My X1 Carbon Gen7 (20QD-001VUS) laptop fan assembly (Part: 01YU037 - the Delta fan with  6wires, and 5 pins on the connector) has been making a rattling noise for a while and keeps stalling and spinning up again. No error reported.

I got a replacement and installed it, and get FAN ERROR on boot. I tried running the hardware diagnostics in the boot menu: the new fan fails.

I put the old fan in and it boots without error and the same diagnostics shows the fan is ok (although it still rattles and stalls about every 30 seconds).

I got a second replacement (this time a 01YU36, which has only 5 wires and 4 pins on the connector). It also gets FAN ERROR on boot. 

Both the replacement fans spin up 3x on boot up (on for a second, off for a second x3) and then stay off. If I escape the fan error and boot Windows, I can see the CPU temp climb rapidly and the fans don't kick in - so I manually turn the machine off to avoid damage. 

Summary: Old fan passes hardware test and gets no FAN ERROR on boot, so I assume the motherboard is OK. Need to replace it, however, as it stalls every 30 seconds and makes a horrible noise and isn't cooling the system effectively. Both replacements cause a FAN ERROR on boot (the first replacement is  identical, the second is different but is (supposed to be) compatible. Both replacements do spin up upon boot, but then stop after a few seconds.

Any suggestions really appreciated: Should I get a 3rd replacement fan assembly and hope these two are defective?

MOD: Moved to ThinkPad Community. - Doc

Hi richardss, thanks for reaching our community. 

Sorry for the trouble. 

Where did you order the fan you got? 

We recommend to bring it for service, here is the link for our service center https://support.lenovo.com/solutions/ht118678

If you would like to try another fan, then you can check the link below, then filter FANS under commodity type to check other compatible fans.

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/ph/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/thinkpad-x-series-laptops/thinkpad-x1-carbon-7th-gen-type-20qd-20qe/20qd/parts/display/compatible

Thanks,

Arjay_Lenovo

The replacement fans came from AliExpress, but I do believe they are authentic. 

I have contacted the local support centre. They are going to charge over $200 and will take 20-25 days. Unimpressed!! 

If anyone can tell me which of the fan connector pins are power/gnd, I'll just hook the fan straight into 5V, bypass the FAN ERROR warning on boot and have the fan run at full speed the whole time.