Noticeable, regular clicking sound from new AX1200i

precisely why I dont buy from Ebay...;):

Indeed, if you buy from an individual. However, buying from a company with a decent reputation trading on eBay is a lot safer and they'll take things back if you're not happy with them.

OK, I have installed the Noctua NF-A14 iPPC-3000 PWM in my AX1200i.

It behaves a little differently than Noctua NF-F12 that I used just for testing purposes (described above).

When I turn my HTPC on, it does make sound of a high airflow - I guess that is just what 3000 RPM fan should sound like at max RPM. This lasts only for a about two seconds, then my HTPC becomes quite like never before.

New fan does not stop rotating though (like the old one and the NF-F12 did), it continues to silently rotate at ~350 RPM. If I switch to fixed PWM mode and set 50%, it will rotate about 1300 RPM - still silently. I will leave it working at default mode (350 RPM).

I hope this experiment will help someone else thinking about fan replacement in AX1200i.

Just because something doesn't work properly doesn't mean it's a design flaw.

 

Yours doesn't sound like that because yours isn't defective. CLEARLY if the fan is that noisy at 40% PWM there's something wrong with the fan. The fan should be almost inaudible at 40%, so if the unit is still under warranty (and since it's a 7 year warranty, I seriously doubt it's out of warranty), just RMA it and get a new one.

I guess theres no update on the lot number thing?

I'm starting to get really disappointed in Corsair, first for the issue, then not being able to track the product revision.

And now Corsair has shipped me another AX760i from my RMA (#6503447) when I was promised a HX850i instead. So I guess I'll have to wait another half month for them to get around to sending me the unit they offered, and waste more petrol driving out to the one UPS depot in the city to ship it again :(

I guess the one upside of this situation is that Corsair has now paid to ship a PSU from NZ to Europe, and vice versa. And now they are going to have to pay again! Thats not cheap, not at all.

I did not realize I had a 7 years warranty on my AX1200i. Thanks for advise, but it is too late at this point - I have opened it. Besides, RMA might fix the noise coming from the fan at low RPM, but I do not think it could fix the ticking issue.

 

Anyway, I thought I should share what I discovered after opening the unit.

Apparently it has a well know fan (by it's noisiness and high cfm) - D14BH-12. By saying well known I mean there is a lot of information about this fan in the internet.

 

I spent quite some time looking for a replacement fan from a different manufacturer and there aren't many 140mm fans with similar characteristics!

 

D14BH-12 delivers 140 cfm airflow and can spin up to 2800 RPM.

 

The only alternative that I found is Noctua NF-A14 iPPC-3000 PWM with maximum RPM = 3000 and 158 cfm.

 

It seems that Corsair wanted to incorporate the highest performance fan in it's PSU, but a that time there was not a lot of choice and they used Taiwanese Yate Loon D14BH-12.

 

Unfortunately the fan inside AX1200i has a non-standard connector, so I had to make an adapter:

- cut D14BH-12 connector

- cut fan extension cable

- solder them together as per wiring mentioned here

 

I used Noctua extension cable, so wiring for me was as below:

 

extension cable______________yateloon cable

 

black ______________________black

yellow______________________green

green______________________yellow

blue________________________blue

 

 

I have attached the picture of adapter and the fan that went to trash.

 

Another picture shows Noctua NF-F12 fan (120mm) connected to AX1200i.

 

Result was astonishing. Not only I no longer hear how fan works (up to 1200 RPM, at higher RPM I can barely hear it), but also the clicking (or ticking) issue is gone! Not sure why, but Noctua does not even trying to check if it is blocked or not (maybe different type of motor is the reason for this effect).

 

Anyway I can't wait for my Noctua NF-A14 iPPC-3000 PWM to arrive.

 

Will post an update once I'll have it installed.

Would anybody know what name that connector is for the included fan? I believe I have found them on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-SETS-Mini-Micro-ZH-1-5-4-Pin-JST-Connector-with-Wires-Cables-/230865243993 but would somebody be able to confirm?

I know this an old tread. But I looked around and did not find a simple answer:

Yateloon colors:

Green = Positiv +

Black = Ground -

Yellow= RPM

Blue = PWM

Get a fan that has a low starting voltage, like 4.5-5 volt. Like Noiseblocker. And be carefull not to get the 29mm version. It will not fit inside the housing.

AX uses a completely different fan controller. Notice the switch to turn the Zero RPM mode on and off? The CWT, Flextronics and Chicony made products all use the same fan controller.

No such switch on the AX860i to do that. I have to use Link to make the fan run 24/7