Converter noise

[Jebby14]

Converter is making a hogh pitched squeel. Think its the fan. Are they serviable?

[Jebby14]

Would the be a fan on the back? I didn't pull it out since the fan is rate in the front. This suggests there is a 2nd fan.

clicky

[Jebby14]

its a parallax 7155 and its not the fan making the noise. I opened it all up and watched it. no fan on and the noise started up. its not a constant noise it seemed to get more pronounced and would go up and down a bit then stopped after a couple minutes. still appears to be offering a charge. any ideas?

[garyemunson]

You might want to turn it off, stick something small in to block the fan and turn it back on. If you still hear a squeal with the fan immobilized, it's probably a noisy, failing capacitor in the electronics section. They do that when the electrolyte paste inside dries out over time. While they can be repaired, usually by the time components start going bad it's better just to replace the converter with a new one considering the cost of the part and the labor of getting it changed. Another electronic device that prices have stayed pretty stable over the years and now seem pretty reasonable. If it is the fan, usually the little "computer type" fans have a foil name sticker on one side of the hub. Peel it off and you will find a small rubber disk that closes off the bearing cavity. Pick it out with a needle, put in some 3-IN-One oil (WD-40 dries back out too quickly), replace the rubber, and you should be good to go!

[Jebby14]

thanks guys. ill dig it out this week and see what will fit.

[afidel]

PNW_Steve wrote:
A word of caution.

When the nylon bearing begins to fail it will make noise. If it suddenly becomes quiet it is likely because the fan has frozen up.

Fix it while it is still making noise.

+1 on the recommendation above to replace it with a ball bearing fan.

I've had better luck with fluid bearing fans, over the years I've lost a few dozen ball bearing fans but never a fluid bearing one. If you could find a fan with fully enclosed bearings that would probably work as well but I'm not sure how you'd shop for that.

[time2roll]

Jebby14 wrote:
Converter is making a high pitched squeal. Think its the fan. Are they serviceable?

Probably if you mean to replace the fan.
What converter model number?

[PNW_Steve]

A word of caution.

When the nylon bearing begins to fail it will make noise. If it suddenly becomes quiet it is likely because the fan has frozen up.

Fix it while it is still making noise.

+1 on the recommendation above to replace it with a ball bearing fan.

[SidecarFlip]

A shot of WD40 will cure the noise temporarly.

[Lynnmor]

I had a fan get noisy and replaced it with a ball bearing fan that cost a few cents more. Found it on Jameco.

[Jebby14]

Thats what i figured too hot and tired today will dig in one night this week. Jist never really had one apart

[belairbrian]

Could be it just needs cleaning.

I've only had a couple apart but both were essentially 12v computer fans.