Looking for replacement cooling fan...

[wchurchill]

I have a Direct TV Plus tuner model R15-500. I'm pretty sure that the cooling fan is slowly dying. I'm looking for a source for a replacement fan. I've tried weaknees.com but they don't carry parts for this model. Can anyone recommend a reliable source for this part? I'd appreciate any help or ideas. Thanks.

I'm not sure that this is the proper forum for this post, but it seemed like the best fit.

 

[Anole]

fan help

You may want to whip out your millimeter ruler.
Measure how big a square it is.
Common sizes are 60mm, 90mm, etc.
Also get the thickness.
With both those dimensions, you can shop for a replacement.

Also, it might be 5v or 12v, though likely it's 12.
Last thing is how fast it runs.
Slower turning fans will be quieter.

For a walk-in store, try Fry's or Radio Shack.
For mail order, try Mauser or Digi-Key.
If you come up with a specific part number, then try Froogle.com
For general fan-searches, Google will get you lots of choices.

 

[wchurchill]

You may want to whip out your millimeter ruler.
Measure how big a square it is.
Common sizes are 60mm, 90mm, etc.
Also get the thickness.
With both those dimensions, you can shop for a replacement.

Also, it might be 5v or 12v, though likely it's 12.
Last thing is how fast it runs.
Slower turning fans will be quieter.

For a walk-in store, try Fry's or Radio Shack.
For mail order, try Mauser or Digi-Key.
If you come up with a specific part number, then try Froogle.com
For general fan-searches, Google will get you lots of choices.

Fan is 60mm x 15mm Nidec TA225DC 12v 0.05A P/N H35466-58 HUM

Nidec discontinued making that line. They do have a fan that has similar specs, but it only has a 2 wire connector. My fan has a 3 wire connector. I believe that the 3rd wire (white) controls fan activation/speed. I don't know if I used a 2 wire fan (power & ground) if it would work at all. I wouldn't mind having the fan work all of the time. I've also seen a few fans that are rated .13A or .09A (instead of the.05A my original is rated). I don't know enough about electronics to know if one of these fans would work at all. Maybe you could help.

 

[Anole]

Sounds like you need what's typically called a 60mm fan.
That third wire is generally a tach output, to let the equipment it's plugged into know what speed it's running.
Nothing about it sounds particularly remarkable.
If it uses a standard connector as found on computer motherboard fans, you might take it to a big computer store and find a replacement.
I'm sure they would be able to give you some help.

 

[Anole]

If you don't have a local computer store, this page on Geeks.Com might be helpful.
Fans usually have a 4-pin connector like a hard drive, or a 3-pin connector which plugs into the motherboard.
There are several candidates listed.

If you get a fancy one with LEDs, but it does the job, there's really no harm done.