you are given a new one by the actual retailer. Thanx, Gerry a 1000 times over. Retail. Ugh, what a vulgar word.

Sorry you can't fix stuff... or have the condfidence to learn. It ain't rocket science. Best luck.

Vic

[edit on 16-2-2008 by V Kaminski]

reply to post by V Kaminski


Go to the shop get some new fans and have a go! Remember to stand in a bucket of water and wear tin foil gloves!

I'm kidding... Do not do the above! Just shop it, costs a bit more, but ultimately safer.

MonKey

reply to post by V Kaminski


If you bothered to read my posts. Yes I know a lot about computers. I know how to install parts. I know what I am doing. But like I said opening the PSU box VOIDS MY WARRANTY. Thats the main reason I'm not going to do it.

Well, if it's under warranty than get a new one. Do not attempt to run with a broken PSU fan as that could potentially fry your system.

And I would expect knowingly running your system with the PSU fan off would void warranty too.

[edit on 18/2/2008 by C0bzz]

i have a beef with ultra/tiger actually. had an ultra psu that blew up after 6 months (literally, LOUD pop). it was the fancy one with led's and windows. i called to get it replaced and was told that they weren't making those anymore so i had to settle for the plain silver model. went to tiger direct a month later and saw a shelf full of the LED/window model. then about a year ago i bought a used pc. (usually build my own but this wasn't a bad deal.) it had a stick of ultra ram in it that went bad. no problem, it has a lifetime warranty - no need for a receipt. called them up and they almost refused to replace it because apparently it was part of a dual channel/2 stick pack and they wanted both of them back. after about a week of emailing back and forth i finally convinced them that the bottom line is that it was a piece of their ram that was under warranty and that they need to replace it.

anyway, if you're comfortable/careful, go ahead and just open up the psu, unscrew the fan from the casing (just don't touch any of the "guts" in the psu.) snip the wire. get a new fan. stick the wires in the connector or snip it, twist them together, and tape it up. screw it back in and you're good to go.

disclaimer: by reading my suggestion you inherently agree to not sue me for any reason.