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Aurora R4 CPU Cooling Troubles
I had the issue with my cooling system making it sound like my R4 was trying to fly away that everyone else seems to have noticed as well. I pulled my computer apart and took out the pump to check the input inside. It was disgusting like the one shown in another thread here, completely gunked up on one side. I cleaned it out and when I was putting the covering that actually touches the CPU, I noticed that the metal covering was warped up slightly and had a scratch from my screw driver. I didn't want this to cause problems, so I went out and got what was supposed to be the equivalent, the Corsair H55, to avoid buying the $120 REFURBISHED part that Dell tried to sell me when I contacted them. (Who wants a more expensive, refurbished part that the new version of failed in the first place after 1 1/2 years? Who Dell, who?) When I installed it, I found a problem. I used the original fan, so I could plug it into the 4 pin System Fan port as it had already been, but the Corsair pump has a 3 pin end and I have no 3 pin ports. I hooked into the 4 pin CPU Fan port and hoped for the best. When I turned the comp on, it gave me the CPU fan error. I went on anyway and after about four minutes the computer just shut off. I checked the cooling system, which felt very hot on both the pump and only one of the hoses. Can anyone tell me how to fix it? Dell was not able to help because I am not using one of their stock parts and went aftermarket. I tried reinstalling it completely, replugging everything back in, I even tried turning the fan around in case I was an idiot and had it pointing the wrong way, and checking that nothing had come loose either.
The top picture shows where I plugged in the fan (System Fan port), the middle is the whole setup, and the bottom is where I plugged in the pump (CPU Fan port). The last port in the bottom picture is where the original pump was plugged in. It is labeled the CPU pump. I rechecked the manual for the Corsair and it said any 3 or 4 pin port would work... So any suggestions?
Any help would be appreciated!
Cass-Ole
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July 13th, 2014 12:00
I'm surprised no one's lent a hand this weekend. You'd had your troubles posted in the right thread:
And according to this one, your sys fan + cpu fan connections look Adventures in replacing the stock Alienware Aurora R4 CPU cooling pump. Dreaded CPU fan failure prompts attack my patience!!"
When a cooler is new (or has been removed & moved round some), on 1st power up, you will hear any air "bubbles" as they circulate in the system; it is the best sign the pump is circulating the coolant. If you didn't hear, or don't 'member hearing air bubbles, & since it's possible you do not have the pump fully seated over the cpu, I would again remove the pump + radiator, perhaps even shake it or spin it round a few times (so air bubbles collect), reinstall & listen out for bubbles on power up, or touch the pump, hoping to feel the hum/vibration from the pump working.
If not, I would unplug the sysfan & plug the black pump 3pin in there, power up long enough to reach the Windows logon screen then power right down: a simple 30 second test to see if the pump acts like it's spinning. You could retest in the mem-fan spot or a motherboard fan spot. I would do this in the event your cpu_fan connector doesn't have power for whatever reason. You could also try to reseat the connectors that are the harness between your mio board & top light strip.
A cpu can't exactly over-heat in 30 seconds, so you might even take a 3-wire Corsair fan they gave you, pop it into the cpu-fan connector, power up, see if the fan spins - which means there's power/ground in the cpu-fan connector - I'd probably do that test 1st actually. It should take 5 seconds after you power up to see the Corsair fan spin or not & you would then shut your pc off (pull the plug on it etc). If the fan does spin, look at your cpu pump connector, possibly a fan pin is crunched inside the connector, but if you can prove w/the Corsair fan the cpu_fan connector does "work", pop your pump connector in & retry, looking for signs the pump is running.
It is possible you have a rare dead pump out-of-box, it is possible your cpu_fan connector has a bad spot in its wire harness/connector or what we'd call a "crack" in one of the copper traces of your light strip. Perhaps a crunched pin in the black connector that isn't making contact. A 5-30 second test for power from a different fan connector may prove useful today in deciding if the pump is even spinning or not. Good luck.