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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
November 19th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
LaptopTech,
Actually, no, I was using the ac adapter for my docking station, but plugging it directly into my laptop (original adapter for laptop was very touchy and would cut in and out all the time). I looked at it and noticed the output is 4.5a while the adapter for the laptop is 3.5a. I tried the original 3.5a after booting up on battery power. Although it took much longer (around 1 minute, as opposed to 10 seconds), eventually the fan did start speeding up and right when it kicked into top speed, the laptop shutdown.
I started to experiment with different combinations of the two adapters, running power through the docking station…and still would always eventually shut off. Strange thing now: I just installed SpeedFan so that I could monitor the CPU temp and test if it was actually getting hot when the AC power was plugged in (I think it is unlikely since this laptop has been left off and unplugged overnight and this autoshutoff is occuring only a couple minutes after bootup). At the same time, I decided to plug my AC adapters into a powerstrip/surge protector rather than directly into the wall. I don’t know which, if either, of these things made a difference, but so far I have been running on AC power (through the powerstrip and the docking station) for about 10 minutes now. The fan revved up once but not to full speed. It has been softly humming, and SpeedFan actually showed a drop from 52C to 43C the moment I plugged in AC power (which seems counterintuitive to me). For now it’s ok, but it’s only been a few minutes. I will post again if this doesn’t last. [Also, SpeedFan says it can control fan speed depending on hardware capabilites, but I don’t believe my T41p is allowing that. I don’t see where the program has recognized any fans on this laptop.)
Thanks for the suggestion about the wrong adapter.
November 19th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Rob,
Is the AC adapter you are using is the right one for your laptop?
November 19th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I have a t41p. I ordered a new fan and installed it today. If I am on battery power, no problems. Fan spins (at low speeds) fine. But the instant I plug in AC power, the fan revs up dramatically, then the whole computer shuts down. It also does the same thing if I try to boot up on AC power. I’ve read a few others advising tweaking the thermal management settings in BIOS, but the t41p doesn’t have that option. Any help????
November 18th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
hitting escape does the trick, thus dont think its the fan, must be something more software wise. Any suggestions for bios changes? Ive already have the latest update for my A31 (get113).
Cheerio,
Dante
November 16th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Kristen,
It’s hard to tell what’s going on. Did you purchase parts from a reliable source?
Can you see the cooling fan spinning at all? Did you apply thermal grease on the CPU before installing the heatsink (if the heat sink didn’t have thermal grease pre-applied)?
November 16th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Same error with my T42. Replaced both the fan AND the motherboard, and I’m STILL GETTING THE ERROR!!!!!! Any ideas?? This is making me crazy.
Thanks, Kristen
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:16 am
same problem with fan I would WD 40 work too
October 12th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
A parts and a technical question:
First, I want to be sure that the fan is fried, and not the circuit on the motherboard. The fan in my T42 is clearly not operating at all. Without removing the heatsink, I plugged in a scavenged laptop fan where the T42′s fan had been plugged in. This fan failed to turn on its own, but clearly would spin longer than friction would normally let it. It is two years old and may itself be on its last leg. It is labeled DC5V .2A, where the T42′s original fan is a DC5V 0.4A–but my understanding stays a fan with a lower ampere should spin where a higher one was. Am I wrong about this electrical power issue? What does this tell us about the motherboard’s ability to power the fan properly?
I am confident that I can replace the fan only, separating the old fan from the copper base and attaching a new one. (already tested the theory) I am having GREAT difficulty finding the exact replacement fan: MCF-207AM05. I can find 208′s and 205′s, but they appear to have .195A fans–will these be acceptable replacements?
October 6th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Just here to say it worked for me too, without replacing the fan. Cleaning the whole laptop internals did the trick. The fan was noisy (as if something was touching the fan blades), but I found only dirt (and I mean DIRT) on it.
Blows and proper cleaning (isopropyl alcohol, which evaporates without harming contacts) fixed it. I was able to see that the fan was in very good condition – it was just what must be from some battlefield that was preventing it from spinning correctly.
I did stop the fan for a moment with my finger to test, and the laptop said “Fan Error” too. So I guess that’s why the blowing cures the error – blowing though there does move the blades.
HOWEVER, make sure your external blower does blow in the same direction as the internal fan, or you will be counter-acting the fan motor, which does not sound good…
September 26th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I opened up my laptop, but the three screws securing the fan are extremely stubborn and would not come off, even after wearing some of the metal off my screwdriver. I don’t want to risk damaging the laptop.
Any suggestions for me?
Thanks.