Laptop fans do all sorts of weird things when they are not working properly and in need of repair. Prolonged use of a laptop with inadequate cooling leads to bigger problems, such as failed motherboards.
Symptoms of a broken laptop fan:
- Excessive noise coming from the fan
- Excessive heat and slow operation of the machine
- A “FAN ERROR” at boot, preventing the machine from turning on.
- Laptop or Notebook shutting off while in use
- Laptop shutting off after 5 minutes of operation
- Laptop shutting off in games or under heavy processor load
How fans are replaced
We have seen all models here and are very familiar with them. Acer, Dell, Compaq, IBM, Lenovo ThinkPad, Toshiba, ASUS, and Apple notebooks all end up needing fans replaced at some point. Some fans get dusty and can be blown out. Others require a while new heatsink. Some laptops- we can just replace the fan itself. It is always best to use a new fan when possible. For most major manufacturers, we can get a genuine, new fan for your computer.
Here’s a fan in a more complex ThinkPad laptop:
How much are fans
Every model is very different. Sometimes, 1 single model can take as many as 8 different types of fans. Typically, we need the machine here to disassesmble and get a part number from the fan in order to get you the best price. Many fans are around $29, although, this price varies. For example, on newer ThinkPad laptops, we may have to ge the fan direct from Lenovo and fans can be as much as $89.
Fan replacement labor depends how time consuming the repair is. Many repairs take half an hour and more complex units take 1 – 1.5hrs. Labor is $60/hr.