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Noisy FC-8

post #1 of 7
10/22/12 at 12:50pm
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I purchased an FC-8 about a month ago and just got around to testing it last week. When I have things running at full speed the controller is completely silent. As soon as I turn the speed/voltage down, even by an extremely small amount, I hear this distinctive half squeal half ticking sound coming from the controller. I'm using Gentle Typhoon AP-15's. It makes this noise regardless of what channel I use and the sound doesn't change whether I'm running only 1 or 4 fans on a channel.

I did send an email to Lamptron support and they want me to send it back to them because they've apparently never heard of an FC-8 making this noise. I'm planning on completing my build this weekend and I can't be without a controller for another 2-3 weeks. How long does the RMA process take? Is there anything that can be done to make this go any faster?
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post #2 of 7
10/22/12 at 3:47pm
RMA process takes typically 4-6 weeks to process and ship out. You could try to RMA it to the store you purchased it from that should be considerably quicker.
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post #3 of 7
10/23/12 at 10:22am
Be careful with that FC-8 Fan Controller. I had the same problem with one of mine after I installed it. There would be a ticking sound on low speeds and the current would pulse, causing a nice blinking effect on the fan's LED. After about three weeks the thing burned out (you can check my other posts, I included a picture of the burned out PCB). The defective unit I received also had a faulty first channel, it never lit up or powered anything connected to it.
I RMAd mine about 3-4 weeks ago and still have not received a shipping confirmation.
In comparison I have another FC-8 which has not caused any problems. I think there's a bad batch of these going around. I purchased mine from FrozenCPU. (I've had other quality issues with FrozenCPU stuff).
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post #4 of 7
10/23/12 at 10:34am
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I too got mine from FrozenCPU but I don't think I can fault them for the controller failing. It doesn't make me feel all to good about the RMA process if you are still waiting this long for a replacement. My problem is that I already paid basically $60 for the controller and now it's going to cost another $50-$60 to ship it back to them. I was hoping to put my new build together and leak test Saturday and bench/overclock on Sunday but that won't be happening any time soon if I have to wait almost 2 months for a replacement controller.

I get the same issue with the LED blinking when turning it down low. When I first got the controller the screws holding the power wires into the controller were very loose and I had to tighten them down to prevent sparking. All my channels do work even though channel 1 is a little hard to turn at times.
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post #5 of 7
10/23/12 at 10:43am
You could just send it back to FrozenCPU. You'll be out on shipping charges though. I think that FrozenCPU just got a bad batch of these FC-8s. I'd email them regardless, I did also and got a prompt response offering a replacement. However, if they have a bad batch you'd just be trading one bad FC-8 for another...
Again, I'd recommend you pull out the FC-8. It's no fun discovering the smell of burnt PCB emanating from your computer along with a plume of smoke. I checked the fans that were connected to it, and they appear to still function, and the PSU seems to be OK also.
However, there is probably a good chance that when it does burn out it may take out other components.
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post #6 of 7
10/23/12 at 10:51am
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Here's the problem... I have 32 AP-15's to control. That leaves me with the FC-8 or the FC-9. I get more control with the FC-8 and I'm not too crazy on the looks of the FC-9. The only reason why the FC-9 would be better is because it would allow for more consistent control of particular "zones" of fans. By that I mean my left bank of intake fans would all be the same speed and my left bank of radiator fans would be the same speed. The same would be true for the right side of my pc. (I have a CaseLabs TH10)

I'm familiar with that smell. About 6-7 years ago I had a Seagate hard drive actually catch fire while in my pc. If I wouldn't have seen the flash out of the corner of my eye and pull the power plug I probably would have lost most of my system.
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post #7 of 7
10/23/12 at 1:07pm
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Just got off the phone with the guys at FrozenCPU. They are going to let me do an advanced RMA through them and are going to test the new unit before it ships to ensure that it doesn't make any noises. I just can't justify paying another $50-$60 to ship this one back to China and wait another month or more to get a replacement. At least this way I'll get a refund for the defective controller when it arrives at FrozenCPU.
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