PS4 (Original) Fan Replacement
PS4 Fan Replacement Guide - Overheating Fix
Difficulty Level - Medium
If you suspect your PS4 is overheating, it is probably because you can hear your fan making an infernal racket inside your console. Check out our PS4 Overheating Fix page, to troubleshoot this fault first of all.
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However, if you think your fan may be faulty, then it could need replacing. Sometimes the fan stops working altogether - if this is the case you console will be very quiet, but will switch off after a minute or so, and an overheating error message will be displayed. Another symptom to look out for is your PS4 fan making a horrible screeching noise. If this is the case, your fan bearings may have worn out.
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If you have these symptoms, then you may need to replace the fan unit. Check out the video and instructions below. You will need to buy a PS4 replacement fan unit, links to Amazon below.
Estimated repair time 30 mins
Estimated cost £30 ($40)
Faulty Fan Symptoms
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- Console switches off after 5-30 seconds, displaying a red light.
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- Message on screen informing of overheating, then switches off
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- Screeching noise coming from console, then switches off after a short period
Tools Needed
We have already established that the PS4 (original) is blighted with overheating issues. Just to recap here if you haven't been to the Overheating Fix Page, your PS4 gets extremely hot.
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Under normal circumstances, over a period of time, your console will accumulate dust, which in turn clogs up the fan unit and cakes the heatsink and motherboard components.
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If your console is making a hair dryer noise, or sounds like its going to take off, then you need to visit our PS4 Overheating page.
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However, sometimes, the fan can complete pack up and stop working. The bearings inside the fan unit sometimes wear out due to gunk getting inside, and general wear and tear.
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If this is the case, the fan unit can just stop working altogether. This means that the console will get hot immediately after turning on. The PS4 will get so hot, that it will achieve 'thermal shutdown', and turn off. You may get a message displayed first, informing you of overheating. Other times, the fan bearings can make a very loud noise, like a screeching noise, and then turn of shortly afterwards.
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If you have any of these symptoms, you will need to follow this repair.
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Replacing the complete fan chassis is what we used to do in the workshop, as it is simpler. So if you have an old PS4 knocking around, this is the easiest way to repair this fault, because you can just swap out the complete chassis.
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If you don't, or can't get hold of a cheap faulty console, you will need to buy a replacement fan unit. Its slightly trickier to replace, we'll show you how.
PS4 (Original) Fan Replacement Guide
STEP BY STEP
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You will need screwdrivers, cleaning fluid, thermal paste , a replacement fan unit, and a cleaning brush for this repair.
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1. Remove hard drive cover, and using a security torx screwdriver, remove all visible torx screws. Remove the hard drive screw, and pull out the hard drive.
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2. Remove the seals with a flat driver, covering the torx T8 screws from the back of the console.
Remove 3 screws across the bottom (or 1 in the middle with newer original models) and 1 holding the top cover in place.
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3. Remove the bottom cover by pulling away from the chassis at the left hand edge, and the right hand edge. pull down to remove, and put aside.
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4. Remove the screws from the Power Supply (PSU). 3 torx T8 screws, and 2 cross head screws.
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5. Remove the PSU by pulling up from the right hand side, and rock back and forth until it pops out of position.
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6. Pull up, but be aware the PSU is still connected underneath, on the left hand side.
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7. Locate the PSU connector cable, and pull the plug out of the motherboard, by pulling it upwards.
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8. Remove the cross head screw that sits next to where you've just unplugged the PSU connector, (if the screw is present in your model)
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9. Unplug the bluetooth cable connector. Using a small flat head screwdriver. Carefully get the driver underneath and gently 'flick' upwards to unclip.
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10. Now remove the 2 Blu Ray connectors. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS IN THE RIGHT ORDER:
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Firstly, locate the flat connector on the right. press the connector clip down on top of the blu ray drive, and pull out the connector. Then locate the other end on the motherboard, press the clip, and pull the other end out. DO THIS CAREFULLY.
Secondly, pull the plug out of the board on the left.
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(NOTE - If this isn't done correctly, it is possible to blow the fuses on the blu ray circuit board. if this happens, you could end up with a dead blu ray drive. it is possible to repair the fuses on the board, but its very tricky for the amateur repairist. See our Blu Ray videos to see how.)
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11. Replace the black plastic bottom cover back onto the console temporarily, then flip the console over.
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12. Remove the remaining top cover, by pulling at the front edge of the cover, and then the back edge, to loosen its grip on the chassis.
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Get a large flat driver, and drive it in between the cover and the chassis on the right hand edge. This will help further loosen the grip of the cover. Pull the cover off, and put aside.
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13. Now locate the 2 screws in the heatsink clamp, and remove with a crosshead driver. Set aside.
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14. Remove all other visible torx T8 screws around the motherboard cover.
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15. Remove the fan connector plug, located on the bottom right hand edge of the board. get a small flat head driver underneath, and CAREFULLY, flick upwards to unclip.
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16. Remove the grey cover from the console, revealing the motherboard underneath..
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17. Pull the motherboard upwards slightly at the front, to start dislodging it from he chassis. The pull towards you, taking care not to damage the board, and making sure the back of the board is removed from the chassis with care.
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Once the mainboard is out, give it a clean down with a brush, on both sides, or carefully clean with a vacuum. Set aside.
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18. You are now down to the heatsink chassis. Clean the top with a brush and / or vacuum.
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19. Remove the 3 small crosshead drivers located in the lower-centre part of the chassis. Remove this aluminium chassis from the rest of the black plastic fan chassis.
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20. Take this heatsink chassis outdoors, and give it a proper clean. Look underneath, where the heatsink is. It is most likely clogged up with dust. THIS NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY CLEANED DOWN, so that you can see through the fins of the heatsink.
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21. On the remaining black fan chassis, locate the 2 screws holding the fan in place, and remove them.
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22. Remove the fan, and replace with your new replacement fan.
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22. CLEAN THE GPU on the motherboard. Use the WD40 Degreasing Spray to clean the thermal paste 'gunk' off the GPU chip. This is the biggest visible chip on the motherboard. Then, you need to paste the GPU chip on the motherboard with thermal paste.
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23. Squeeze a pea-sized amount of paste out of the tube, onto the centre of the chip.
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24. Put the 3 screws back into the heatsink chassis. Turn the motherboard over, and slot the motherboard back onto the aluminium chassis.
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25. Plug the fan connector back into the motherboard.
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26. Put the metal motherboard cover back over the motherboard.
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27. Screw the heatsink clamp back onto the cover with the 2 cross head screws.
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28. Go around the board and put back in all the torx T8 screws.
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29. Insert the hard drive back in, and screw back in place.
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30. Put the top black right-hand cover on, and screw in place.
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31. Turn the console back over, remove the bottom cover.
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32. Put the connectors back in. Start with the blue tooth connector. Push down onto the little gold circular connector.
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33. Next, Push the Blu Ray plug into place, on the left hand side.
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34. The, put the left hand end of the flat connector back into the board, by pressing down on the metal clip, and inserting carefully.
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35. Now do the same with the other end of the connector, on top of the blu ray drive.
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36. Get your PSU, and plug the connector into the motherboard. Push the PSU back down into place.
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37. Put the screws back in to the PSU.
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38. Put the console cover back on.
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39. Turn over, and put the hard drive cover back in place.
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40. Put the torx screws back in place at the back of the console
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41. Go and test.
JOB DONE