Question Cooling Fan Problem

[Turd Ferguson]

I bought this fan for my portable:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-35mm-x-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648

This is my setup;
- OMGWTF trimmed Wii.
- Regulators for 1v, 1.15v, 3.3v.
- 5v is the main supply.
- 5" backup monitor (converted to 5v)
- Sound amp from the BOM.
- Samsung 128gig usb thumb drive.

If I disconnect everything except the screen and the usb, the board boots fine.
If I connect the fan, it fails to boot.
I ordered another fan, in case the first one was causing this. Same result.

At first I thought it may be too heavy of a draw for my phone charger 5v power supply, (2.1 amp), so I tried powering it with a switching power supply from an arcade cabinet, (15 amp supply).
Same result.

Thoughts?

 

[Notjohnny]

It seems like the fan is covered in metal, maybe it is causing some kind of short?
Did you try the fan alone? without been mounted on the wii, just conected to power sitting on top of your workbench

 

[Turd Ferguson]

It seems like the fan is covered in metal, maybe it is causing some kind of short?
Did you try the fan alone? without been mounted on the wii, just conected to power sitting on top of your workbench

Yes. I wired it to the wii, but sitting next to it.

 

[Shank]

@Madmorda was having problems caused by fans. IIRC, I think her issue was with the interference it was causing to the ram.

 

[Madmorda]

That's not quite what happened to me lol. My fan was causing noisy interference with the headphone jack (and possibly screen), but my wii didn't refuse to boot.

I recommend hooking the fan up to power by itself and reporting back the voltage and amperage it draws by itself.

Were both fans you got the same brand / type / seller? If so, I recommend ordering a different model of fan if you can fit it in your case. That will at least help with troubleshooting, and also hopefully solve the problem.

 

[GingerOfOz]

Were both fans you got the same brand / type / seller? If so, I recommend ordering a different model of fan if you can fit it in your case. That will at least help with troubleshooting, and also hopefully solve the problem.

That fan is probably ok because Spencer, Shank, and... oh yeah, Madmorda have used this fan before, at least temporarily. But yeah, testing the fan by itself is a good idea.

 

[Madmorda]

That fan is probably ok because Spencer, Shank, and... oh yeah, Madmorda have used this fan before, at least temporarily. But yeah, testing the fan by itself is a good idea.

I can't think of another reason why the wii wouldn't boot with a fan hooked up other than current draw, a faulty fan, or a buggy wii. If it's not current draw, a different fan would help rule out it being a bad fan or a bad wii. If it works, you know the seller has a couple bad fans he's selling. If it doesn't work, your wii or power supply is likely the issue.

That said, you should definitely test the fan by itself and also make sure your wiring is correct and not shorting anything before buying a new one. Posting a pic of the fan hooked up would help a lot Maybe we'll see something.