Fans run at 5800rpm with no CPU usage

Question

MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 Repair

2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, or 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache.

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Pam @pam99062

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Dzi 21, 2020

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Fans run at 5800rpm with no CPU usage

The fans on my MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 (macOS Catalina) often run at max 5800rpm without any high CPU usage. The CPU Core temperature are high at 90°C but I don’t know what is causing that…

Sometimes my CPU does peak at around 120% when watching youtube on google chrome, which also causes my fans to run at max. People suggest to use Safari instead, which I would like to avoid if possible since I have everything synched on chrome (Work, School, Personal). Looks like Safari only fixes the youtube/high CPU % problem?

Here is a screenshot of my activity and Mac Fan Control

I can’t seem to find the source or a solution for this problem. Not sure if it’s a general fan problem since it’s older macbook.

Notes I saw on other threads:

no, I have not spilled anything on my macbook
my room temperature isn’t high either
I downloaded the chrome extension h264ify to avoid the youtube VP8/VP9 problem

@danj here is the screenshot showing my current TG Pro and activity window. I just have a youtube video and twitter open in the background (to get the same effect)

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Restart your system and press the D key to enter into the onboard diagnostics. Let us know if you get any error messages.

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 21, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

@danj I do get the following error:

Error: 0x8000000000000003, Cannot Load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi'

Status: 0x00000003

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 21, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Pam crwdne2934271:0

Rats! You hit the firmware bug Apple intro'ed.

Lets clean off as much as you can of auto loading apps and the fan control app you are using I don't trust MacsFanControl I've seen some wacky issues with it.

Instead lets use this one which offers diagnostics TG Pro you will need to fork out the $10 to get the diagnostics.

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 21, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

@danj thanks! Hope "hitting the firmware bug" means there is a solution to this? I purchased the TG Pro version and will attach a screenshot as a reply (not sure if I can add pictures here in the comments). As for auto loading apps I have only have an app called magnet.

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 21, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Pam crwdne2934271:0

The bug has been reported to Apple a few times ;-{ I fear its on the very bottom of their bug list. You know the saying 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease' Post a bug report as well.

Let's pull magnet out as we need to reduce the variables.

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 21, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

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Dan @danj

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Self employed contract worker

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Dzi 21, 2020

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This listing was cut off as the window was not long enough to capture in one snapshot all of the sensors. You did manage to get the two I was looking for but I'm not sure if that helps as I really need to see the CPU and the air flows together as the same time.

Lets assume you took them close enough together. Then we need to do some cleaning of dust and also inspect the heatsink for coolant leakage (do this first). Do you see any staining or white powder caked around the tube and the logic board where it crosses.

You’ll need to get a small soft bristle paint brush to scrub the surfaces to loosen the debris from the logic board, case and fans. Then use a can of can’ed air to blow it away with short bursts.

If you are upto it I would clean the old thermal paste and apply a fresh coat of a good quality paste. Remember! its not the quantity its the placement that matters! You want the paste on the black die part not the green base or on the other SMT devices around the chip die. I prefer crwdns2937315:0IF179-010crwdne2937315:0 paste and I also use the Arctic Silver ArctiClean as well. Here’s a basic guide on how to clean and apply a fresh coat How to Apply Thermal Paste

crwdns2886500:0Two part cleaner dissolves old thermal paste on heat sinks and processors. One 30 ml bottle of thermal material remover and one 30 ml bottle of thermal surface purifier.crwdne2886500:0

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Arctic Silver ArctiClean

$9.99

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@danj Thank you! I will try this as soon as the materials arrive! Will let you know how it goes

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 21, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Pam crwdne2934271:0

@danj I was finally able to change the thermal paste after having to get more specific screwdrivers! and I'm now on day 3 after the change and my temperature seems normal (peaks at 90°C when doing a lot of things otherwise stays around 60°C) and my fans don't go over 2500 RPM which has been nice! thank you so much for the help!

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 29, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Pam crwdne2934271:0

@Pam - Hi Pam I'm happy to hear the system is back to normal! Enjoy!

crwdns2934271:0Dzi 30, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

@danj after using my mac for 1 week now, I started getting higher temperatures again with fans running again at max while I'm working. it's by far not as frequent as before and they seem to cool down fast too, but I was wondering what is still regarded as normal? It seems to peak when I have a lot of tabs open (since I'm doing home office). My temperatures reach 100°C and fans therefore hit max too. The CPU usage is still low at max 20% though

crwdns2934271:0Mud 4, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Pam crwdne2934271:0

If you are using Chrome, you may want to either cut back the amount of open tabs, or go with a different browser. Chrome is a resource pig! It chews up lots of RAM and drive. which in turns causes the system to run hard (hot).

crwdns2934271:0Mud 5, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

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Restart your system and press the D key to enter into the onboard diagnostics. Let us know if you get any error messages. — Dan
@danj I do get the following error:

Error: 0x8000000000000003, Cannot Load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi'

Status: 0x00000003 — Pam
Rats! You hit the firmware bug Apple intro'ed.

Lets clean off as much as you can of auto loading apps and the fan control app you are using I don't trust MacsFanControl I've seen some wacky issues with it.

Instead lets use this one which offers diagnostics TG Pro you will need to fork out the $10 to get the diagnostics. — Dan
@danj thanks! Hope "hitting the firmware bug" means there is a solution to this? I purchased the TG Pro version and will attach a screenshot as a reply (not sure if I can add pictures here in the comments). As for auto loading apps I have only have an app called magnet. — Pam
The bug has been reported to Apple a few times ;-{ I fear its on the very bottom of their bug list. You know the saying 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease' Post a bug report as well.

Let's pull magnet out as we need to reduce the variables. — Dan
@danj Thank you! I will try this as soon as the materials arrive! Will let you know how it goes — Pam
@danj I was finally able to change the thermal paste after having to get more specific screwdrivers! and I'm now on day 3 after the change and my temperature seems normal (peaks at 90°C when doing a lot of things otherwise stays around 60°C) and my fans don't go over 2500 RPM which has been nice! thank you so much for the help! — Pam
@Pam - Hi Pam I'm happy to hear the system is back to normal! Enjoy! — Dan
@danj after using my mac for 1 week now, I started getting higher temperatures again with fans running again at max while I'm working. it's by far not as frequent as before and they seem to cool down fast too, but I was wondering what is still regarded as normal? It seems to peak when I have a lot of tabs open (since I'm doing home office). My temperatures reach 100°C and fans therefore hit max too. The CPU usage is still low at max 20% though — Pam
If you are using Chrome, you may want to either cut back the amount of open tabs, or go with a different browser. Chrome is a resource pig! It chews up lots of RAM and drive. which in turns causes the system to run hard (hot). — Dan

Cristian Zamarripa @cristianzee crwdns2934065:0crwdne2934065:0: 1 2 · Answer 1 · 2020-05-03T13:26:49-07:00

Cristian Zamarripa @cristianzee

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Mud 3, 2020

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Hi @danj – I'm also experiencing a similar issue on my MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 (Mojave).

I've followed the steps you've listed above to diagnose my issue but haven't been able to figure out exactly what's causing my MacBook Pro to heat up/fans run without high CPU usage.

Here's what I've done so far:

–tried to get to the onboard diagnostics but no luck. I get the same error code (0x8000000000000003, Cannot Load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi)

–got rid of auto loading apps

–no longer use Chrome (so sad)

–checked out the size of my drive and available space (698GB available of 751GB)

The link below is a little snapshot of what I'm experiencing on my MBP

–link: https://youtu.be/9SPHl8erWIg

I'm hoping to use this MBP for personal projects that require Powerpoint, Excel, Photoshop, etc. so fingers crossed the issue im experiencing is a simple fix (i.e. thermal paste, fan speed control, etc.) instead of having to get a completely new laptop.

Thanks in advance!

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@cristianzee - Note your CPU's temp is 100º C running real hot! What is your system doing? I also see the Air Flow Proximity is only running at 44º C.

If your system is not running anything intensive them I would say your heat sinks cooling has leaked out so you need a new one!

crwdns2934271:0Mud 3, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

@danj – at the time my CPU's temp was at 100º C I had multiple tabs open in Safari, had a small PDF open, iMessage open and was doing a screen recording via Quicktime. These apps weren't using a crazy amount of the CPU % according to Activity Monitor.

That being said, is there something I can do to confirm that the heat sinks cooling has leaked? OR if you're confident that I should get a new heat sink, could you point me in the right direction?

Thank you!

crwdns2934271:0Mud 3, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Cristian Zamarripa crwdne2934271:0

You could look for leakage at the seams, white power or staining on the logic board.

The only way I know of is using a good scale measuring the weight of a known good one, the heavy one is good.

crwdns2934271:0Mud 3, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

Awesome, I'll check out the heat sink and see if I need to replace it then go from there

crwdns2934271:0Mud 3, 2020crwdnd2934271:0 Cristian Zamarripa crwdne2934271:0

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MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 Repair

Fans run at 5800rpm with no CPU usage

Update (04/21/2020)

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Arctic Silver ArctiClean

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