[rescue] Replacing Power Supply Fan on Catalyst 5000/5500?

[gsm at mendelson.com]

On Sat, Jun 27, 2009 at 04:27:12PM -0500, Zach Lowry wrote:
> Howdy,
>
> I know that there are several other Catalyst 5000 users on here, so I  
> thought I'd ask this question. I have a C5500 with two power supplies,  
> both of which are functional but have dead fans in the front. I  
> currently have a small fan pointed into one of the power supplies to  
> keep it running, but that's another matter (I have another supply on  
> order already). What I'm wondering is if it would be possible to open  
> the supply up and replace the fans with a standard PC fan? Has anyone on 
> here tried this? Any tips / pointers?

I have repaired many PC power supply fans by opening the power supply,
unbolting the fan and cleaning it with window cleaner on a q-tip to
remove all the dust, etc.

Then I remove the label, and if there is a cap there, carefully remove it. 
Then I add a drop of SEWING MACHINE oil, let it soak in and carefully spin
the blades to get it moving. If it does not move easily after a few minutes
I add another drop. If there is too much oil, remove it with a q-tip.

Then I replace the cap if there was one and cover it with the label. If it 
does not stick I use a small piece of electrical tape.

I've recently started adding a little grease to it which was given to me
by a friend who repairs appliances for a living. It's a local brand, and I
have no idea of what it would be elsewhere.

I understand from people who repair similar things a bicycle lubricant called
something like tri-flow works very well, but I've never used any myself. It is
a combination of a light lubricant and very small teflon particles.

Make sure to note the direction the fan faced so it that blows air the correct
way. I have repaired many PC power supplies where the fan was factory installed
backwards, and it took cool air from the outside, heated it over the components
in the power supply and then blew the hot air INTO the computer. I'm sure
this was a great idea if your computer was in an unheated building in Alaska,
but here in Jerusalem it was a big mistake.

Geoff.

-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm at mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM