fan wiring
03-26-11, 06:14 PM
#1
Coolant Leak
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fan wiring
ok guys i know there is a ton of threads about this and i've read them all. im wiring my electric fan and i know the correct way is to use a thermo switch, but i'm being stubborn and lazy and wiring it to run constantly. i know the concerns about it running constantly specifically the longevity of the fan, well it cost me $10 and i can get more.
i wired it in about 15 minutes "temporarily" a while back by running the positive wire to the main fuse in the fuse box inside the car. this worked great for about a year until one day the wire on the fan came lose when i was working on other stuff, it slid over and touched the ground wire and shorted out and melted my main fuse, resulting in a lot of smoke inside my car.. that was scary enough for me to realize that temporary wiring wasn't cutting it anymore..
eventually i will properly wire it with a thermo switch (likely after i do some other upgrades) so my question here is regarding the way i have it wired now... i've attached a picture and yes i know its messy i was just making the connections to make sure it would work. i have the fan grounded and power going to a relay. i have a wire from the main fuse box (with an inline fuse) going to the relay, i have the relay grounded, and i'm using the unused green, female, 6 pin connector near my coils as the switch to the relay...
other then "the correct way is to use a thermo switch" and the messiness of it currently is there any major flaws in this wiring setup?
i wired it in about 15 minutes "temporarily" a while back by running the positive wire to the main fuse in the fuse box inside the car. this worked great for about a year until one day the wire on the fan came lose when i was working on other stuff, it slid over and touched the ground wire and shorted out and melted my main fuse, resulting in a lot of smoke inside my car.. that was scary enough for me to realize that temporary wiring wasn't cutting it anymore..
eventually i will properly wire it with a thermo switch (likely after i do some other upgrades) so my question here is regarding the way i have it wired now... i've attached a picture and yes i know its messy i was just making the connections to make sure it would work. i have the fan grounded and power going to a relay. i have a wire from the main fuse box (with an inline fuse) going to the relay, i have the relay grounded, and i'm using the unused green, female, 6 pin connector near my coils as the switch to the relay...
other then "the correct way is to use a thermo switch" and the messiness of it currently is there any major flaws in this wiring setup?
03-26-11, 06:24 PM
#2
Pin 85: Switched 12V from green plug
Pin 86: ground
Pin 30: fused 12V from battery or main fuse
Pin 87: to fan +
85 and 86 can be swapped without incident.
You have a S4 TII, right? Because the pre-drilled hole on the thermostat cover makes using a temperature switch extremely easy. All you'd have to do is move the wire from pin 86 to the switch.
Pin 86: ground
Pin 30: fused 12V from battery or main fuse
Pin 87: to fan +
85 and 86 can be swapped without incident.
You have a S4 TII, right? Because the pre-drilled hole on the thermostat cover makes using a temperature switch extremely easy. All you'd have to do is move the wire from pin 86 to the switch.
03-26-11, 10:04 PM
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start up on the fan can reach up to 40-50 amps.
I use a 40 amp relay,looking at changing to 50 if I can get one.
I pretty well wired the same as you,.using the 6 pin connector to feed the relay.
Since that connector provides 12volt switched it will turn on with the ignition.
The only "bad thing" I can see IS if your battery power gets low,and all your **** is being supplied on start up.That is why I use another switch to Kill the power out of that connector,so the fan won't turn on at start up,IF,and only IF the car's Juice is needed to start the car(usually IF the car has flooded and you need the extra time to roll over and expel fuel).Trick is turn that swich Back ON after you start up!.or you could get caught running extremely hot as no fan would kick on if no power is supplied!
www.aaroncake.net has a couple diagrams on how to wire up an E fan,using a thermoswitch,relay etc.
good write up too.You can make your own variation of it to suit your application.
Hope that helps,Cheers STYX.
I use a 40 amp relay,looking at changing to 50 if I can get one.
I pretty well wired the same as you,.using the 6 pin connector to feed the relay.
Since that connector provides 12volt switched it will turn on with the ignition.
The only "bad thing" I can see IS if your battery power gets low,and all your **** is being supplied on start up.That is why I use another switch to Kill the power out of that connector,so the fan won't turn on at start up,IF,and only IF the car's Juice is needed to start the car(usually IF the car has flooded and you need the extra time to roll over and expel fuel).Trick is turn that swich Back ON after you start up!.or you could get caught running extremely hot as no fan would kick on if no power is supplied!
www.aaroncake.net has a couple diagrams on how to wire up an E fan,using a thermoswitch,relay etc.
good write up too.You can make your own variation of it to suit your application.
Hope that helps,Cheers STYX.
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12-19-11, 03:14 PM
#10
I found that the 1/4" spade is rated for max 30 amps. Most fuse holders and relays have 1/4" spades. I had trouble with the wire heating on those 1/4" spades when running the Taurus/Lincoln fans. Those fans were pulling mid to high 20 amps when running. The fuses didn't blow, but the connectors heated.
That is one reason I changed to the Merc Villager fan. It pulls fewer amps and unfortunately less airflow.
I am using a 30amp auto-resetting circuit breaker that attaches with ring connectors for circuit protection, a summitt racing 195* temp switch and two 30amp Bosch/Tyco relays for fan control, all wired with 10ga. wire.
12-19-11, 11:32 PM
#12
I don't think it pulls much more air on high than the lincoln fan pulls on low. I measured the Villager fan. I am not getting enough fan for cooling and A/C with my 3"'thick radiator core. It would be fine on a standard rad.
My Daddy always said "If you want something done right, do it yourself." So since no one else had measured the current use of the Villiager fan, I decided to do it myself.
Background:
A couple of months ago I grew tired of the raucous single-speed Fan action of my Mighty Lincoln Mark VIII 18" fan. I switched back to my original 2-speed Taurus Fan. What a relief.
Except for a couple of nagging things. The Taurus fan was not the best fit on my Griffin Rad . The 16" Taurus fan just seemed, well, rather small. Then we all had the fun thread about freeway temperatures, leaving me with the desire for more open area in the fan, thus I felt renewed need for an 18" fan.
So I took the plunge Saturday at the local salvage and got my own End All Be All Fan.
Since my Griffin rad core is 19" x 19", the fit is purely custom. The Villager fan is +/-17.5" and has a much less aggressive fan blade than the Mark VIII. This is a good thing if you want some extra free air flow. And I do.
So a little time on the table saw, some aluminum angle crossed with the aviation snips, mixed with a little pop-rivet action yielded the perfect custom-fit fan. The fan gives me the wall-to-wall fan similar to the Mark VIII fan, adds lots of additional fan off airflow, but leaves me with the slick 2-speed action that I prefer.
Oh, yeah, the numbers. Slightly less than 10 amps on low speed, slightly less than 20 amps on high speed. I didn't take any pictures of the ammeter like I did when I measured the Taurus and the Mighty Lincoln Mark VIII fan but I measured it with the same gauge. The test yielded 5 amps less than the Taurus on both low and high speeds. 7 amps less than the Mighty Lincoln Mark VIII Fan's single embarrassingly aggressive speed. I suspect that the fan could be successfully used with a stock S5 alternator, I don't know about the S4.
How does it blow/suck compared to the Taurus and the Mark VIII? Less than either of those other fans. It is definitely powerful enough to do the trick. The large 18" fan blade has a noticeably longer spool up time compared to the Taurus and Lincoln fans. That would be expected since the motor is less powerful as evidenced by the lower amperage draw. The start up inrush amps are also lower, but last quite a bit longer.
Sorry for the crappy nightime Iphone pics.
Background:
A couple of months ago I grew tired of the raucous single-speed Fan action of my Mighty Lincoln Mark VIII 18" fan. I switched back to my original 2-speed Taurus Fan. What a relief.
Except for a couple of nagging things. The Taurus fan was not the best fit on my Griffin Rad . The 16" Taurus fan just seemed, well, rather small. Then we all had the fun thread about freeway temperatures, leaving me with the desire for more open area in the fan, thus I felt renewed need for an 18" fan.
So I took the plunge Saturday at the local salvage and got my own End All Be All Fan.
Since my Griffin rad core is 19" x 19", the fit is purely custom. The Villager fan is +/-17.5" and has a much less aggressive fan blade than the Mark VIII. This is a good thing if you want some extra free air flow. And I do.
So a little time on the table saw, some aluminum angle crossed with the aviation snips, mixed with a little pop-rivet action yielded the perfect custom-fit fan. The fan gives me the wall-to-wall fan similar to the Mark VIII fan, adds lots of additional fan off airflow, but leaves me with the slick 2-speed action that I prefer.
Oh, yeah, the numbers. Slightly less than 10 amps on low speed, slightly less than 20 amps on high speed. I didn't take any pictures of the ammeter like I did when I measured the Taurus and the Mighty Lincoln Mark VIII fan but I measured it with the same gauge. The test yielded 5 amps less than the Taurus on both low and high speeds. 7 amps less than the Mighty Lincoln Mark VIII Fan's single embarrassingly aggressive speed. I suspect that the fan could be successfully used with a stock S5 alternator, I don't know about the S4.
How does it blow/suck compared to the Taurus and the Mark VIII? Less than either of those other fans. It is definitely powerful enough to do the trick. The large 18" fan blade has a noticeably longer spool up time compared to the Taurus and Lincoln fans. That would be expected since the motor is less powerful as evidenced by the lower amperage draw. The start up inrush amps are also lower, but last quite a bit longer.
Sorry for the crappy nightime Iphone pics.
02-29-12, 06:21 AM
#13
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this is how i wired mine... after reading a bunch of these threads this was what i put together. its a mix of Aaroncakes and lots of other members(thanks guys for all the great info)(also wanna give these guys credibility) personally im more of a visual person so i wanted to post this for people who are better visual learners like myself hope it helps
02-29-12, 06:26 AM
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also thanks rotaryrocket88 you and aaron sure know what ur talking about and i deff found your guys posts very helpful. im sure there are many different ways to accomplish the same thing this is just what i chose to do and its worked great for me..
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