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something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Control fans on Apple hardware: iMacs, Macbooks, etc

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mariahcarey
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Joined: 18 Jul 2016, 12:04

something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by mariahcarey »

Hi everyone,

i've tried searching for the error i'm getting, but couldn't find anything specific...

I have an iMac 21,5" from 2013 with El Capitan 10.11.5 on it, and the fan has been going crazy since a few weeks on the previous versions of OS X already.
I completely reset it, formatting my harddrive and reinstalling OS X, unfortunately nothing changed.

I also tried various fan control apps, none of them changed my fan, whether i set it on faster nor slower, it seems like my iMac is completely resistant to these apps...

Well with Macs Fan Control 1.4.3, i'm getting the following message:

something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal (3200).
Please make sure to uninstall any other fan controlling software and reset SMC.

I did uninstall all other fan-apps. Is there anything i can try?

Thanks a lot.
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Steven
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Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by Steven »

Hi,
mariahcarey wrote:reset SMC
mariahcarey
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Joined: 18 Jul 2016, 12:04

Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by mariahcarey »

Hi Steven,

right, just did that after i posted... i forgot.

Error is gone, i can set it on custom values now... still, the fan doesnt change... :/
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Steven
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Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by Steven »

Screenshot?
mariahcarey
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Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by mariahcarey »

there it is
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Steven
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Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by Steven »

mariahcarey
It's always spinning at ~4500 RPM ?
mariahcarey
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Joined: 18 Jul 2016, 12:04

Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by mariahcarey »

yes! well, at least almost always. sometimes it gets into phases where it acts completely normal, but then for hours, 4500 rpm...
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Steven
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Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by Steven »

It's definitely not normal, moreover temperatures are very low, looks like something is broken.
1. Make sure you have the latest version of SMC :
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1699

2. Try to test the app on Windows (Boot Camp). If the situation is the same - i suspect some physical damage to mac internals (fan controller or wire)
mariahcarey
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Joined: 18 Jul 2016, 12:04

Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by mariahcarey »

I tried updating with that SMC version you gave me, when trying to install it tells me its not supported on my system...

I'll try it using Windows now.

If nothing helps, how complicated is it to repair a fan controller, respectively putting in a new one?
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Steven
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Re: something is wrong - min/max fan values are equal

Post by Steven »

A repair like that would require disassembling the mac
https://ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac+Intel+ ... down/17829

I'd also recommend reading this:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201257
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