PC chassis / case fan problem

General_query

Hi,

I am having a problem with the 12cm case fan at the rear of my Chillblast Fusion Neutron desktop PC , specs below:

ASUS P8H61-M LE/USB3 motherboard (with only 1x 3 pin CHASSIS FAN connector and 1x 4 pin CPU FAN connector).
Intel Core i5 2500K Processor 3.30 GHz
8GB RAM PC3-10666 1333MHz DDR3 Memory (2 x 4GB sticks)
Chillblast AMD Radeon HD 5670 512MB Graphics Card
EZCool Basic 500W PSU
EZCool A200D Basic Case
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit edition

The front case fan has been making scraping noises upon powering up, and I have also been getting a few random shut-downs - so opened up the case and it was full of dust. I gave it a good clean and it seems to work much smoother, I also cleaned the Cooler Master 12cm SickleFlow Blue System Fan (installed Nov 2013) which is connected to a 4 pin MOLEX lead from the power supply.

However, and this has existed since I bought the PC in October 2011, the rear 12cm case fan does not spin at all and never has done from new.

I looked into the BIOS under ASUS Fan Xpert and it does not show any chassis fan as being connected, but I won’t tinker further as I don’t want to mess up some vital settings! Is this right that a case fan doesn’t spin at all? There is only 1x CHASSIS FAN 3 pin connecter on this motherboard unfortunately and unplugging and replugging it in still doesn’t make it spin, so no point having one right?

I have previously emailed Chillblast about this non spinning fan and they replied “I’ve just asked our engineers about that case fan and they surmise that the fan hasn’t needed to spin yet because of the temperature of the air inside the PC. As the PC doesn’t run very hot, I wouldn’t worry about this fan just now!

If you wanted to fit an extra fan (and again I’d say it isn’t necessary) then you would most likely purchase a fan with a 3 pin fan header which connects directly to the motherboard. Normal molex power connections should also be available, but these might be tied back near to the PSU or behind the motherboard tray to keep things tidy”.

That doesn’t sound right to me…. but maybe I am wrong.

Anyway, any opinion please? I have downloaded “SpeedFan” software but haven’t a clue how to set it up, so left it alone.

I also want to install a new 12cm fan, probably another Cooler Master 12cm SickleFlow Blue System Fan on the side of the tower, but as the mobo only has the 1x 3 pin chassis fan assume I need a splitter to run the (defunct) rear fan plus a new one from the same mobo connector?

Any links to suitable products would be much appreciated as there are load to choose from and I want to get the right one! Anything on Amazon UK preferable too.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
:beer:

General_query

bigdic

Having read your post, do you have the non-functioning case fan plugged into both the motherboard AND the 4 pin molex?

General_query

bigdic wrote: »

Having read your post, do you have the non-functioning case fan plugged into both the motherboard AND the 4 pin molex?

Hi, nope. The non-functioning rear case fan is only connected to the 3 pin CHA_FAN socket on the motherboard.

Any help?

forgotmyname

Get a connector to wire it direct to a molex plug if you want it on.

Otherwise i would ignore it.

With the computer totally cold. Swap the plugs over on the chassis/CPU fans and see if they spin up. If the CPU fan now stops then its either a faulty feed to the case fan or as they say its temperature operated. Not hot enough in there to power up.

How hot does it get inside the case?

General_query

Manual is available to download here:

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H61M_LEUSB3/HelpDesk_Manual/

General_query

forgotmyname wrote: »

Get a connector to wire it direct to a molex plug if you want it on.

Otherwise i would ignore it.

Thanks, I just assumed it SHOULD always be on acting as an exhaust fan, never had a PC before with a rear fan that never came on when the PC booted up before!

With the computer totally cold. Swap the plugs over on the chassis/CPU fans and see if they spin up. If the CPU fan now stops then its either a faulty feed to the case fan or as they say its temperature operated. Not hot enough in there to power up.

The CPU fan is 4 pin, this is 3 pin......

How hot does it get inside the case?

Don't know as I can't figure out SpeedFan..... sorry!

bigdic

I'm thinking the same thing as the engineers, the system is running ok so doesn't turn the fan on.

To test the fan actually does work you would unplug it from the mother board and plug it directly to the power supply 4 pin molex using an adapter. If it doesn't spin then the fun is gubbed.

If you're really worried then buy a new controllable fan the plugs directly into the molex power supply

General_query

forgotmyname wrote: »

With the computer totally cold. Swap the plugs over on the chassis/CPU fans and see if they spin up. If the CPU fan now stops then its either a faulty feed to the case fan or as they say its temperature operated. Not hot enough in there to power up.

Well, it doesn't show up in the BIOS, like I said, no chassis fan shows up..... shouldn't this be accessible via FanXpert settings in the BIOS? I can't see it anywhere unless its because the fan is dead.

Not that I'm dissing Chillblast and their top rated award winning built PC's. This is why I bought it:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/desktop-pc/3300350/chillblast-fusion-neutron-review/

Nilrem

In the bios under the "monitor" menu does the system report N/A or 0rpm?
Having a quick glance at the manual suggests that if the fan is not there/not detected it'll show N/A, but if it's there but not powered because the system doesn't think it needs to, it'll be showing 0RPM.

General_query

Nilrem wrote: »

In the bios under the "monitor" menu does the system report N/A or 0rpm?
Having a quick glance at the manual suggests that if the fan is not there/not detected it'll show N/A, but if it's there but not powered because the system doesn't think it needs to, it'll be showing 0RPM.

Hi Merlin (?!), thanks.

I'm 100% sure it shows as N/A under Chassis Fan..... (see post #9)

So, it either doesn't work (dead) or somehow Chillblast have a back door into the BIOS where I can't get in myself!