PB G4 freezes when getting too hot

[bonestruca]

Hey there,
funny title, eh ? (; Not so funny problem.
I started a thread some weeks ago because my PB crashes whenever I connect an external HD to it. I couldn't fix it, but since Timemachine continues making the backup although the PB crashes (keyboard and trackpad/mous stop working) I feel pretty save and still have it working.

So here's the new issue: It freezes some 20 minutes after I start playing Call Of Duty. I tried everything, nothing worked so I decided to give it a last go and put some ice from the fridge in a towel and under the PB to cool it. Guess what happened - I can play all day, no freeze, no crash. So it seems to be some sort of overheating issue.

I installed istat and it says the fans don't work at all - 0 rpm !!??
These are the temperatures right after a freeze:

HD: 44 °C
CPU Bottom: 49 °C
CPU Top: 52 °C
Battery: 35 °C
Power Supply: 53 °C
Track Pad: 39 °C

My questions:

Is istat reliable (everything else seem to work) concerning the non existent fan speed ? What am I to do in case they prove true ?

Are the temperatures too high or are they quite normal and it's just the PB that can't deal with them any more cause something else inside is broken ?

 

[wakka092]

My PowerBook could get up to 62C before the fans went high-speed. For me, iStat is quite reliable. Are the fans kicking on, on their highest, loudest speed?

 

[TEG]

I would say it is likely that the fan is either actually dead, or wrapped in hair. Mine has a similar problem, so I have a desk fan set up next to it blowing air across it with it on an iCurve, and it stays room temperature or lower. At night I set in on a book, with the air intake hanging off the side of the book and while it gets warm, it does work all night.

TEG