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Let’s say you have an IBM ThinkPad laptop and when you turn it on all you get is a black screen with “Fan error” message. What could be wrong?
A few weeks ago, the fan in my trusty IBM T42 bought the farm. This resulted in the unit heating up considerably, as well as numerous “fan error” messages on bootup. It eventually became so bad that to boot up at all, I had to blow compressed air into the fan’s exhaust grill for 5-10 seconds, in order to fool the BIOS and make it believe the fan was actually spinning.
According to the IBM hardware maintenance guide (HMM) for ThinkPad T40, T40p, T41, T41p, T42, T42p this error message indicates a problem with the fan, you can find symptom-to-FRU index on the page58.
The symptom-to-FRU index in this section lists symptoms and errors and their possible causes.
Apparently it’s time to replace the fan assembly. The cooling fan comes together with the heat sink, that’s why you’ll have to replace the whole fan assembly.
You can easily replace the fan assembly after you remove the palm rest and keyboard.
1. Remove the battery and unplug the AC adapter.
2. Remove four screws marked with yellow circles. These screws securing the keyboard.
3. Remove eight screws marked with orange circles. These screws securing the palm rest.
4. Lift up the keyboard and upnlug the keyboard cable from the motherboard.
5. Lift up the palm rest and unplug the touchpad cable from the motherboard.
6. Remove three screws securing the fan assembly, unplug the fan cable from the motherboard. Lift up and replace the fan assembly.
You’ll find step-by-step laptop disassembly and fan replacement instructions in the HMM in the chapter “Removing and replacing a FRU” on the page 70.
You can find a new fan assembly using the FRU number located on your failed fan, it might look like 91P8393, 26R7860, 13R2919, 13N5442, or 13R2657. Just google the FRU number and find a place to buy it from. Different laptop types with different screen sizes use different fans, so you have to find the correct one witch fits your model. If for some reason your fan assembly doesn’t have the FRU number, you’ll have to refer to the HMM page 216-217. On these pages you’ll find witch fan belongs to your laptop. Here you can find new and used fans for ThinkPad laptops.
For example, if have a type 2378-FVU laptop with 15.0″ LCD screen, then you need a fan assembly with FRU: 13R2657
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Nick,
Not sure about that. It might be normal that the smaller fan doesn’t spin on startup. Maybe the smaller fan (GPU fan?) starts only when the GPU is hot.
You’ll have to find someone with the same model and ask them.
I think Notebookreview (Lenovo/IBM discussion) site will be a good place for that. Someone with an X61 has to be willing to remove the keyboard and take a look inside.
September 21st, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Thanks for the post. I have an X61 that just got this problem.
I have one question: I opened her up and noticed 2 fans. I tried starting up.. and one fan spins during BIOS for a small period of time while the smaller fan does not spin at all. Im guessing that the fan not spinning at all is the problem??? I wanted to double check with you before I dropped the $90 for this mini fan.
Thanks!
September 15th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
This is my exact laptop and I was able to replace my fan no problems, and it worked! Thanks for this post!!!
August 20th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Laptop Tech,
As far as I can tell, I did purchase a new, factory replacement part. But, your comments raise another question. What I am calling “thermal tape” is covering a material applied along the outer edges of the copper heatsink that could be the thermal grease. The tape is clear and very thin and has a very strong adhesive on the side facing the heatsink. I did not remove this tape because it had not been removed from the original part. I did buy this computer brand new (5 years ago) so I did what it appears the OEM did. The other confusing part of this is that the tech person at Impact said this part came without thermal grease applied.
Regardless, thanks for your comments. I learned a few things from this experience, and so far, things are working well.
August 20th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Midlifemack,
Apparently they assume you are going to use a factory replacement heat sink which comes with thermal grease pre-applied.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I recently replaced the fan assembly, which includes the heat sink, in my ThinkPad R40-2897 after almost five years of good service. Symptoms over the past few months included an increasingly noisy fan that ran almost constantly, freeze-ups, slowdowns, unexpected shutdowns, finally ending with the dreaded “Fan error” message and not booting up. I did not know about the ESC trick but went ahead and purchased a new assembly (www.impactcomputers.com), which I was able to install on my own using the instructions from the manual. Finding out about that last screw to loosen the right side of the rear bezel took some doing (found under “Replacing the LCD”) but I did it. My bigger issue was whether or not to apply thermal grease. The failed unit did not appear to have any on the heat sink, so I did not apply any. The fan and machine are running fine so far. What I found out later is that the heat sink for this fan assembly (46P3099) has thermal tape applied and apparently does not require thermal grease. The instructions also DID NOT call for the application of thermal grease so I’m hoping I did the right thing. Hope you find this minor essay helpful.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:05 am
I fixed the fan on my T42 using some “Oxide clean” and lubricating spray:
I took it out and connected a 5V source, but it didn’t rotate at all. I think it was the red and blue wire that corresponded to the 5V input for the motor but I’m not completely sure. There was too much resistance in the fan. From one side of the fan it is possible to see the PCB card with some electrical components on it. The ball bearings for the fan seem to be located under this card, so I put some lubrucation oil in under the PCB card by letting it run along a thin knife blade (a Stanley knife) and putting the tip of the knife into the thin gap under the PCB card. Thus I was able to not spill any lubricating oil onto the PCB card. Then I rotated the fan by hand and noticed that it moved more easily than before after a few turns.
Then I sprayed some electrical oxide cleaner onto the PCB card where one can see the electronical components inside the fan, and then I let it rest until the spray had done its job.
After that it worked great again. No more overheating and no more “FAN ERROR” on startup
However, I have only used the laptop now for one hour after the repair, but I hope it is “permanent”.
Btw, I anyone wants to try this, I think it is a good idea to use the spray sparingly.
July 29th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
The instructions are perfect!
When I removed the fan assembly I saw that it was full of gunk. I cleaned it and now my laptop works again. I didn’t even need to replace the fan!
Thanks so much!
(Now I’ll try that with my old HP that’s overheating).
July 21st, 2009 at 9:03 am
A quick question for anyone who has an answer…
I am currently experiencing this very issue, but I notice that the fan actually works once the computer is booted up (which I do by hitting escape and blowing in the vent…) Is it possible that the fan error during the boot process stems from a software problem and not a mechanical malfunction?
July 20th, 2009 at 12:52 am
My laptop would freeze every once in a while and not respond to anything. Whenever this happened I would unplug it, remove the battery, wait a few seconds, replace the battery, plug it in and then restart the unit.
My younger son, internet addict, had the same problem and just left the computer alone. Whatever applications he had running continued to run and when I found it the next day it gave me the Fan Error upon start up.
I figured that the laptop ran until it overheated and the fan went out. The machine is 3 years old.
After several failed attempts at starting the laptop, I pressed ESC immediately upon seeing the Fan Error message. I was fortunate enough to have an external laptop fan (about $20 at Fry’s) and immediately installed it.
I ended up permanently attaching the fan using velcro and the machine works like a charm. I never shut the laptop off, I have it set up to go into stand-by when I close the lid.
If for whatever reason I have to shut the laptop off, I just know to press ESC when as soon as I see the Fan Error message.
The reason I’m here is to find a more permanent solution. Buying a replacement (internal) fan seems to be what I was looking for.