1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

Electric Fan install

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Old 07-24-02, 07:52 PM
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Question Electric Fan install

I got a 14 or 15 inch fan off a Chevy Citation, we have like 6 of them sitting at the other farm. I was planning on using a 50 amp toggle switch, and a 25 amp or 30 amp relay that i'm going to mount were the hot start asist thingy use to be. I am going to manually turn it because I dont know what @ which temperture the fan should turn and turn off. Can anyone Help me?

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Old 07-24-02, 08:42 PM
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I just installed a fan in mine from a '90 Taurus SHO. I used a 30-Amp relay getting a signal from the fuel pump. I have a 30-Amp fuse inline with the fan and used a thermostatic switch to turn in on and off. I just set it so it came on just before the temp gauge needle got to the middle of its range.
Old 07-24-02, 09:42 PM
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Re: Electric Fan install

Originally posted by JALVORD_2003_68
I am going to manually turn it because I dont know what @ which temperture the fan should turn and turn off.
The actual temperature doesn’t matter. Get a thermoswitch that’s adjustable. Turn it to its highest setting and run the engine to warm it up. Sit and watch the temp needle (don’t take your eyes off it!) until it reaches the point it normally sits at when fully warmed up. As soon as it goes just above that point, jump out and turn the switch down until the fan turns on. You may want to tweak it slightly after you’ve driven it a bit, but this method usually works perfectly.

Don’t run the fan without a thermoswitch. Manual switches work fine until the first time you get distracted and don’t notice the climbing needle. You may think you’ll never forget, but nobody’s perfect and it’s just not worth risking a toasted engine. Leaving the fan on is another way people do it, except this defeats the entire purpose of removing the stock fan.
Old 07-25-02, 01:43 AM
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an update:

The electric fan i intended to use too damn fat to fit in front of the water pump. Anyone know of a junkyard avaible electric fan on commonly found car, say like some front wheel drive car, that would fit?
Old 07-25-02, 07:40 AM
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FROM THE 1st GEN ARCHIVE

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=18296
Old 07-25-02, 11:42 AM
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I assume that link takes you to it, but we're all lazy and I want to post so it's the fiero fan. Any fiero fan to be exact. Then go to Pep Boys and buy a little kit to wire an e-fan. If you still want manual control, wire in a switch with some tricky methods (this is what I did). Also, make sure that you wire the fan to constant power so that it will continue to run after the car is off.

ASEmaster-Since it's wired in with the fuel pump, doesn't it only come on when the car is running? You should think about using constant power so your engine isn't stewing in its own heat after it's off.
Old 07-25-02, 05:11 PM
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.

ASEmaster-Since it's wired in with the fuel pump, doesn't it only come on when the car is running? You should think about using constant power so your engine isn't stewing in its own heat after it's off. [/B]
Yes and that's exactly what I wanted. The thing is, after you turn the ignition off, no more coolant circulates through the engine, so your're just cooling the fluid sitting stagnant in the radiator (unless you have an electric water pump too), so you're just running down your battery. By tapping into a circuit that's only on with the ignition, you have a cooling fan system that operates just like it did with the OE clutch fan, which is still how most OE applications (even many of the ones w/ electric fans) still are today.

I originally had it wired like you suggest and I didn't like the fact that I always had a potentially live circuit that could activate even with the ignition off (especially if I was working near it).

It's just my personal preference.
Old 07-25-02, 05:15 PM
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Originally posted by Redwood
[B]I assume that link takes you to it, but we're all lazy and I want to post so it's the fiero fan. Any fiero fan to be exact.
I'll also add that an early '90's Ford Taurus fan will work nicely as well. Try to find one from a Taurus SHO, it has a single speed (very powerful!) fan, whereas some of the other Taurus' had a 2-speed fan which may be a little tougher to wire.
Old 07-25-02, 06:51 PM
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yeah, no point in having the fan on when the car isn't running, 'cause like ASE said, it would just cool the radiator, and wouldn't circulate the coolant. Plus, the clutch fan doesn't spin when the engine's off, so the electric fan shouldn't have to...

Jeff
Old 07-25-02, 07:09 PM
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You COULD run it when the engine is off (based on temp), but it would be overkill.

On the Canadian Forces vehicle LLVW (aka 'Iltis') the electric fans run as long as the power is on and the coolant is hot. There's a rudimentary 'key' that turns vehicle power on or off (not a start key as military vehicles have start buttons instead of ignition switches) and as long as power is on the fans will keep temperatures low. Of course that's not performance related but to minimize Infra Red signatures from parked Iltis to keep 'em from being targets.

Like I said, for street applications it's overkill. Not many circumstances under which someone will hunt your parked FB using infra red.
Old 07-25-02, 07:55 PM
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Kind of like the clutch fan. I wan my electric fan to run as long as the car is on. Heat not good.
Old 07-25-02, 11:51 PM
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Originally posted by defprun
Kind of like the clutch fan. I wan my electric fan to run as long as the car is on. Heat not good.
HUH?

Sorry, I HAD to do it...
Old 07-26-02, 01:39 AM
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Like I said, for street applications it's overkill. Not many circumstances under which someone will hunt your parked FB using infra red.


~T.J.

PS - My fan is wired like this even though it doesnt have to be, simply because I was too lazy to find a wire that only has power when the ignition was on, so I just ran it straight to the battery. So I have the positive wire for the fan and the ignition wire for the fan both on the (+) terminal of the batter, talk about lazy .
Old 07-31-02, 01:10 PM
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thanks to everyone who replied to my post, it's people like ya'all who make this forum great
Old 07-31-02, 04:06 PM
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HUH?

Sorry, I HAD to do it...
I want to have my electric fan operating at all times. Kindof like the bloody clutch fan that is now operating under the frikkin hood.

I betcha you were just wating for me to say something retarded so you can post that picture.
Old 07-31-02, 10:39 PM
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I just installed a 16inch fan In front of my radiator(looks cleaner) It doesnt fit flush with the radiator but i can feel air moving through the rad.

It may just be my imagination, but it seams like my engine is running a tad bit hotter. The temp needle never passed past half way and is about a needle or two away from center,

should I worry about this, I need a new rad so I am thinking of getting a alluminum rad. And I figure this will fix this.
Old 08-01-02, 03:53 AM
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I hear that mounting them in front actaully is worse and less efficent that mounting them on the back (engine side) because the fan actaully blocks the air brom hitting the rad. whereas if you ahd the fan on the engine side, the air could force its way through and around and what not and not be regulated by how fast the fan can go...If that makes sense...

~T.J.

PS - Once again, I "heard" this information
Old 08-01-02, 04:54 AM
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Originally posted by RotorMotorDriver
I hear that mounting them in front actaully is worse and less efficent that mounting them on the back (engine side) because the fan actaully blocks the air brom hitting the rad. whereas if you ahd the fan on the engine side, the air could force its way through and around and what not and not be regulated by how fast the fan can go...If that makes sense...

~T.J.

PS - Once again, I "heard" this information
I suppose that makes sense in theory... but I actually have my fans mounted in front as well and I find it works perfectly. Highway temp is the same as it was with the stock fan and in traffic it doesn't go over whatever temp I set the fans to come on at.

Another thing to think about is this... surely the AC condensor that is mounted in front of the radiator from the factory is going to pose more of a restriction than a thermo fan. And if all the stock shrouds are in place the air is going to be forced through anyway.

Plus it looks better.
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