M11x fan not working

Hello, 

I bought an Alienware m11x a couple months ago. Everything was working perfectly until a few days ago when I noticed that my computer was running really hot. I also noticed that I didn't hear the fan blowing like I usually would when playing a game. I looked at the fan on the bottom of the computer and found that it doesn't seem to be working right. The fan blows for like three seconds then stops, then blows for three seconds then stops. It never goes for more than a few seconds so that is why my computer is getting so hot. Has anyone heard of this issue or have any ideas on how to fix it? Or am I going to have to send it in to Dell? Any help would be appreciated.