System fan errors in a Dell R640 Security Analytics appliance

Products

• Security Analytics

Issue/Introduction

Repeatedly getting system errors for defective fans.  For example,

Fan 6A is either removed, incorrectly installed, or not present.

Fan 6B is either removed, incorrectly installed, or not present.

This may be caused by loose connectors or a failed fan canister

Environment

Dell R640

Cause

The connector for the fans in the head may work loose from the motherboard after shipment or over time in the heating and cooling cycles.  The most common fix is to reseat or swap the fans.

Resolution

There are multiple fans installed in the head units to move the air needed to cool the cpus and RAM.  There are two fans in a canister and there are eight canisters in a head unit.  The fans are labeled next to each fan.  The following YouYube video explains how to replace the fans in a Dell R640 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02X3f5mittw). This is the procedure to either swap or replace the fans in a fan canister.

The basic steps are:

1. Power off the head unit
2. Unlock and pull the head unit forward.  You may need to remove cables to do this
3. Unlock the top latch with a phillips/plus screwdriver
4. Lift the latch and slide the cover to the rear to remove it
5. Remove the black air director behind the fans
6. Find the fan reporting the error by looking for its label
7. Remove the fan canister called out in the errors by pinching the orange latches in front of and behind the canister.
8. Depending on the circumstances, either replace the fan with a new one provided or swap the fan canister with another.
9. Replace the air director, place the lid on top, and lock the latch down.
10. Push the head unit back into the rack and connect the cables as before
11. Power on the system
12. Monitor for any errors for the next 48 hours to be sure the problem has been resolved.
13. Clear the pink banner by selecting the X to the far right of the error message.

 

Additional Information

Note - This article was written for a sensor which had the fans dropping and coming back.  The fans were removed and reinstalled and they worked.  For several months.  Then they started  failing again.  They have now been replaced  because the reset/swap did not cure the problem long  term.