WD-40 on the PSU = quiet and happy

Note before continuing: Do not attempt this, it's a really dumb idea. That being said..

First I'll tell the first PSU story then the second.

Story 1.

My Dell Dimension 4400 starting making a racket one day. Turns out it was the power supply fan. I gave the supply a few whacks and the noise stopped. A couple weeks later the fan started screeching again. No matter how many times I whacked it the noise would come right back. "This has got to be fixed" I sez to myself so I put my brain to work. "Okay, most fans operate using a ball bearing. It's most likely dried out which is what's causing the noise. I wonder if WD-40 will fix this."

I turned the computer off, unplugged the power, grabbed the WD-40 and gave the PSU fan a few quick sprays. Then I turned the computer back on, no luck. Same noise.. I think to myself "The fan probably has to be moving for the lubricant to take effect."

Thinking of the worst possible scenario, I thought "Okay, if I spray moisture into a live power supply, there's the possibility this thing could literally snap, fry and possibly trip a circuit breaker in the house. I could also fry my motherboard and all the peripherals on the computer." But that damn noise was so annoying. "Fuggit", I said. So I sprayed the WD-40 into the PSU fan, then used some "dust removal spray" to get the fan blades turning so the lubricant could get into the bearing.

It worked. The noise hasn't returned since and the PSU fan blows air just as it should to keep the unit cool.

Story 2.

Today my pop's computer started to make the same noise with his PSU. I repeated suit and just gave his PSU fan some quick sprays with WD-40. Worked like a charm.

Granted, when you do this your computer stinks of WD-40 for about an hour, but the smell goes away after a while.

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Going to state this again: DO NOT attempt this. It is a really, really BAD idea. But it does work. (grin)

Published 2005 Jan 30