[Android Apps and Games] boomerboomer:
Im NOT exactly advicating doing this unelss you feel 100% competent doing it!! Take this as fair warning and Im taking no responsibility for what you do with your projector! THIS WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BREAK ANY WARARNTY.

I have a rainman projector (one of the originals), which Im assuming they are all pretty similar inside. The ONLY time Ive ever had mine shut down, was on a hot summers day, when it thought it was overheating.

I suspected a lot of dust/fluff inside it.

In the end, I decided to open the case, following this video

Its not overly complicated to do, but you should note the location of the rubber plugs you pull out (they are numbered underneath) and they all go back in a specific location (though it wont make any difference to the operation if they go back in other places).

There is also a hidden screw under the warranty/model number sticker (shown at about 27 seconds into the video). Also take the Android card out before trying to crack the case open (IT HAS 2x SCREWS TO REMOVE UNDER THE PLASTIC TABS - 32 seconds into the video)

Once all the screws and card is out, you would need something slim to start cracking/unlocking the plastic tabs around the edge/seam of the case..... once you get the case off and youre inside, be super careful around any wires/ribbon cables. I think I started/found it easiest to crack the case just around the corder from one of the sides of the speaker grill, using a spudger tool.

WHEN YOU ARE TAKING THE TOP PART OF THE CASE OFF, FLIP IT TOWARDS YOU AND DISCONNECT THE LED CABLE FROM THE CASE (52 seconds into the video) You will reverse this method when putting the case back on, so that its easy to attach the cable. DO NOT JUST YANK THE TOP CASE OFF, AS YOU WILL RISK BREAKING THE CABLE.

WHEN YOU HAVE THE TOP LID OF THE CASE OFF, THE HOLE WHERE THE PROJECTOR SHINES ITS LIGHT OUT OF, IS NO LONGER COVERED BY THE GLASS LENS. DONT DROP ANYTHING DOWN HERE AND POSSIBLY COVER THE HOLE WITH SOMETHING TO STOP DUST GETTING IN THERE. I USED SOME MASKING TAPE TO COVER THE HOLE WHILE I WORKED ON CLEANING THE DUST.

What I found, was the fans had a reasonable layer of dust/fluff and the heatsink fins a little covered too.

I unscrewed the metal brackets (1:55 & 2:29 in the video) for the fans and unplugged their cables (photograph it first before doing this if you need to clearly see how it all went back together). Then gently dusted everything off....... and put it all back together (the rubber that the fans slots into can be a little tricky). Its a reverse procedure though, and clipping the caes back toegther, the speaker grill has to clip into the top plastic case.... just be gentile and take your time. Use a soft brush to clean everything and get down into the heatsink fins.

Once Id done this, everything was good again and the fans quieter. No overheating shutdown problems.

Ive done it a second time too about 2 years later. Not that my house is dusty, but it does seem to run quieter and the fans better balanced.

For reference, in the rainman at least, the 3x fans are "Nidec Ultraflo T80T12MUA7-53" so if you have a failed fan, this is what you would need (in the rainman at least)..... I know they do report fan speed back to the Android operating system, and if you use a different make of fan, it may incorrectly report speed and result in all your fans spinning up to full speed all the time.

As I say, if you think this could be the problem with yours, it may be worth a shot... but you do so at your own risk and these things arent cheap, so its a scary endavour when you are cracking the case open.

As far as I know, there are NO spare parts, ribbon cables, connectors etc available on the market (bar the fans), so do not go pulling cables, unclipping things that you dont need to touch OR unless you know how to work with different kinds of connectors/cables on a circuit board.

The fan connectors are pretty easy to unplug and plug back in. Obviously dont use extreme force for anything!!