Replacing Power Supply Fan on Catalyst 5000/5500?

[Zach Lowry]

Howdy,

I know that there are several other Catalyst 5000 users on here, so I  
thought I'd ask this question. I have a C5500 with two power supplies,  
both of which are functional but have dead fans in the front. I  
currently have a small fan pointed into one of the power supplies to  
keep it running, but that's another matter (I have another supply on  
order already). What I'm wondering is if it would be possible to open  
the supply up and replace the fans with a standard PC fan? Has anyone  
on here tried this? Any tips / pointers?

Thanks,

--Zach
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[gsm-2]

On Sat, Jun 27, 2009 at 04:27:12PM -0500, Zach Lowry wrote:

> Howdy,
>
> I know that there are several other Catalyst 5000 users on here, so I  
> thought I'd ask this question. I have a C5500 with two power supplies,  
> both of which are functional but have dead fans in the front. I  
> currently have a small fan pointed into one of the power supplies to  
> keep it running, but that's another matter (I have another supply on  
> order already). What I'm wondering is if it would be possible to open  
> the supply up and replace the fans with a standard PC fan? Has anyone on
> here tried this? Any tips / pointers?

I have repaired many PC power supply fans by opening the power supply,
unbolting the fan and cleaning it with window cleaner on a q-tip to
remove all the dust, etc.

Then I remove the label, and if there is a cap there, carefully remove it.
Then I add a drop of SEWING MACHINE oil, let it soak in and carefully spin
the blades to get it moving. If it does not move easily after a few minutes
I add another drop. If there is too much oil, remove it with a q-tip.

Then I replace the cap if there was one and cover it with the label. If it
does not stick I use a small piece of electrical tape.

I've recently started adding a little grease to it which was given to me
by a friend who repairs appliances for a living. It's a local brand, and I
have no idea of what it would be elsewhere.

I understand from people who repair similar things a bicycle lubricant called
something like tri-flow works very well, but I've never used any myself. It is
a combination of a light lubricant and very small teflon particles.

Make sure to note the direction the fan faced so it that blows air the correct
way. I have repaired many PC power supplies where the fan was factory installed
backwards, and it took cool air from the outside, heated it over the components
in the power supply and then blew the hot air INTO the computer. I'm sure
this was a great idea if your computer was in an unheated building in Alaska,
but here in Jerusalem it was a big mistake.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@...  N3OWJ/4X1GM
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[Dan Sikorski]

Zach Lowry wrote:

> Howdy,
>
> I know that there are several other Catalyst 5000 users on here, so I
> thought I'd ask this question. I have a C5500 with two power supplies,
> both of which are functional but have dead fans in the front. I
> currently have a small fan pointed into one of the power supplies to
> keep it running, but that's another matter (I have another supply on
> order already). What I'm wondering is if it would be possible to open
> the supply up and replace the fans with a standard PC fan? Has anyone
> on here tried this? Any tips / pointers?

I have done this.  It was fairly easy.  The fan is a standard size, and
it had a standard connector to the board in the power supply.  Of
course, you want to be careful around the inside of a power supply, but
I think everyone on this list knows that.  In fact, one of the power
supplies in mine has a noisy fan.  I should look for the replacement as
well.

    -Dan Sikorski
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

[Zach Lowry]

On Jun 28, 2009, at 9:07 AM, Dan Sikorski wrote:

> Zach Lowry wrote:
>> Howdy,
>>
>> I know that there are several other Catalyst 5000 users on here, so  
>> I thought I'd ask this question. I have a C5500 with two power  
>> supplies, both of which are functional but have dead fans in the  
>> front. I currently have a small fan pointed into one of the power  
>> supplies to keep it running, but that's another matter (I have  
>> another supply on order already). What I'm wondering is if it would  
>> be possible to open the supply up and replace the fans with a  
>> standard PC fan? Has anyone on here tried this? Any tips / pointers?
>
> I have done this.  It was fairly easy.  The fan is a standard size,  
> and it had a standard connector to the board in the power supply.  
> Of course, you want to be careful around the inside of a power  
> supply, but I think everyone on this list knows that.  In fact, one  
> of the power supplies in mine has a noisy fan.  I should look for  
> the replacement as well.

Fantastic. If you come across the replacement let me know. I've  
ordered a replacement PS so I'll have a spare, so I'll probably remove  
a supply, let it discharge a bit, then try and find a replacement fan.

Thanks,

--Zach
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue