2Fat4U
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:17 pm

controlling a tiny cooling fan for raspberry pi 3

Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:41 pm

Hi all, new to the forums and raspberry Pi's.

So I recently purchased my first raspberry pi because I thought I would be fun to tinker around with. I had also bought a case for it and it came with a small fan for cooling. I have everything assembled and the fan hooked up but it won't run. So my question is is there some kind of software or code that I could run that would allow me to control the fan?

P.S. I'm familiar with Linux based OS's but I'd still consider myself a novice.

runboy93
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2017 1:17 pm
Location: Finland
Contact: Website

Re: controlling a tiny cooling fan for raspberry pi 3

Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:41 pm

https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32801874371.html

There are some sample code on the item description, something what you looking for?

klricks
Posts: 7154
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 3:01 am
Location: Grants Pass, OR, USA
Contact: Website

Re: controlling a tiny cooling fan for raspberry pi 3

Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:05 am

2Fat4U wrote:Hi all, new to the forums and raspberry Pi's.

So I recently purchased my first raspberry pi because I thought I would be fun to tinker around with. I had also bought a case for it and it came with a small fan for cooling. I have everything assembled and the fan hooked up but it won't run. So my question is is there some kind of software or code that I could run that would allow me to control the fan?

P.S. I'm familiar with Linux based OS's but I'd still consider myself a novice.
How is the fan connected?

If it is just a raw 2 wire fan then it should just work by connecting to the 5V and a ground pin. In this case the fan will run continuously with no control.

If the fan has an input control module of some sort then there would be at least 3 wires to connect. 5V, GND and a GPIO to control the fan with software.

In either case the seller should have given detailed instructions including code if needed.
Unless specified otherwise my response is based on the latest and fully updated RPiOS Buster w/ Desktop OS.

2Fat4U
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:17 pm

Re: controlling a tiny cooling fan for raspberry pi 3

Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:39 am

klricks wrote:
2Fat4U wrote:Hi all, new to the forums and raspberry Pi's.

So I recently purchased my first raspberry pi because I thought I would be fun to tinker around with. I had also bought a case for it and it came with a small fan for cooling. I have everything assembled and the fan hooked up but it won't run. So my question is is there some kind of software or code that I could run that would allow me to control the fan?

P.S. I'm familiar with Linux based OS's but I'd still consider myself a novice.
How is the fan connected?

If it is just a raw 2 wire fan then it should just work by connecting to the 5V and a ground pin. In this case the fan will run continuously with no control.

If the fan has an input control module of some sort then there would be at least 3 wires to connect. 5V, GND and a GPIO to control the fan with software.

In either case the seller should have given detailed instructions including code if needed.

Thanks I went back to the products page and made sure it was connected properly but it still didn't work. I then connected it to a usb powered fan controller that has the exact same connectors and it still didn't work. So I think it may have come broken. Thanks anyway though.

pcmanbob
Posts: 9464
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 9:28 pm
Location: Mansfield UK

Re: controlling a tiny cooling fan for raspberry pi 3

Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:44 pm

Looking at the wiki page it looks like you need to have a separate power input to run the fan and switched output on the connectors.
you also need to be running the fan code in SAMPLE CODE 3 to control the fan.

http://www.raspberrypiwiki.com/index.ph ... sion_Board

http://www.raspberrypiwiki.com/index.ph ... ecode3.zip
We want information… information… information........................no information no help
The use of crystal balls & mind reading are not supported

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