Chromatography Forum

Dear Chromforum Users,
I am working on Agilent 1100 HPLC system. Last morning when I opened my system I could hear a sound of friction somewhat like ball bearing which intensified and then subtled. This was followed by an error message "fan failed" on the injector status of chemstation display. What could be the reason for fan failed?
I restarted the system and found that the "fan failed" error message disappeared and an "unknown error" appeared on the injector staus with red background. What is this 'unknown error" message? I tried searching on help but couldn't see any of such a kind.
I viewed the Logbook and it says that "ALS 1 fan failed date time".
FYI the Autosampler (ALS) information are G1329A, Series No.: DE91603649.
Kindly reply with valuable suggestions.

Best regards,
-Ankur

I'd pull off the cover of the ALS module, and see if the fan(s) were spinning when plugged in. Or feel for air through the vents.

Or it could be the ALS thermostat fan (I presume you use).

Fan used in the autosampler is similar to the ones used in PCs. Most frequently they fail due to bearing destruction. As mentioned already - try to find out if all fans are rotating - placements of fans are shown in the manual.

"Unknown error" most likely is caused by fan not working, but You are not likely to find out the reason without assistance of Agilent service person.

Alternatively different errors including fan might be caused by electronics failure in power supplies board for example - again nothing You can diagnose Yourself - have to contact Agilent service.

GenTech Scientific carries the HP 1100 AutoSampler Fan. It is relatively easy to install provided you do not force anything apart. Assuming you have not taken one of these auto-samplers apart that is. The fans do go bad in these units as they are so old. We have replaced several fans, motors and belts on the transport assembly, the entire transport assembly, as well as various circuit boards. Once you have taken one all the way apart, they are generally easy to troubleshoot and repair. Hope your repair goes well.

Thanks every one for the helpful comments. I figured out that the fan got jammed as it went old and had to replace it with the new one. It was a tough task for early HPLC users like me but were able to do that.
Thanks again for the valuable comments

brandydogsdad

Do you have a set of instructions to replace the autosampler fan that you could share? I've got the board out of the way to expose the fan but haven't figured out how to remove the fan!

Hi all!

I have the same problem as ankurhplc and happen to have an "extra" autosampler from which I can scavenge a fan. Does anyone have a link or a PDF for a manual (mentioned by R13) detailing the interior of the module?

I opened the module easily, but couldn't manage to pull out the mainboard to get to the fan. I thought maybe there would be a better way to go about it (eg I'm missing a screw or I should open it from the bottom), so I decided to put it back and ask for help.

Thanks in advance!