Fan stopped working, can I buy a new capacitor

[steven100]

My fan stopped working a couple of nights ago,  it was spinning fine then after 5 min it stopped,  then I started it again thinking it was the electrical plug connection and again after 3 min it stopped.

I'm thinking it might be the capacitor .....

Can I buy another capacitor at Amorn or somewhere of similar rating and replace it   ?   I will cut the wires and join them with small spring connectors because it's too hard to remove them from inside the motor winding. 

 

[Raindancer]

Yes, you can find the capacitor in Amorn or on Lazada.   Only a few baht.

[worgeordie]

Yes I have replaced a few , also get some light machine oil ,Singer oil , and put

a few drops on the fan bearings ,it will keep them working....

 

regards Worgeordie

[KhunBENQ]

Worth a try with the capacitor.

But usually capacitors fail slowly with the fan speed going down.

If the fan has proper speed between the outages it might the archaic "radio buttons" (0 1 2 3). There are spare parts but more difficult to change.

If you  nudge the blades by hand, do they turn easy/freely?

[KhunBENQ]

15 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Yes I have replaced a few , also get some light machine oil ,Singer oil , and put

a few drops on the fan bearings ,it will keep them working....

 

regards Worgeordie

I give the whole mechanism a good shower with penetrating oil 😁

Cheap at DIY shop.

Edited June 1 by KhunBENQ

[steven100]

4 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Worth a try with the capacitor.

But usually capacitors fail slowly with the fan speed going down.

If the fan has proper speed between the outages it might the archaic "radio buttons" (0 1 2 3). There are spare parts but more difficult to change.

If you  nudge the blades by hand, do they turn easy/freely?

 

yes, I took the front cage off  and can spin the fan easily,  so it's not any dry bearing,  I'll try the capacitor and see if that fixes it.  Thanks ....

[steven100]

7 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Worth a try with the capacitor.

But usually capacitors fail slowly with the fan speed going down.

If the fan has proper speed between the outages it might the archaic "radio buttons" (0 1 2 3). There are spare parts but more difficult to change.

If you  nudge the blades by hand, do they turn easy/freely?

 

is the capacitor polarity conscience or it doesn't matter     ?   

[Crossy]

17 minutes ago, steven100 said:

 

is the capacitor polarity conscience or it doesn't matter     ?   

 

it's AC, it matters not 🙂

[Robert Paulson]

35 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

it's AC, it matters not 🙂

Are you a wiring expert or something. I’m being serious I have been dying to learn how to Jimmy things to run off my own diy battery packs. Idk im just not good with the electrical stuff so I always put it off. For example I have a small blower that runs off a battery and also a fan that runs off usb power. I just want to build my own battery and run them. I’m so sick of buying Thai power sources they all go out right away. I like buying those fresh cells, they seem to last. I’ve used em in a couple of flashlights. Sorry for rambling I wonder if there is some instructional stuff you could guide me to. I suppose I could just get on YouTube but I never seem to find exactly what I’m looking for

[steven100]

11 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

it's AC, it matters not 🙂

 

the original capacitor rating shows CBB61  1.2uF  ....  but I can only find TEC 1.5uF on Shopee,  can I use 1.5 uF  ?

[bluejets]

11 hours ago, Robert Paulson said:

I suppose I could just get on YouTube but I never seem to find exactly what I’m looking for

Be wary there, a lot of B/S.

 

Perhaps get an old PC power supply as they normally last for donkey's years.

Just have to bridge the PG (power good...usually green) to Ground (usually black) to get them to work.

You will find many instructions on the web(good ones)

12V DC and 5V DC as well as others.

Main ones have relatively large current capability.

Older PC units (15-20 year old) usually easier to work with. 

[bluejets]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

the original capacitor rating shows CBB61  1.2uF  ....  but I can only find TEC 1.5uF on Shopee,  can I use 1.5 uF  ?

As long as the voltage is the same or higher, it will be ok.

Best show here..............

 

You should be able to pick up one at a local electrical shop  almost anywhere....... (Udon Thani?)

Edited June 2 by bluejets

[Crossy]

This ^^^

[NotEinstein]

If it isn't the capacitor or the on/speed switch, then it may be the internal fuse, which on most fans is difficult to get to as it connects direct to the windings.

[thesetat]

21 hours ago, steven100 said:

My fan stopped working a couple of nights ago,  it was spinning fine then after 5 min it stopped,  then I started it again thinking it was the electrical plug connection and again after 3 min it stopped.

I'm thinking it might be the capacitor .....

Can I buy another capacitor at Amorn or somewhere of similar rating and replace it   ?   I will cut the wires and join them with small spring connectors because it's too hard to remove them from inside the motor winding. 

 

why not just take it to a shop that does this.. It will be cheap enough and not waste your time waiting for delivery and doing it yourself. My fan also had the same problem but it was not the capacitor. You may find you are wrong about the problem and change that only to find it still does not work. The cost to fix my industrial sized fan was only 150 baht. Are you so cheap you can not just let a professional fix it? 

[Raindancer]

21 hours ago, steven100 said:

My fan stopped working a couple of nights ago,  it was spinning fine then after 5 min it stopped,  then I started it again thinking it was the electrical plug connection and again after 3 min it stopped.

I'm thinking it might be the capacitor .....

Can I buy another capacitor at Amorn or somewhere of similar rating and replace it   ?   I will cut the wires and join them with small spring connectors because it's too hard to remove them from inside the motor winding. 

 

Try this one on Lazada:

[steven100]

33 minutes ago, thesetat said:

Are you so cheap you can not just let a professional fix it? 

yes,   I'm so cheap.    Last thing I want to do is cart a fan around town.   

If the capacitor isn't the problem then I'll buy a new fan.

 

But thanks for asking me am I cheap.  

[jaideedave]

46 minutes ago, thesetat said:

why not just take it to a shop that does this.. It will be cheap enough and not waste your time waiting for delivery and doing it yourself. My fan also had the same problem but it was not the capacitor. You may find you are wrong about the problem and change that only to find it still does not work. The cost to fix my industrial sized fan was only 150 baht. Are you so cheap you can not just let a professional fix it? 

I had the same issue...I changed the capacitor but it still didn't work. Took it to Somchais repar shop and he fixed it for 200 baht.I no longer repair fans.

[steven100]

1 hour ago, Raindancer said:

Try this one on Lazada:

[cdemundo]

51 minutes ago, steven100 said:

yes,   I'm so cheap.    Last thing I want to do is cart a fan around town.   

If the capacitor isn't the problem then I'll buy a new fan.

 

But thanks for asking me am I cheap.  

The guy who asked so rudely also doesn't understand the DIY impulse.

 

I like to fix stuff if I can.

Sadly, I usually can't, but I still like to try.

[Doctor Tom]

3 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

The guy who asked so rudely also doesn't understand the DIY impulse.

 

I like to fix stuff if I can.

Sadly, I usually can't, but I still like to try.

I fix nothing, if it stops, breaks, disintegrates. or I just get fed up with it, I buy a new one. Most of the crap here is Chinese anyway, so it usually lasts about as long as a tuna sandwich in 36 degrees. 

[steven100]

1 minute ago, cdemundo said:

The guy who asked so rudely also doesn't understand the DIY impulse.

 

I like to fix stuff if I can.

Sadly, I usually can't, but I still like to try.

 

Ever since I was a kid I liked to pull things to pieces to see how they work,  as you said ..  it's an impulse we have.

Doesn't matter if we're not successful with the fix,  it's seeing what makes the thing tick ..  that's the learning process.  

[Doctor Tom]

13 minutes ago, steven100 said:

 

Ever since I was a kid I liked to pull things to pieces to see how they work,  as you said ..  it's an impulse we have.

Doesn't matter if we're not successful with the fix,  it's seeing what makes the thing tick ..  that's the learning process.  

Life is far too short for gardening, decorating, working on a car, building stuff, fixing stuff and putting up with a whining female. 

[steven100]

8 minutes ago, Doctor Tom said:

Life is far too short for gardening, decorating, working on a car, building stuff, fixing stuff and putting up with a whining female. 

 

so what is the best thing to do with the short time we have 

[NotEinstein]

I, like you, have always had an inquisitiveness about how things work, and so my retirement, which has lasted 22 years so far, has become filled with my hobby of fix - build - repair, covering our house, our (well, the wife's officially) business of residential accommodation, computers, web-sites, programming, solar bits and pieces, etc. Obviously most people shudder at the thought of such efforts and prefer a leisurely time - to each his own.

[Crossy]

2 hours ago, Doctor Tom said:

Life is far too short for gardening, decorating, working on a car, building stuff, fixing stuff and putting up with a whining female. 

 

Many of us, particularly those to be found in these forums, actually enjoy doing stuff like this (my wife does the gardening and I hate working on cars mind).

 

Each to his own of course, but one wonders why you are even looking here 🙂 

 

 

[billd766]

On 6/1/2024 at 10:59 AM, worgeordie said:

Yes I have replaced a few , also get some light machine oil ,Singer oil , and put

a few drops on the fan bearings ,it will keep them working....

 

regards Worgeordie

When I take the fans down to clean them, I usually give the motor spindle a few squirts of WD 40.

[transam]

I find all fan stuff on Lazada....Not long ago replaced the oscillation motor for a fan, just need part numbers...🤗

[Crossy]

3 minutes ago, billd766 said:

When I take the fans down to clean them, I usually give the motor spindle a few squirts of WD 40.

 

Actually, WD40 isn't a particularly good lubricant for the sintered bearings found in most of these fans.

 

A light machine oil (Singer sewing machine oil) applied with a syringe (possibly with a big-bore needle for accuracy) is far better. 

[billd766]

9 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Many of us, particularly those to be found in these forums, actually enjoy doing stuff like this (my wife does the gardening and I hate working on cars mind).

 

Each to his own of course, but one wonders why you are even looking here 🙂 

 

 

I still have the skill and the tools to fix many things. It is my 80 year old body and slowly failing eyesight that is letting me down nowadays.