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Mid 2010 Mac Mini With Broken HDD Thermal Sensor

M

MidnightSVT

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
125
35
Hello all,

I have a mid 2010 Mac Mini that had a hard drive failure. In the process of replacing the drive, I broke the HDD thermal sensor connector off of the logic board. Now, the Mini's fan runs at full throttle all of the time. I tried soldier the connector back onto the board but was unsuccessful.

I am wondering, if I get a data doubling kit from OWC and replace the optical drive with a new HDD/SSD and remove the old hard drive completely, would this keep the fan from running at full speed? I don't need the optical drive or two HDD's, I just want the machine to run as noise free as possible.

Thanks for any input.
 
O

olegunnar

macrumors member
Oct 29, 2013
47
7
I don't mean to be too blunt, but how about soldering it on correctly? If you can't, find someone who can.

How were you unsuccessful? You couldn't solder it on? You soldered it on, but you're not sure the connection is good? You soldered it on, and can see right away that it wasn't right? You broke something else while soldering it on? You think it's correct, but just doesn't work (broken sensor?)?
 
M

MidnightSVT

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
125
35
Thanks for the reply.

Originally I broke the connector mechanism off of the logic board. It is the clip that keeps the sensor cable seated. It has four tiny connector points with the logic board. Originally I used a small amount of thermal paste to reattach the connector to the board. This did not work, so I tried soldering the connection instead of using the paste. Still not making a good connection and now the connector mechanism has fallen apart. This is due to me unhooking/rehooking the sensor together.

The machine boots and the OS runs like normal, its just the fan runs at full speed all of the time. SMCFan control shows that the fan is running at 000 RPM. So it is definitely screwed up.

My hope was that I can trick the hardware with a second HDD and completely remove the standard HDD and get the fan to spin down.
 
S

scbond

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2010
259
2
Nottingham, UK
Plenty of people have done the same or similar accidentally before you and people will continue to do it after you so don't worry too much. I would've suggested just buying the part and replacing it but that would've been before you attempted the DIY solder job.
 
M

MidnightSVT

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
125
35
Thanks.

My question I guess is... the part that you are referring to is the thermal sensor connector and not the logic board, correct? How would someone reconnect the sensor clip mechanism back onto the logic board? The four contact points are extremely small, I would compare it to the size of a ball point pen dot. I am no master at soldering, but I am not terrible either. Am I missing something?
 
S

scbond

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2010
259
2
Nottingham, UK
If the plastic clip socket on the logic board is broken itself then you may have a very tough time replacing it. I found it hard enough to get the sensor itself and had to pay quite a bit for a used one salvaged from another machine.

If it's still intact and has just broken off the motherboard then I would suggest a tiny amount of strong adhesive...what adhesive I'm not sure as I would have a guess at things like super glue having an adverse effect on the board itself.

Either way you'll probably need to solder the contacts as well.

How much has broken off? Usually the thermal sensor wires are pulled out of the plastic which plugs into the socket...probably to prevent further damage.
 
M

MidnightSVT

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 14, 2012
125
35
I broke the entire clip off!! I didn't realize how fragile the clip was and when I was trying to remove the thermal sensor wire, I guess I got a little to excited. I think the connector is probably beyond repair as it has chipped apart due to me trying to get it to connect back to the motherboard.

One other question. With SMCFanControl running, it reads that the internal fan is running at 000 RPM (even though its not), so I am not able to manually adjust the fan speed. Is this 000 RPM reading caused by this thermal sensor or the fan sensor that is connected to the motherboard?
 
JFreak

JFreak

macrumors 68040
Jul 11, 2003
3,151
9
Tampere, Finland
Yea, I feel your pain, I had almost same accident the other day.

I broke the middle connector with two wires (the sensor that was in the corner of the HDD) despite trying to be careful. Unbelievable how fragile these pieces of plastic can be! Now I would not worry about a replaceable part that costs 25 or so, but because the connector was stuck in the logic board I had to pay 75 for the repair (+part) -- I didn't want to break the connector on the logic board myself.

It feels almost criminal to build a computer like this.
 
D

dppedro

macrumors newbie
Mar 17, 2014
1
0
Helsinki
JFreak said:
Yea, I feel your pain, I had almost same accident the other day.

I broke the middle connector with two wires (the sensor that was in the corner of the HDD) despite trying to be careful. Unbelievable how fragile these pieces of plastic can be! Now I would not worry about a replaceable part that costs 25 or so, but because the connector was stuck in the logic board I had to pay 75 for the repair (+part) -- I didn't want to break the connector on the logic board myself.

It feels almost criminal to build a computer like this.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I also broke 2pin the part from my Mac Mini Mid 2010 off from the logic board. So now I have a HDD sensor that is not in the connector and the opposite part (this was on the logic board) is also loose. What now? The Fan is not running at all. Solder the wires straight to the logic board? Seems that the original part is difficult to get on to the logic board.

This is the part that took completely off from the logic board: http://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/bIk3lXYOK5QEO4Dw.medium

JFreak where did you do your repair?
 
Last edited:
JFreak

JFreak

macrumors 68040
Jul 11, 2003
3,151
9
Tampere, Finland
dppedro said:
JFreak where did you do your repair?
Click to expand...

http://www.varimport.fi have very capable service personnel. I think I paid too much (70 euros) for a little piece of plastic, but then again the box is now fully functional and the cost was rather little fee for peace of mind.

But your problem sounds strange. If there is no sensor connected, the fan should be running at full speed...
 
I

indiprod

macrumors newbie
Feb 22, 2007
2
2
Software Solution to Runaway Fan

MidnightSVT said:
Or a software patch?? I have tried SMCFan and SSD Fan (for iMac)
Click to expand...

I had the same problem following installation of an SSD on my mid-2010 Mac Mini this afternoon. I just installed a free application called Macs Fan Control.

https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/47386/macs-fan-control

Works perfectly and solves the racing fan problem. It will not let you turn the fan off completely, but you can manually control the speed and at the lowest setting you hardly hear it.
 
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