HP Laptop loud noise in fan region appearing randomly

[gauthier.lieber]

Hi,

I have a rather annoying issue with my laptop that is fairly new (8 months old). Sometimes at startup and otherwise completely randomly throughout my use of the laptop, a very loud noise (https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_t_SFNmeG8) can be heard.
After having opened the laptop, it would seem the noise comes from under the left fan. Curiously, the fan itself does not make noise when i manually rotate it. Also, tapping quite handsomely this part of the computer makes the noise go down in tone then completely silence it.

Anyone have any idea what i should do from there ?
Cheers

 

[clutchc]

I still suspect the fan from the fact that tapping the case or fan will make an audible difference. That would seem to indicate a bad fan bearing. Any way to disconnect that fan temporarily to see if the noise goes away? Or switch plugs between fans?

My own laptop cooling fan is getting louder the more I use it. Almost to the point of being aggravating.

 

[gauthier.lieber]

Thank you for your answer, I have unplugged the fan and the noise is gone indeed. Now this is still weird, because the fan itself is not obstructed so where does that annoying noise come from? I checked, the fan support is tightly screwed and stable.

I can try to spin the fan manually very fast using a vaccuum cleaner tomorrow but i suspect there will be no noise...

 

[clutchc]

Unless there's something stuck in the fan or fan housing that the blades are hitting when at full speed, I suspect it is a bad bearing. Have you looked into what it would take to replace the fan? Or contacted the retailer/manufacturer?

Btw, when you spin the fan manually, it is best to do that unplugged. Some DC motors can act a a generator when manually spun, producing voltage on the wiring leading back to the connector. Normally not a problem, but something to think about when one is dealing with delicate electronics that operate at very low voltages.

 

[gauthier.lieber]

Hi again! Today, I disassembled the noisy fan completely from the computer to spin it manually (no noise detected) and to clean it, as I suspected dust might have caused the issue. Also, I added a bit of foam on the side without any screws to stabilize it. No difference once plugged in, although the problem is a bit milder compared to last night: the noise is temporary and can be quickly dealt with if hitting a strategic point of the computer case.

I do start to believe the fan itself is at cause. After prospecting a bit online it would seem I can find this fan for about 10$ so I'll probably replace if it the problem gets worse again.

I did not contact the manufacturer but looked at some threads on the HP forums and people seemed to have the same issue, although the fixes suggested by the tech team did not work for me.

Anyways, I don't think I will get to the bottom of this and identify the precise problem. Thank you for your help, anyways, appreciate it.