PSU problem in Antec Overture II case

drasnordrasnor Starship OperatorHawthorne, CA Icrontian
edited September 2006 in Hardware
The 120mm fan in the underside of my Antec Overture II's power supply is dying, again. The case's first power supply had this fan that started making noises like a failing bearing (metal on metal whine) after a few months of operation that went away when the case was flipped on its side. Eventually the fan seized up despite the new orientation and the PSU burned out. I've been running Antec's RMA replacement for a couple of months and now it too is starting to whine.

Is there anything I can do to avoid another RMA or is this a design flaw with this type of case?

-drasnor :fold:

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Just remove the old fan from the PSU and install a new one. I've done that many times with older PSUs whose fans were too loud. Yes, it would void your PSU's warranty but would be an instant fix.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Just bought a fan. I'm going to see what I can do about not tearing the void label because Overture power supplies aren't standard.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • juandionisjuandionis
    edited September 2006
    I have the same problem. My PSU Fan is very noisy and no idea what to do.

    I have been thinking in replacing the PSU but I have heard that it is not the standar one, rather than a propietary model of antec.

    Please let me know if you managed to replace the fan and if yes please give me some guidelines.

    regards

    juan
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    The fan is coming in the mail. I opted for one of the new Scythe-branded Sony 120mm fluid dynamic bearing fans. I would have preferred using a Panaflo but I don't think I can use anything thicker than 25mm (120mm Panaflos are 38mm). FDB fans are crazy awesome; all of their noise is due to air turbulence instead of motor/bearing noise and they last forever.

    As I noted above, the Overture II PSUs are not standard ATX power supplies. The power cable and the motherboard connections are all on the same side and it only has one 120mm intake fan on the underside. Are you handy with a soldering iron? I think I'm probably going to have to solder the leads from the old fan onto this one or see about buying a new connector and pins.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • juandionisjuandionis
    edited September 2006
    Yes I saw what you say, power cable and connectors same side. Replace the complete PSU means to open the new one and try to reroute the connectors if this is feasible that I dont know.

    Please keep me posted with the new fan. I have soldered before but is not my best skill, therefore I would like to know how dificult it was for you

    thanks

    juan
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    It's very simple to change a PSU fan:

    1. Cut the wires from the old fan (remove by connector if there are removable connectors)
    2. Splice on wires from the new fan
    3. Seal the spliced wires with shrink tube (would not recommend electrical tape, but use it if you put it on very carefully and securely)

    Let your PSU sit for half an hour disconnected from power before opening it and working on it.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    I do sweat splices with solder so they don't ever come apart. Usually for things like this though I just desolder the wires from the old fan and solder them on the new fan. I'm also kinda anal though.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    I would just desolder the wires from the pcb, and then re solder it back to the pcb.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    airbornflght wrote:
    I would just desolder the wires from the pcb, and then re solder it back to the pcb.
    That's what I meant to say.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    cool.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    I just finished installing the new fan and it's a quantum leap improvement not just in actually working but it's also silent and moves a lot of air. I had to put in washers between the fan grille and the fan itself though to get proper clearance. Also, the new fan had it's lead solder points hidden behind solid plastic so rather than cutting it open I chose to splice the wires. I stripped each wire about 1/8" from the end, tinned them, sweated the wires together, and covered the joints in heat shrink. I also used a razor blade to pry up the warranty sticker without breaking it so if I need to I can still RMA the PSU.

    -drasnor :fold:
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