[RESPONDED] Burning Smell and Damaged Components

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

I have a Framework 13", running Ubuntu 22.04.

I noticed a burning smell coming from the laptop. I have looked inside and there appears to be some burning on the fan and on the keyboard area just above:

IMG_20240522_115824
IMG_20240522_1158241600×1200 435 KB

IMG_20240522_115858
IMG_20240522_1158581600×1200 386 KB

The machine is still working and seems to be behaving normally.

The fan has been noisy for some time - I don’t know if this is connected.

I am unable to determine if the fan is still working. I ran lm-sensors and hardinfo, but they don’t show any data on fan speeds. I also did ran fwts fan and got the following:

–

This test run on 22/05/24 at 12:43:16 on host Linux fulmar 6.5.0-35-generic
#35~22.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue May 7 09:00:52 UTC 2 x86_64.

Command: “fwts fan”.
Running tests: fan.

fan: Simple fan tests.

Test 1 of 2: Test fan status.
Test how many fans there are in the system. Check for the current status of the
fan(s).
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device1 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device8 of type intel_powerclamp has max cooling
state 100 and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device6 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device4 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device2 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device0 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device7 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device5 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.
PASSED: Test 1, Fan cooling_device3 of type Processor has max cooling state 10
and current cooling state 0.

Test 2 of 2: Load system, check CPU fan status.
Test how many fans there are in the system. Check for the current status of the
fan(s).
Loading CPUs for 20 seconds to try and get fan speeds to change.
Fan cooling_device1 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device6 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device4 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device2 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device0 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device7 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device5 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device3 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.

–

“Fan cooling_device1 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.” - Does this mean it’s dead? I can’t hear any fan noise at the moment, but I’m reluctant to run anything too intensive to test it, in case it’s not working and the system overheats (I’m currently using lm-sensors to keep an eye on the temperatures). Should I run any other diagnostics?

Any opinions on what’s happened here!? I guess I’ll need a new fan at the very least, but I don’t want this to happen again.

(I contacted support too.)

2

First, I would suggest unplugging the battery until support gets back to you. Or at minimum, unplugging the fan connector.

I think it’s safe to say, he’s dead, Jim.

I would guess maybe a short in the fan.

1 Like
3

Glad to hear you contacted support, if you smelled burning, please keep this powered off and support will help address this.

We do have your ticket, so support will reach out from there.

4

Probably just a short in the fan. But see what support has to say.

You’ll need a new fan at least, but I’d also recommend a new input cover since that was damaged (even if it is working fine for now I’d go ahead and replace it to be safe, I suspect support would also want to replace that).

5

Thanks to all who have replied for the advice so far. If there’s anyone from Framework reading, is it possible to get an update on my support ticket? After a few emails back and forth, there has now been silence for 5 days. I sent through further photos as requested and the last thing I received was acknowledgement and notification of escalation, on 24 May.

6

Hi Daniel,

Looks like you did not see my previous reply? From your other ticket? We have two tickets open with you, first one never received a reply.

Kind regards,
Matt

Edit: Custom email address, this may be the issue.

7

Thanks for getting back to me Matt. Yes, it was due to my using the wrong email alias by mistake. With my usual email client out of action, I used webmail and it wasn’t properly configured.

I did reply to your first message, but it looks like this then bifurcated because of the email address issue. Anyway, I see you’ve replied again to the original ticket, so I’ll get back on that one now.

Best,
Daniel

8

Hi Matt,
Can I just check if you received my replies to the two tickets on 30 May? I’m slightly concerned given the ‘custom email address’ point. Yes, it is my own domain, but the email service is with a reputable provider and I have DKIM and SPF configured. Plus it looks like my earlier messages were received (and I have not had any problems before). Clearly the different aliases have confused matters a little (but both are linked to the same account and the domain name is the same) - but afaics, this has just led to a duplication of the ticket. Please let me know - if I need to start all over again, so be it, but I really hope not!

Best,
Daniel

9

Just responded, please answer the question there so we can get this sorted. I want to get this fixed, but I need to get that question answered first please.

10

Was the issue solved? was the problem short circuit?
This is a 6-7 month old issue…

11

Sorry I should have updated this before.

Framework sent out a replacement fan and input cover, which was much appreciated. I sent back the broken unit but I don’t know the result of any postmortem they might have done.

Only trouble is now, the replacement fan seems to be having issues too. After a couple of months it started making grating/ticking noises and a few weeks later began ramping up erratically. The fan often comes on full blast and sometimes switches on/off repeatedly, sometimes for a second or less, over quite long periods - and this is usually with sensor temperatures reported around 30-40°C.

Framework support are currently looking into it - we’ve done quite a bit of diagnostics - but the evidence so far seems to be pointing towards a hardware issue. So I don’t know if I’m just unlucky with two faulty fans or if there’s something more serious at stake.

1 Like
12

Thanks for update. So i guess the replacement was fairly easy.
Sounds like you have had some very bad luck :frowning:

Have you tried with windows? if there are strange sound it wont help either way but the way it behaves could have driver issue maybe.
Atleast one good thing with this laptop is the modularity so it should be easier to swap parts that don’t work.

13

For sure, the modularity is really good and replacing the fan was easy. I’ve not much inclination to try Windows, but I doubt if it would help. I’ve tried booting from USB for diagnostics and that doesn’t make much odds. I just hope it’s not the mainboard, but it could be.

D