Fan Control reports only one fan to be spinning - any help?

[AbsurdGenius]

Right, so i got my 13" MBP yesterday and downloaded Fan Control, when i opened it, it showed me that only the left fan was spinning and that the right fan was spinning at -1RPM (i'm taking that as meaning that its not spinning rather that its spinning backwards). Upon seeing this, i ran the Apple Hardware Test that comes on the OS install disks, i ran the short test and nothing was found, so i ran the more in depth test. Seeing that it was going to take a while i went for a shower, as i came back upstair i was greeted by the smell of burning! I realised it was coming from my Macbook Pro and did a hard shut down to try to prevent any/anymore damage. (It was also very hot)

Any thoughts on the subject would be welcome, and any help as to what i should do is also welcome.

Ahh i dont like it! I dont want a broken laptop the day after recieving it!

 

[gr8tfly]

There's only a single fan in the mid-2009 13" MBP.

If your machine is running warm, there's most likely some background process running, such as indexing your hard drive. Use Activity Monitor (and show "All Processes") to try and see what's going on.

 

[pmcb]

the 13" only has one fan, nothings broken.
edit: beaten to the punch

 

[tenderidol]

I've seen this questions asked so many times. I wish these "monitoring" software could just not display the hardware that is missing instead of putting a minus value. In my 15" uMBP, when I am in better battery mode (i.e., using 9400), iStat Menus shows a -127 C reading of the GPU diode

 

[AbsurdGenius]

i don't mean to sound insulting, but it does definitely only have one fan? despite Fan Control say left and right fans?

oh and what sort of temperatures can i expect from this machine?

thanks for you help

 

[fabian9]

i don't mean to sound insulting, but it does definitely only have one fan? despite Fan Control say left and right fans?

oh and what sort of temperatures can i expect from this machine?

thanks for you help

Check for yourself:

iFixit.com 13" MBP Tear Down

There really only is one fan. The 15" and 17" MBPs have 2 fans as far as I know.

I'm running at 56C on my CPU at the moment (just iTunes, Mail and Safari running). Not sure where it maxes out at during heavy processing though!

Fabian

 

[tenderidol]

i don't mean to sound insulting, but it does definitely only have one fan? despite Fan Control say left and right fans?

oh and what sort of temperatures can i expect from this machine?

thanks for you help

You shouldn't put that much trust in fanSpeedControl over your fellow MRF members

It definitely has one fan!

The temps will depend on your usage of course. I highly recommend iStat Menus to monitor your temprature, CPU usage, etc. Since your MBP is new, you may see some HD and CPU use due to Spotlight indexing and temperatures will be high(er) accordingly. Once everything is completed and the CPU is at idle most of the time, you'll have a better idea about the temp range.

 

[gr8tfly]

i don't mean to sound insulting, but it does definitely only have one fan? despite Fan Control say left and right fans?

oh and what sort of temperatures can i expect from this machine?

thanks for you help

Aside from my having looked in the service manual for that model, you can check for yourself by looking in the Users Manual, starting on page 39; or removing the back cover...

I would think the average, low usage temp would be in the 130-145F range (CPU Temp Diode).

I suggest not using SMCFanControl, unless you have a specific need. The machine should keep itself well within operating limits and will try and compromise between fan noise (although, these new fans are very quiet), comfortable use, and keeping power consumptions down. Give the system a chance. Then, if you still think it needs more cooling, you can go back and use the app. As mentioned in a previous post, wait until whatever process is running in the background finishes, before gauging how hot the average temps will be.

I have a 17" UB and do not use SMCFanControl. I've monitored fan speed vs. temperature (using Hardware Monitor) and the algorithms seem very refined (more so than my older MBP 2.33). It's designed to keep the machine at comfortable temperatures and noise levels, and also conserve battery power. All I would do by using SMCFanControl would be to increase power consumption and noise - since, on average, the fans would be running faster than needed. If you're running the machine hard, it's going to get warm. There's no way around it. Using fan control might keep the machine's lower end temps down a little, but at the cost of battery life. I still suggest giving the system a chance on its own - especially, since it's a new, unfamiliar machine. Aside from all that, I generally don't use 3rd party system mods. That's just me.

Btw - this machine runs noticeably cooler than my old 2.33GHz MBP. Even with heavy use, the top case doesn't get hot (The keyboard forward. However, the back - between the keyboard and display, does get quite warm.) I attribute this to new fan designs, better mechanical heat transfer, and improved software control.

Most importantly: Enjoy your new MBP!

 

[tenderidol]

There really only is one fan. The 15" and 17" MBPs have 2 fans as far as I know.

Some 15" uMBPs have one fan depending on the specs, just to let you know.

 

[AbsurdGenius]

ahh well thanks guys, i can stop worrying about it now

something should be done about Fan Control though...