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Thread: Dreamcast fan replacement

  1. #1
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    Red face Dreamcast fan replacement

    Does anyone have a particular recommendation for replacing the 30mm 5vdc fan in a 1st generation Dreamcast? Mine has become very annoying...

    The sticker lists it as 5vdc @ .07A; it's 3-wire so I know the DC is doing some fan control or reading the RPM. I've looked up a few generic 30mm fans, but they're high RPM (8000) and I don't want it to be that noisy.

    I'm proficient at soldering and I've already had the console completely disassembled; so it's no problem to replace it, I'm just not sure what I can use without the DC shutting itself off/tripping a min fan speed sensor.
    Last edited by duralisis; 04-04-2011 at 09:49 PM.

  2. #2
    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    You might be able to salvage the fan instead of looking for a replacement. Sounds like the bearings have run dry. I use the blue label "3-in-1" brand oil to lube the bearings and I managed to bring several fans back to life including the cpu fan on my laptop. This link should help.

    http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

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    The fan's pretty much a goner at this point, I've oiled it as best I can but the bearing is making grinding and clicking sounds. But on the plus side I've found that it's actually just simple 2-wire fan with no RPM control. There's a thermal probe on one of the heatpipes, but that's it.

    I'm now running it fanless and the unit doesn't seem to get very warm. This is a HK-3020 manufactured in July 1999; so later units might not fare as well; but this one seems ok. If anyone's interested; there's some pricey fans on Digikey that should work and be reasonably quiet. Just drill down to 30mm x 10mm (or 7) @ 5vdc.

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