Bitcoin Forum

Hi everyone,

I just received an S9 miner and operated it - no glitch - for about a week.

Now the S9 reports sporadically fan failures and then looses connections.  The chip temperature stays close to 100F and the fans seem to still be running (the machine continues to be its usual noisy).  I haven't seen any thing else out of the ordinary.  

My questions:

Any suggestions to where to get one? or how to find a generic fan? (It seems bitmain S9 fans are sold out.)

The error reported in the log is: "Fatal error: fan lost!"

The fan reports 0 RPMs on the miner status page.  Fan 1 is failing - is that the intake?  Can I flip the fans the test them?

Maybe I'm an idiot, but I don't understand what you are asking. You have a S9, its been running for a week, you getting an error or something?

My question is #1 is the front fan spinning, #2 is the rear fan spinning? Based on how you answer that question, I think we may be able to determine whether it is the fan that is faulty, the connection, or the controller. As a side note, next time you order something from BITMAIN make sure you get some extra parts including a spare fan, cables, etc. They may come in handy down the road. I think you should stick with BITMAIN replacement fans, if you end up needing one. They are very heavy duty and are rated for the CFM and air pressure S9's need to stay cool.

I'm pretty sure that I'm the idiot here, at least the noob.

When I start the miner both fans (inlet #1 and outlet #2) turn on and spin.  The miner actually hashes as expected for a few minutes, before it decides that it cannot find fan #1.  When #1 goes to 0 rpm, the miner throws the fatal error (fan lost!) and then looses connections.

It sounds like the controller or the connections are bad.  I'm leaning towards the controller since the connection always works when I power up the miner.

Can the controller be replaced?

Yes, you can request warranty work if you are still within the period but that would be the long road. You can get one through https://bitmainwarranty.com/shop/products/us/fan_s7/ (https://bitmainwarranty.com/shop/products/us/fan_s7/) if you are in the US. They do have other locations as well so visit the site to find a location near you.

Thanks!

Time to troubleshoot the S9 and see what needs to be replaced.

Here is one solution from the bitmain troubleshooting website:

9.Issue: The miner works with normal hash rate when it was booted firstly. After a while, there is no hash rate.

Reason: One of the fans was not detected. Only when two fans are detected can miner work well.

Solution: Switch the fan and IO board in turn to find out which one is defective.

I'm trying this now... this suggestion came from bitmain's troubleshooting website: https://bitmainhelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/220872007-Possible-problems-for-Antminer-Troubleshooting-for-S7-S9-L3-

Did you ever resolve this?

Yes...

I switched the fan and controller board.  The controller board was burned-out.  I replaced the board.  Device now works like a charm.