Help with Projector fan replacement

kPATm

kPATm

kPATm

Associate
Joined
7 Apr 2009
Posts
1,827
Location
Greenock, Scotland
Bit of a long shot here. I just purchased a cheap UNIC AC40 projector. I havnt had a chance to use it yet as Im waiting on a screen. I did turn it on and the fan is LOUD. Im hoping I can swap it out for a quiter one.

The specs of the original fan are 12v 0.15a It has a 3pin header. Would I be able to replace it with something like this

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-017-NB&groupid=701&catid=2331&subcat=818

The thing is that the connector on this fan is different from the original fan? Thanks
 
Last edited:
Changing the fan lead is simply a question of unsoldering one and soldering the other in its place. Can you solder?

As for the physical swap, you need to match the physical size, voltage, current, and match or exceed the air flow rate at the same rpm as the original. If you can do that and achieve a lower dB rating then all good.
 
Soldering isn't a problem. Im having trouble finding a replacement that has 0.15a rating?
 
Really you need the complete spec of the original fan before searching. I can find plenty of 0.15a fans, but there are versions with high, medium or low air flows at the same voltage and current rating.

Dimensions:
width x length (mm) e.g. 40x40, 50x50, 80x80, 92x92 etc
height [thickness] (mm) e.g. 10, 20, 25.5 etc

Airflow rate in either m3/min or cu.ft/min (CFM)

RPM

Noise (dBA)

Current rating can be expressed in amps or milliamps. 0.15a = 150mA. You might also see fans rated by wattage. 12v x 0.15A = 1.8W This might help when you're searching. Be prepared though, a decent 3pin low noise fan with delivery might cost 50% of what you paid for the entire projector.
 
kPATm said:
Here is the fan
Click to expand...
Great!

Here's Google :D ;)


Seriously though, what you have got there is a centrifugal blower fan rather than the axial fan from your original OCUK link. The two designs are different in the way they work, so swapping one for the other isn't feasible.

Centrifuge fans tend to run noisy because the rotating blades and air path are enclosed. It might be possible to find something marginally quieter, but it won't be as quiet as an axial because of the way centrifugals work.

The other challenge you face is that YM isn't exactly a well known brand on the web. It's going to be tough to get some proper specs to then find an equivalent design in a better brand. The closest I can find is YCC but I have no idea if they make a like-for-like equivalent. Even if you find something, a lot of this stuff is sold in bulk only, so tracking down a supplier who'll sell you one piece will be ...er... fun.
 
kPATm said:
I may just disconnect the fan and have an external fan?
Click to expand...

You may just cook your projector! I think what you've run into here is a simple cost verses performance equation you've got a cheap projector which I would expect to be noisy silence costs money!
 
So this is the layout of the original fan and shroud





I think I could get away with removing the stock fan and putting a fan on the outside blowing air over the cooling fins at the bottom right of the pics?
 
I've yet to come across any projector under a grand that has quiet cooling (fans). However I'd mod away and try your best efforts to dampen or make the fan/fans less noisy. Just be aware you need to create the movement of air the default fan gives at the very least.
 
Your pictures don't make a lot of sense because they don't show the fan in situ. For the benefit of anyone else trying to make sense of the pictures the fan stands up on edge and goes in to the rectangular slot where it says D-J103-00 The exhaust port points to the right, but the air flow doesn't aim directly at the metal fins, hence the deflector which redirects the air flow 45 degrees anticlockwise as viewed from above in the shots. So there's two things going on: (1) The full force of the airflow is directed at the heat pipe cooling fins. (2) The air being drawn in to the fan is pulled past a large 45 degree mirror and the smartphone sized LCD imaging panel. Both these items are obscured from view. The heat source in the projector is the aluminium block to the right hand edge with the text DOM 3014-.... It has a large LED panel area very much like the yellow LED seen in new security lights.


If you're still adamant about messing round with the cooling then you might want to look at forcing some air over the cooling fins. You should also do some air flow and temperature assessments of the heat on the 800x480 pixel 4" LED panel. In the end though this does feel like an exercise in polishing a turd. My apologies, but when the projector costs under £50 is it really worth investing this time and money?
 
Nice write up and its accurate. My £50 "turd" is all I can afford and I do think its worth investing time and TBH not very much money to get it running reasonably silent . Besides I like messing with things so why not :-)
 
If I replaced the fan with a another 12v fan would it be safe to use even if the amperage was slightly higher, and if it was a 2 wire setup instead of the 3 wire on the original?

How about this

Or this but Im not sure of the Amp rating on this one?
 
Last edited:
drop a fan infront of the heatsink and cut some holes in the side where the original one was?
 
Thats what I was thinking of doing. My main concern is getting a fan that has a higher Amp rating?
 
"If I replaced the fan with a another 12v fan would it be safe to use even if the amperage was slightly higher"The fan is going to try to draw more current from the circuit than it is designed to deliver. That might not be such a problem when the fan is already running, but it's something to consider very carefully when the fan draws peak power on start up.

"and if it was a 2 wire setup instead of the 3 wire on the original?" If the projector was designed to run with a 2 wire fan then they'd have fitted one as standard. After all, it's cheaper. So they spec'd a 3 wire fan for a reason, and that reason is that the third wire provides a function that the projector needs. Sometimes it's a fan speed indicator, or quite often it's simply a stall sensor to tell the projector's protection circuit if the cooling isn't working. Depending on the design of the projector it might run for a while without the fan then shut down, or possibly not start up at all.
 
I went ahead and ordered the Gelid Silent 5 its rated at 12v and 0.15 Amps and its a 3 pin job so it has the same specs as the original power rating wise
 
kPATm said:
I went ahead and ordered the Gelid Silent 5 its rated at 12v and 0.15 Amps and its a 3 pin job so it has the same specs as the original power rating wise
Click to expand...

Let us know how it goes! I'd like to mod mine too.

I'm also thinking of ripping apart an old 4 inch android phone with 720p display and see if I can remove the display from the backlight and throw it in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom