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Fan failure 6600M

Gary NC3Z
Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
edited April 2020 in FLEX-6000 Signature Series
Well my fan has gone bad and started causing my 6600M to shut down on it's own and flash the power light red.

I can find the exact replacement on Amazon for about $18, but is there a better replacement, or can I expect that these go bad periodically?

Due to all the other issues and flakiness of SSDR the Flex has been moved to a position of rarely being used so it does not stay on much.

Comments

  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
  • Gary NC3Z
    Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    I know what the OEM fan is, was hoping for a better replacement. That thread shows a possible replacement but there were issues with it.
  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
  • Joe N3HEE
    Joe N3HEE Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    I think the stock fan has gone end of life and Flex is working on a replacement.  I replaced my 6600M fan about 16 months ago and it is still running.  Radio runs near 24/7.  Not sure what is causing them to fail ?
  • Bill -VA3WTB
    Bill -VA3WTB Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    A couple thoughts, I don't know if Flex has found a new fan or not because of failures to the original ones. I think the % is higher than they expected.

    Try to contact Flex and discuss it with them ans see what they suggest. In some cases people have been sent a fan and they replaced it themselves.
    Keeping in mind many of the 6600M radios are on most the day without any issues so there seems to be some good stock fans out there.
  • Gary NC3Z
    Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    I can stick with the stock fan, Amazon has them still for $18. Could get 1 or 2 as a spare. They are easy enough to replace, even if you have to do it every 2 years. Until a better fan is identified.

    I was also surprised that the fan and inlets had no particle filters. The fan did have buildup on the blades of very fine dust (we do get heavy pollen in the spring). I removed the fan and cleaned each blade separately and cleaned the venturi. That did get rid of the noise, but for how long I do not know, but will hold me until I get a replacement delivered.
  • Bill -VA3WTB
    Bill -VA3WTB Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    A little drop of 3&1 oil would have been good for it as well.
  • Ed Stallman
    Ed Stallman Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Can someone post a link to the Fan's at Amazon ? I do a search for "AeroCool Shark 140mm fan" and I see to many choices .
    Tnx Ed N5DG 
  • Gary NC3Z
    Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
  • Tim K9WX
    Tim K9WX Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Will this fan also work for the 6600 or is it unique to the 6600M?

    Tim K9WX
  • Ed Stallman
    Ed Stallman Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Gary , tnx , I should have ask with my first message . Do I only need to buy one ?
    Tnx Ed N5DG
  • Gary NC3Z
    Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Tim, the 6400, 6400M, 6600 and 6600M are all the same chassis and same fan.
  • Gary NC3Z
    Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Ed, that's up to you, but with the failure rates I am reading about, I would.
  • Bill -VA3WTB
    Bill -VA3WTB Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Who knows,,the fan you buy may last the life of the radio now. If it's cheap,,then buy 2...lol
  • Dan-N7HQ
    Dan-N7HQ FlexRadio Employee, Community Manager admin
    edited April 2020
  • N1DZ
    N1DZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
  • Gary NC3Z
    Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
  • Dan-N7HQ
    Dan-N7HQ FlexRadio Employee, Community Manager admin
    edited December 2019
    Hi Gary, 

    The most common cause for fan noise on an M-model is one of the cables to the front panel (usually the network cable) can occasionally move and touch the fan.  It would be odd to see a slight build-up of dust involved. I'm glad to hear your noise was resolved with a simple cleaning. 

    If you would like to purchase a backup/replacement fan, please open a helpdesk ticket and ask for one, it's no bother at all.  Tim and Ken are there to help.

    73,
    Dan
  • Gary NC3Z
    Gary NC3Z Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    You know I did notice how dang close that network cable was and that is the first thing I touched and moved out of the way as I thought it was way too close. That may have been the issue all along and cleaning the fan may have been a red herrings. In any case I did bend the ethernet cable out of the way before reassembly.
  • Ed Stallman
    Ed Stallman Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Gary , Bill sri I ask the question wrong . I got it now thou, the case only uses one fan 
    Tnx Ed N5DG
  • Dan KB6NU
    Dan KB6NU Member ✭✭
    A couple of days ago, my Flex 6400 decided to quit working, with the apparent reason being "fan failure." After turning the thing off and on, I got the flashing red light (single flash). I submitted a tech support request, and after a couple of exchanges with Ken Wells, he decided that the problem wasn't actually a fan failure but probably a bad SD card. A new one should be on its way shortly.
This discussion has been closed.

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