MacBook Air 2014 Overheating Issues

[jasongoldworthy]

hi guys I have the above MacBook Air

I have replaced the thermal paste with artic silver mx4 and cleaned the fan but its getting very hot and the fan is running quite fast even when its idling on the desktop.


any ideas what else I can try ??

I use it on my computer desk that is made of wood

thanks for any help

 

[Rod]

I suppose I have to ask, what is your MacBook Air doing when it gets really hot and what do you define as "hot"?
For example my M1 MBP is 45℃ at the GPU cluster just writing this post while the Trackpad is 30℃. So do you mean hot to the touch?

So, have a look at the Activity Monitor app, select the CPU % column and check what's using most of your CPU resources. Some apps even background helper apps can use inordinatly large amounts of your CPU resources. Try quitting those apps and see if your MBA cools down.

If it feels hot to the touch and your fan is running fast you might like to try resetting the SMC. I think for your model you;

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press and hold Shift, Control, and Option on the left side of the keyboard. Now press and hold the Power button (or Touch ID button) as well.
3. Hold all the keys down for 10 seconds.
4. Release all the keys and turn on your MacBook.

I would also suggest, if you don't have it already) Mac's Fan Control. it is a small, free, utility that allows you to control and monitor the temp and fan speed of your MBA.

It could also be that your fan is in need of replacement, it is 8 years old after all. Mac's Fan Control can tell you your maximum and minimum set fan speeds and if you find it's noisy at half its maximum speed then replacement might be the answer. You can download Mac's Fan Control from the developer here. CrystalIDEA - Uninstall Tool, Uninstall Software, Remove Programs, AnyToISO & Macs Fan Control

 

[jasongoldworthy]

hi Rod thanks for the reply

when I say hot its hitting 80'c and the chassis near the keyboard is so hot it could easily burn.

and that's just sitting on the desktop doing nothing.

I have Macs fan control hence how im monitoring the temps,

(UPDATE)
I have reapplied the thermal paste today and temps are now idling at about 40'c is that a good temp ?

 

[Rod]

That's a significant difference. Sounds like you may have fixed the issue. What about the fan? Is it quieter now?
From what I found searching the topic that model MBA does tend to overheat but 40C is okay. Which sensor is MFC monitoring?
What do you think you did different with the paste this second time?

 

[jasongoldworthy]

To be honest I dunno what I did differently I cleaned the paste of and put it on fresh again.

and the temps dropped

im useing cpu proximity to get them temps.

and yeah the fan is running at 1200rpm which i think is the slowest and it’s not ramping up but I’ve not done a heavy load since.

 

[Rod]

Sounds to me like you've fixed it.

 

[jasongoldworthy]

yeah it seems to be the case.

and im happy about that im using it now and yes its getting a little warm but nowhere as hot as it was.