I swear, this just started happening today. I've had a 450W BFG PSU for about a year now, and just today every so often the fan starts developing this "rattling" noise, and when its really loud, it sounds like a diesel engine idling. Normally a quick smack on the case temporarily fixes it, but then it comes right back again some time later.
I don't know what to do. If BFG hadn't gone under, I would probably RMA it. But since that's not an option, I've only got two. Buy a new fan, and risk installing it myself. Or buy a new PSU.
Maybe there might be something wrong with the fan that I can fix, who knows. I would just like my PC to be somewhat quiet again.
If you are 100% sure its coming from the PSU then you might want to open it, unscrew the fan and put a couple drops of oil around the bearing. Keep in mind the capacitors in a PSU can still hold a charge and they can potentially kill you, its fairly simple to get to the fan but if you don't know what you're doing take it to someone who does.
[QUOTE=M2k3;26684274]If you are 100% sure its coming from the PSU then you might want to open it, unscrew the fan and put a couple drops of oil around the bearing. Keep in mind the capacitors in a PSU can still hold a charge and they can potentially kill you, its fairly simple to get to the fan but if you don't know what you're doing take it to someone who does.[/QUOTE]
Alright, I give that a try tomorrow. I'll see if I have any lubricating oil around the house. I already know they can possibly kill you. They use some bigass capacitors in PSU's.
And yeah, I'm pretty sure its the PSU. Holding the reset button on the case turns off the GPU fans, and changing the CPU fan speed doesn't change the noise, and it sounds like its coming from the PSU.
unplug and power the fuck down 1 hour beforehand
and then hold the power button for 30sec to 1 min
Just buy a new power supply.
If I remember correctly, the best way to discharge those capacitors is with a socketed 100 watt light-bulb. The fastest way is with a screwdriver, if you don't mind arc-welding bits of it.
Do not unscrew the PSU. The capacitors are at high voltage and enough capacity to kill you if you are touching them incorrectly. Buy a new PSU or send it back for warranty purpose.
[QUOTE=aVoN;26685750]Do not unscrew the PSU. The capacitors are at high voltage and enough capacity to kill you if you are touching them incorrectly. Buy a new PSU or send it back for warranty purpose.[/QUOTE]
You clearly don't understand how PSUs work, or even basic electronic components for that matter. The only way you're going to get zapped by a capacitor is if you unscrew the damn board and pull it out of the PSU while it's on (which it would probably short out and explode long before then) and touch the leads on the bottom of the capacitor.
The [i]absolute[/i] highest voltage present in a PSU is 220v, for both 110 and 220v mains systems; And that voltage is only present on 1/3 or less of the PSU board. The other 2/3 of the power board where the rectification, regulation and filtering are all +/- 12v AC/DC or less, which are woefully inadequate to cause anything other than minor annoyance akin to those gag handheld battery shockers.
Even [i]if[/i] you managed to touch mains voltage in the PSU, it would be no worse than brushing against a frayed electrical cord, and this all assumes you're dumb enough to open it and prod around in it
with your hands or a screwdriver while it's on.
Turned OFF is a completely different story. Once you remove the PSUs power source, bleeder resistors will quickly drain all capacitors in the PSU rendering them harmless. In the case you have a cheap wofat PSU that doesn't have bleeder resistors, you can leave the motherboard or any device plugged in and press the power button once to drain any latent energy out.
If he wants to fix/replace the fan in his PSU, it's more than fine to do so. I'd advise him to invest in a soldering iron though since most of the time the fan wires are soldered onto the PSU board, instead of a connector
[QUOTE=bohb;26686458]You clearly don't understand how PSUs work, or even basic electronic components for that matter. The only way you're going to get zapped by a capacitor is if you unscrew the damn board and pull it out of the PSU while it's on (which it would probably short out and explode long before then) and touch the leads on the bottom of the capacitor.
The [I]absolute[/I] highest voltage present in a PSU is 220v, for both 110 and 220v mains systems; And that voltage is only present on 1/3 or less of the PSU board. The other 2/3 of the power board where the rectification, regulation and filtering are all +/- 12v AC/DC or less, which are woefully inadequate to cause anything other than minor annoyance akin to those gag handheld battery shockers.
Even [I]if[/I] you managed to touch mains voltage in the PSU, it would be no worse than brushing against a frayed electrical cord, and this all assumes you're dumb enough to open it and prod around in it
with your hands or a screwdriver while it's on.
Turned OFF is a completely different story. Once you remove the PSUs power source, bleeder resistors will quickly drain all capacitors in the PSU rendering them harmless. In the case you have a cheap wofat PSU that doesn't have bleeder resistors, you can leave the motherboard or any device plugged in and press the power button once to drain any latent energy out.
If he wants to fix/replace the fan in his PSU, it's more than fine to do so. I'd advise him to invest in a soldering iron though since most of the time the fan wires are soldered onto the PSU board, instead of a connector[/QUOTE]
:irony:You are the one who doesn't understand how a PSU works.
BTW, if you touched the mains in the PSU, you'd be dead or very badly burned. Getting shocked by 12V is no picnic either. Assuming the normal household current of 15-20 Amps, that's MORE than enough to kill you in any purpose, INCLUDING when the PSU is off and unplugged.
Short: Don't ever open a PSU unless you know EXACTLY how one works.
100mA (powered USB lol) could stop your heart, but 50mA at 20v to 25v across the chest area would do the trick too.
On a related note human blood = 550 ohms...
[QUOTE={ABK}AbbySciuto;26687561]:irony:You are the one who doesn't understand how a PSU works.
BTW, if you touched the mains in the PSU, you'd be dead or very badly burned. Getting shocked by 12V is no picnic either. Assuming the normal household current of 15-20 Amps, that's MORE than enough to kill you in any purpose, INCLUDING when the PSU is off and unplugged.
Short: Don't ever open a PSU unless you know EXACTLY how one works.[/QUOTE]
You're HILARIOUSLY wrong.
It's pretty clear you or the other two people that rated me disagree have never taken a proper science course on electricity, and you're basically blabbing on something you know nothing about.
To put it in simple terms you might understand, just because mains power is capable of pushing out 20 amps, doesn't mean that it always pushes out 20 amps. Human skin in ordinary dry conditions is NOT a good conductor of electricity, and just because you touch the main line feed doesn't mean you will get a 20 amp jolt. This is why when you get zapped by brushing up against a frayed electrical cord you don't get cooked, because the skin's resistance to electrical flow prevents you from getting the full force of the available amperage.
Now if you did something stupid like drop a toaster in the bath with you, then you'd be in a world of hurt since mineralized water (or worse soft water with salt) is an excellent conductor of electricity. You also have a nice earth ground from the metal tub.
And when's the last time you've been zapped by 12v? Did you lick your fingers and put them across a car battery? The skin's resistance in normal circumstances won't let a voltage that small pass through you.
Oh my, what have I done.
[QUOTE=bohb;26688996]You're HILARIOUSLY wrong.
It's pretty clear you or the other two people that rated me disagree have never taken a proper science course on electricity, and you're basically blabbing on something you know nothing about.
To put it in simple terms you might understand, just because mains power is capable of pushing out 20 amps, doesn't mean that it always pushes out 20 amps. Human skin in ordinary dry conditions is NOT a good conductor of electricity, and just because you touch the main line feed doesn't mean you will get a 20 amp jolt. This is why when you get zapped by brushing up against a frayed electrical cord you don't get cooked, because the skin's resistance to electrical flow prevents you from getting the full force of the available amperage.
Now if you did something stupid like drop a toaster in the bath with you, then you'd be in a world of hurt since mineralized water (or worse soft water with salt) is an excellent conductor of electricity. You also have a nice earth ground from the metal tub.
And when's the last time you've been zapped by 12v? Did you lick your fingers and put them across a car battery? The skin's resistance in normal circumstances won't let a voltage that small pass through you.[/QUOTE]
Okay then, just disregard all the warning labels warning you NOT to open or touch anything inside the PSU and go stick your tongue on something in there and tell us how it turns out. Do it, there's no risk of dying at all from what you said. I'm clearly wrong. Just open one up and touch something in there.
[editline]14th December 2010[/editline]
The sarcasm is fucking DRIPPING from this post.
[QUOTE={ABK}AbbySciuto;26690066]Okay then, just disregard all the warning labels warning you NOT to open or touch anything inside the PSU and go stick your tongue on something in there and tell us how it turns out. Do it, there's no risk of dying at all from what you said. I'm clearly wrong. Just open one up and touch something in there.
[editline]14th December 2010[/editline]
The sarcasm is fucking DRIPPING from this post.[/QUOTE]
That's it mister, you're grounded.
clean out all dust inside your computer
[QUOTE=not_Morph53;26690542]That's it mister, you're grounded.[/QUOTE]
...I see what you did there.
[QUOTE={ABK}AbbySciuto;26690066]Okay then, just disregard all the warning labels warning you NOT to open or touch anything inside the PSU and go stick your tongue on something in there and tell us how it turns out. Do it, there's no risk of dying at all from what you said. I'm clearly wrong. Just open one up and touch something in there.[/QUOTE]
The thing is my sad misinformed friend, I've actually built both linear power supplies and switching power supplies from scratch, so I know exactly how they work; Now what exactly have you done to make you know more about electronics than myself?
It's hilarious to see you posting misinformed crap about power supplies when you have no idea how they work. I also assume all of the dumb/disagree ratings are either alts of your account or your personal zombies, and I can care less about them.
[QUOTE={ABK}AbbySciuto]Short: Don't ever open a PSU unless you know EXACTLY how one works.[/QUOTE] Like I said above, I know how they work and gave educated advice on how to fix one. You're just posting bullshit out of your ass to desperately try and make yourself look right.
[QUOTE=bootv2;26692180]why would we believe you've built psu's from scratch?[/QUOTE]
Because I build circuits with components all the time?
[img_thumb]http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/3100/img0038cof.jpg[/img_thumb]
I'm not going to pull out my old external SCSI drive I made a linear power supply for just to naysay you, the drive weighs 40 lb and the case is a pain in the ass to remove.
I gave clear instructions on how to safely discharge the PSU, but nobody bothered reading them.
1) Most reputable PSUs have bleeder resistors to discharge the capacitors when mains power is removed, it only takes a couple of seconds for them to be fully drained. You can tell if you leave the motherboard plugged into the PSU by the standby or network LEDs turning off. Most PSUs also make a short quick whine when the capacitors fully discharge.
2) For cheap garbage wofat noname brand PSUs, they're more dicey (he has a BFG so he doesn't have to worry about this, but if you have like a Dell or HP, you do) Many cheap PSUs often have coil whine (a high pitched irritating buzzing/humming sound) which is caused by the inductor coils resonating, which is a sign they're charged. When you unplug the PSU, you can listen for this sound until it stops, which is an indication the PSU has discharged. Just to be sure you can leave the motherboard plugged in and press the power button once to drain the remaining power out of the PSU.
At those points, the PSUs are safe to open up and handle and won't have charged anything. I'm actually going to recap a bad power supply later today so I'm going to have my hands all inside it.
[QUOTE=bohb;26692896]I gave clear instructions on how to safely discharge the PSU, but nobody bothered reading them.
1) Most reputable PSUs have bleeder resistors to discharge the capacitors when mains power is removed, it only takes a couple of seconds for them to be fully drained. You can tell if you leave the motherboard plugged into the PSU by the standby or network LEDs turning off. Most PSUs also make a short quick whine when the capacitors fully discharge.
2) For cheap garbage wofat noname brand PSUs, they're more dicey (he has a BFG so he doesn't have to worry about this, but if you have like a Dell or HP, you do) Many cheap PSUs often have coil whine (a high pitched irritating buzzing/humming sound) which is caused by the inductor coils resonating, which is a sign they're charged. When you unplug the PSU, you can listen for this sound until it stops, which is an indication the PSU has discharged. Just to be sure you can leave the motherboard plugged in and press the power button once to drain the remaining power out of the PSU.
At those points, the PSUs are safe to open up and handle and won't have charged anything. I'm actually going to recap a bad power supply later today so I'm going to have my hands all inside it.[/QUOTE]
I still prefer the light-bulb trick, because it's so illuminating.
More like a camera flash depending on the bulb draw.
Did you splice the new fan into the existing wire? If you used electrical tape, you might want to check on it from time to time as the glue substance can melt from the heat, and the tape itself can dryrot and expose the bare wire.
[QUOTE=bootv2;26693381]well, personally I wouldn't take the risk. it just doesn't feel right to me. for bohb I understand he would do such thing since he knows how they work. but for me that's different. and I'm just paranoid with devices that can carry a potentially deadly amperage.[/QUOTE]
Send me any devices you want fixed, but don't want to mess with, I'll fix them for S/H + parts cost :downs:
(This assumes it has something only minorly wrong like bad fans / caps / coils, etc. bad ICs and such can be impossible to find due to their usual proprietary nature and soldering difficulty.)
[QUOTE=bohb;26688996]Now if you did something stupid like drop a toaster in the bath with you, then you'd be in a world of hurt since mineralized water (or worse soft water with salt) is an excellent conductor of electricity. You also have a nice earth ground from the metal tub.
[/QUOTE]
Just as an FYI, Mythbusters proved this wrong. It's only dangerous if it's dropped near the metal drain and even then you have to be laying down with your chest near it to be fatal.
Lmao, it works but it could have been better.
Good news! I'm not dead. Opened up the power supply, put some 3-in-one oil on the fan bearing (my mom had some with her hair clippers :v:). It was quite painless honestly (except my finger burns slightly because I got some lube on it). Now only time will tell if it actually runs any quieter. Hasn't done it yet after running for 10 minutes...
Thanks everyone though. If it does start acting up again, I'll just buy a 120 mm fan. It uses a two pin connector so it wouldn't look like it would be hard to swap out.
[editline]14th December 2010[/editline]
Ok, its been well over a half hour, and it seems to be fine. It usually does it by now. I thought it was acting up again, but it was just my GPU fans spinning up :downs:.
[QUOTE=Demache;26698580]Good news! I'm not dead. Opened up the power supply, put some 3-in-one oil on the fan bearing (my mom had some with her hair clippers :v:). It was quite painless honestly (except my finger burns slightly because I got some lube on it). Now only time will tell if it actually runs any quieter. Hasn't done it yet after running for 10 minutes...
Thanks everyone though. If it does start acting up again, I'll just buy a 120 mm fan. It uses a two pin connector so it wouldn't look like it would be hard to swap out.
[editline]14th December 2010[/editline]
Ok, its been well over a half hour, and it seems to be fine. It usually does it by now. I thought it was acting up again, but it was just my GPU fans spinning up :downs:.[/QUOTE]
I half expected this post to be from a family member cussing us out.
Sleeve bearings need a grease to be lubricated, not an oil. The oil you put in it will work fine for awhile, but the friction in the sleeve bearing will eventually burn all of the oil out and it will start rattling again. You can go out to Home Depot or Lowes and get some white lithium grease (the stuff in a squeeze tube, not the aerosol can) in the tools section for about $5.
Use a paint brush or something to swirl it around where you dropped the oil in so it gets worked into the sleeve.
Hm I did not know this, always used oil on squeaky/noisy fans and haven't had a problem yet (used on 24/7 systems) but it appears you're right. I'll have to try out some grease next time it comes up.
[QUOTE=bohb;26704682]Sleeve bearings need a grease to be lubricated, not an oil. The oil you put in it will work fine for awhile, but the friction in the sleeve bearing will eventually burn all of the oil out and it will start rattling again. You can go out to Home Depot or Lowes and get some white lithium grease (the stuff in a squeeze tube, not the aerosol can) in the tools section for about $5.
Use a paint brush or something to swirl it around where you dropped the oil in so it gets worked into the sleeve.[/QUOTE]Mmkay. Once it starts acting up again, I make sure to do that.
[QUOTE=Demache;26684021]I swear, this just started happening today. I've had a 450W BFG PSU for about a year now, and just today every so often the fan starts developing this "rattling" noise, and when its really loud, it sounds like a diesel engine idling. Normally a quick smack on the case temporarily fixes it, but then it comes right back again some time later.
I don't know what to do. If BFG hadn't gone under, I would probably RMA it. But since that's not an option, I've only got two. Buy a new fan, and risk installing it myself. Or buy a new PSU.
Maybe there might be something wrong with the fan that I can fix, who knows. I would just like my PC to be somewhat quiet again.[/QUOTE]
This is happened to me too. I just unscrewed the PSU and repositioned the fan and it was fine. It was because the fan was moving around a bit and rattling against the side of the case.
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