Dell R640 Fans PWM stays on 72%

Hi, what are the cards plugged in the slots, could you tell me?

What was the fan speed before start updating iDRAC FW? Is there any new H/W installed on the server after acquiring the server?

Thanks for the reply @DELL-Young E  @DELL-Shine K 

There are no 3rd party cards plugged in, I also already checked if this could be the issue with LFM triggering these speeds.

I have upgraded the iDrac firmware all the way from iDrac version 3.30.30.30 (I believe) where I could also set the manual fan speeds. But after I fully upgraded to the latest iDrac version 5.10.30.00 and the fans have been up to 72% PWM ever since. I have no idea what is triggering this, maybe the 512GB DDR4 2666 (32GB DIMMS)? Or the Dual Xeon Gold 6138 20C maybe?

Due to this the power consumption is also way higher than when I had the manually tuned to 30% 99 watts vs 178 watts when running at 72%.

Kind regards,

Julian

Hello @Appollonius,

Does any hardware was change from factory defaults? I mean , which hardware modification you made on the server? We would need model of the new parts if possible.

Regards.

Hello Diego,

I bought the server from someone, but as far as I know nothing has changed from the factory default.

Everything is as it has to be in this server, as I also own a R630 with the same 'sets' of hardware configuration and no 3rd party cards. Which is running at 30% PWM.

I have no idea if any other thing could make the R640 scream for 72% PWM?

Otherwise I think I will have to downgrade iDrac all the way back to 3.30.30.30 to have it manually set at around 30 - 40%

Kind regards,

Julian

Hello @Dell -Charles R 

Yes the lid is on, the R640 currently in a rack in Amsterdam. Both iDrac and Bios have been updated to the latest versions. Although I do have to say that this issue occurred after version 3.30.30.30. 

Kind regards,

Julian

Hello Appollonius,

Do you have the cover on when checking results of your troubleshooting?

If the lid is removed the fans will run at high speed.

Have you checked the LifeCycle Controller log to see if there any issues reported?

Did you update the BIOS along with the iDRAC? 

They should be updated together, keeping near same release dates, for each step up.

Strange thing is, when I put the Fan Speed Offset to 'Low' it ramps up to 92% PWM.

Hi from what I see, as long as the temperature is in range, I wouldn't worry about the fan speed too much. If you think the fan speed has changed after iDRAC update, you could try downgrading the version as well.

Hi,

Well I just downgraded to version 3.30.30.30, but the fans still are at 72% PWM. I believe this is due to that the configuration of version 5.00.00.00 is used. Although I can now manually change the fan speed..

Kind regards,
Julian van Beek

I manually configured the fans to 30% and it stays at a stable 30 - 40 degrees. So I have no idea what is going on with the iDrac updates setting the fans to 72%.