2007 (A1181) Macbook fan problem

[TerraMati]

Ok, I have a problem with my Macbook (white A1181) from 2007. The fan (one fan) is always at 0 rpm and even with Macs Fan Control it is still showing up as 0 rpm. The Macbook is normally around 60-70 Celsius but when it hits 76 it just shuts down. I tried SMC resetting, didn't change anything. Please help.
PS I have OS X Lion installed.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

My experience with Lion was that it always made things warmer - just my perception. Getting back to your problem, can you hear the fan running at all? If not, then it's knackered and needs replaced.

 

[Amethyst1]

can you hear the fan running at all? If not, then it's knackered and needs replaced.

Or it’s so caked up with dust and grime that it doesn’t run anymore. I’d remove the top case and clean the fan first. If it still doesn’t run then, it needs to be replaced. Some new thermal paste is also worth applying. It’ll probably have dried up by now.

 

[eyoungren]

…but when it hits 76 it just shuts down.

Yeah.

That's called thermal shutdown, which is a feature, not a bug or a problem. Apple designed that into the system to protect it so that your CPU doesn't keep working as it cooks itself to death, turns into molten slag and then shuts off forever.

As the others have said…check the fan.

 

[Amethyst1]

That's called thermal shutdown, which is a feature, not a bug or a problem. Apple designed that into the system to protect it so that your CPU doesn't keep working as it cooks itself to death, turns into molten slag and then shuts off forever.

Intel CPUs have a built-in thermal shutdown. For a mobile Core 2 Duo it kicks in at 100 centigrade AFAICS. OS X may decide to throttle it before that though.

 

[rampancy]

Adding to the chorus here: check the fan.

What I would do is try to first rule out a software-related failure: when the machine boots up, can you hear the fan spinning underneath the keyboard? You could also try another utility like smcFanControl to see if it has any effect on the fans. If other fan apps return a value of 0 for the rpms, it's more likely to be hardware failure (either due to blockages with the fans, or the fans themselves dying).

The definitive way to test out the fans would be to remove the topcase, and jump start the Mac using the power pads on the motherboard. You should be able to visually see the fans spin up. If the fans run despite SMC/fan control apps reporting a value of 0 rpm, then there's probably a sensor issue. Either if they run, or if they don't, you will still need to replace the fan.

Edit: One other thing you might want to try is to reseat the fan connectors. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

 

[TerraMati]

Ok, after the repair I will let you know!

 

[theMarble]

I had a similar problem with one of my MacBook Pro's. It turned out to be a thermal protection shutdown, although mine would just kernel panic and freeze up. Cleaning the fans solved it! Hope the repair goes well!

 

[bobesch]

Edit: One other thing you might want to try is to reseat the fan connectors. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Yep, fan connector might be the problem. Did you open or drop the MB recently?