Strange Fan Control Issue

[bennieboy777]

This is a long story so I'll try to shorten it as much as I can. I found a CECHL-01 in great condition, but I still decided to open it up and give everything a good cleaning. I also used the time inside to make sure everything was where it should be, etc. No issues at all until it was put back together. The fan won't spin. Here's what I've done to try to remedy this issue:

1. New fan (Many times actually. Tried two fans of the 15 blade variety and two fans of the 19 blade variety.) When the ps3 is turned on, the fan "jolts" forward slightly, almost as if it was briefly connected to power and then disconnected.

2. Bought a fifth fan and wired it up to an external power supply. I connected the grey and red wires together on the fan side, using that as my overall "red" in a two-wire fan layout. and black to ground. Worked for a while but the fan ended up dying. Confirmed it was the fan dead not the power supply by attaching the power supply to a pc case fan, and it spun.

3. Checked the voltages where the fan header is on the motherboard, 12V gets 12V, Ground is connected to ground. I'm not entirely sure how to check the grey connector, since that's for PWM fan control correct?

4. Post this here, hoping someone can help me before my sixth (and probably final) fan arrives in a few days. The ps3 is my favorite console, and the CECHL is my favorite of the phat models, so I would do anything to keep this thing alive.

Please post anything that might help me with this issue! I can't afford to keep buying fans, so I really want the solution for this next fan to be permanent!

Thank you in advance!

Edit: Afterthought right when I posted this: Is there any possibility that it could be firmware? It is on CFW Evilnat 4.90, previously rebug 4.84

 

[master801]

Might be a hardware issue if the fan isn't turning on.

Try the fan test first.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Fan+Test-Self+Clean+PlayStation+3+(Original+and+Slim)/66048

Plug the console in (or flip the power switch for fat models) while holding the eject button and the fan speed should be to at 100%, then the PS3 will shut off.

 

[bennieboy777]

I haven't tried the fan test yet. Good suggestions.

Currently I don't have a fan that isn't dead to test it on...so I will keep this in mind when the new fan arrives.

If the fan works during the fan test and doesn't normally, then I guess it would be safe to assume that the problem is custom firmware related? I've checked everything I reasonably can in terms of hardware on the board.

Edit: I've reverted the system back to 4.90 stock just in case the custom firmware is the cause of the issue. I used a few small flat fans to try to keep it cool and it barely made it through the update before it overheated. So that also rules out the possibility of it being the temperature sensing circuit...

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[bennieboy777]

I reverted the firmware to stock 4.90. I formatted the hard drive and made sure there were no traces of any software issue.

I ended up using a potentiometer, with a usb 5v power source being the positive and negative, and the "output" of the pot being the signal of the grey wire. It works perfectly so far. As per the more detailed findings in the post below, I may have to find a more elegant solution soon, before I lose another fan. Just wanted to update this in case someone else had the same issue..

http://eikimartinson.com/archives/104-Driving-a-Playstation-3-Fan.html