Replacing PSU fan

[MrBlazito]

I have thermaltake TR2 PSU and the fan has started to make loud grinding noise at random times. I've seen a bunch of youtube videos on replacing the fan. From what i've seen every one of the videos showed the need for cutting off the 2pin connector from the original fan and attaching it to the new fan. Why can't I just buy a 2pin fan to begin with? Or can I? Literally every video I've seen shows the need for re-wiring the new fan. What's the deal

[osis32]

I've never done it. I usually just replace the whole psu. maybe buy a new psu and a new fan and you can open up your old psu to change the fan out and find out if you can do it the way you think. if you bigger it up you still have a new psu you can throw in there.

[d33pt]

you can replace it with a 2pin fan. thats no problem if you find one. it's so easy to replace a fan, why buy a whole new PSU? even if you have to rewire it. a quick solder job and you're done.

[SheepDog78]

Did you check ebay? Should be plenty of 2-wire fans to choose from. Just make sure you get the right size, most have 80mm or 120mm fans. Other than that, connect red to red and black to black, pretty simple.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

[tigerpan]

Should just replace the PSU if it's couple years old. Anything happens it will fry whole computer. PSU is cheap enough

[yellowsulphur]

I know you didn't ask this but, keep an eye out for charged capacitors when you open the power supply. They can deliver a nasty shock even when the unit is not plugged in.

[bigmike82]

Pay close attention to what yellowsulphur said. There's a nice amount of juice in those PSUs. I think holding down the power button after unplugging it should drain it pretty good, but you'll want to google the hell out of this. Fortunately, it's not as dangerous as working on CRTs, but PSUs are no joke by themselves.

[stilly]

I have thermaltake TR2 PSU and the fan has started to make loud grinding noise at random times. I've seen a bunch of youtube videos on replacing the fan. From what i've seen every one of the videos showed the need for cutting off the 2pin connector from the original fan and attaching it to the new fan. Why can't I just buy a 2pin fan to begin with? Or can I? Literally every video I've seen shows the need for re-wiring the new fan. What's the deal

Because many fans are sold as SYSTEM fans and have either a three wire connector (power and tach) or they have a 4 pin Molex connector.

The fans in your PSU are a TWO wire dumb fan. No tach no nothing, just hot and neutral or whatever red and black are. SO you SHOULD find a fan that fits the exact dimensions- but good luck because those fans are hard to find sometimes. I have replaced two fans in PSUs so far and the work was not my best. Mainly because the fans I had vs the fans inside the PSU, were just different. They were thicker or slightly larger and I did not feel like buying twenty different brands of fans to see what fit exactly. My recco to you is to take the fan out and to the store and match it up with about two-five fans and you want length and width obviously, but you need to check that thickness too. THAT is really the most important part. Get the fan thickness correct. If you have a fan that does not move as much air it could now wear out your PSU a tad faster. So that is why you need to be DEAD ON with the thickness, you can prolly go a tad thinner, but I would not go too much. Once you have a fan and it fits, you should cut off the old fan's connector (two pin connector) and solder it onto the same color wires as your new fan. Then heat shrink it and put it all back together. While you are at it, inspect your capacitors and see if any are starting to bulge at the top or leak. Leaking is bad, bomb waiting to happen, bulging usually means you got a few more months and by that I mean about 8+ months if it is not bulging too much.

Remember, PSUs have a sticker that say VOID IF BROKEN so they are NOT meant to be taken apart and have fans replaced... They expect you to throw them out and go buy another. Your best bet for fans would be FRY's (yuck) or Microcenter in Tustin.

[MrBlazito]

Thanks for all the replies. I actually found an exact fan that is used in the TR2 PSU, thanks to an article that reviewed this PSU. It's a re-branded Yate Loon 120mm fan with 2200 RPM max. Amazon has them for $9.

[stilly]

Well then go for it. Just remember to make sure the thickness IS correct before putting it in. Too thick will give you issues.