Welcome to the Cox Community
Our community is a collaborative place to learn about Cox products and services. Jump into the conversation today!
Messages
Selected Messages
New Contributor III
•
HD Receiver Fan Noise
Just got Cox subscription, and have an HD receiver that constantly has the fan running whether the box is in standby mode or on. Is there ever a time the fan shuts off? It's annoying from a noise perspective, as well as being a potential energy eater as well even when not using the TV or HD receiver itself. Wondering if this is normal or not, and if it can be avoided.
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
What is the make/model number of the receiver?
0
0
gshelly
New Contributor III
•
DCH3416
0
0
Health_Edge
+5 more
Valued Contributor III
•
Does the reciever seem hot? Make sure its in a well ventilated area with nothing on top of it. The cable box has a temp guage in it, and if it detects the temperture too high, it will turn on the fan. I don't know of anyway to disable that and wouldn't suggest doing so anyway.
I can show you how to go into the cable box diagnostics and check the temps, but not sure how technical you cant to get.
0
0
gshelly
New Contributor III
•
There is nothing on top of the receiver at all. It's in a TV stand and has a wall below, left and behind, but to me it seems like it is in a well ventilated area with nothing by about a foot of space above it and 3 to 4 inches of space on its right. It does seem to be constantly warm to hot back where the power enters the receiver at the back, but that is the only area that seems warm. Is is possible that there may be something with the power connection where it enters the HD Receiver?
0
0
Health_Edge
+5 more
Valued Contributor III
•
That is possible. That is where the transformer and converter are for electrical. So if thats starting to fail, and over heating the box, it might cause the fan to run all the time. Might need to swap the box out, either by a technician or going to the store, depending how tech savvy you are.
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
The DCH3416 is a DVR. Are you certain that you are not hearing the DVR HDD instead of a fan? Does your software have a setting to turn OFF the HDD when the DVR is in stand-by? [Power Manager - HDD power. (Page 178 in my manual.)] If so, try it. If not, unplug the DVR until cool. Then, plug it back in. Does the noise start immediately?
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
Well? Was it a fan, or was it the HDD?
0
0
Health_Edge
+5 more
Valued Contributor III
•
Usually no response means it got fixed. Heh.
BTW Domino, hope you don't mind me hopping over to the TV forum sometimes when the internet forum gets slow. I can tell you know more about cable then I do, We should chat sometime. Email me via the one I gave out a couple threads ago.
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
Yeah...but was it a fan, or was it the HDD? The forum wants to know.
0
0
Health_Edge
+5 more
Valued Contributor III
•
I would wait a month or two and get the SB6183. 24 downstream channels vs the SB6141 8. Will future proof you at-least the next couple years. The trick is finding one. I think they will be hitting Cox retail in the next month or two. The SB6141 is a great modem too, I use one personally.
0
0
ATPTourFan
New Contributor III
•
I would normally suggest that if a device starts making a noise or otherwise starts behaving differently after a long time, something physical has happened to force the change in behavior.
I know the Motorola DVRs like the DCH3416 have a circular air intake vent on their bottom panel that will over years (or months depending on how dusty the environment is) will collect dust build-up which will prevent adequate air circulation. This will force the device to utilize it's fan much more frequently if not full-time depending on ambient temperature.
Lastly, I always remind friends/family to ensure there's nothing under their DVR (such as channel guide, installation receipt, magazine, whatever). Any foreign item under the device will prevent it from cooling properly, again leading to increased fan utilization.
Btw, my guess is that the OP was just hearing the hard drive's noisy bearings when he normally would have silence near his TV before having a DVR.
0
0
gshelly
New Contributor III
•
Sorry, I've been out of town (probably a bad time to ask a support forum question). I tried to look at an online manual for the DCH3416, and it mentioned in the troubleshooting section that the fan would run because the hard drive would always be going despite the DVR being in standby mode. If you could send me the instructions you have in your manual somehow, I'd be willing to try them. The noise from the fan does start right upon plugging the power cord in.
I'm also going to try elevating the box itself above the surface I have it on, as the fan in on the bottom of the box unit (which seems a little interesting when it comes to choice of placement for good air circulation). Perhaps that can help, too.
I appreciate all your responses, truly I do.
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
As I stated, the fact that the noise starts the instant you plug in a cold receiver tells me it's the HDD instead of the fan. The software defaults to a mode where the HDD powers up as soon as you plug in the DVR. A menu option turns off the HDD 1-minute after power is applied.
SETTINGS->"A"->ACCESSORIES->....(follow the menu prompts.)
0
0
gshelly
New Contributor III
•
Excuse my lack of knowledge, but I tried going into the Settings, Accessories, and I don't see a clear option for the HDD. The three categories that I have under Accessories are AC Outlet Use, RF Output, and Set-Top Clock. Any of those what I am looking for?
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
Er...you must have a different ver of Passport. Any idea what version of Passport your DVR uses?
0
0