long time no post :) Stupid efan relay keeps burning out.
 

Ok I got a microtech and descided since I've got it and it has an auxilery on it I can now hook up an efan to it without having to be worried about a thermo switch burning out on me, HAHAHA. well now that it's all hooked up I'm having a problem with it burning up. The last one I drove on a trip for about 2.5 hours and had no problems then on the way back the fan wouldn't turn on. well it was the stupid relay. i go to the parts store again and get another relay thinking maybe it's just a faulty relay however nope this time I didn't even get 10 miles on the thing. I have the thing hooked up right as per NZConvertables diagram accept where the ground is supposed to be on it I have the microtech input. I have an 88 fierro gt fan on the car and the relay is right next to the rad where I'm sure it's getting pretty hot however would this cause a relay to fail? Any help would be greatly appreciated!



maybe all these gurus saying that an efan isn't worth it are completly right :( I want an efan though cause I can work on my engine better.

oh one more piece of info. It's a 30 amp relay with a 25amp fuse running to the possitive side of it and the fuse never blows.

edit: found this https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...tric+fan+relay could this be the problem? Am I running to small of a relay for an electric fan?

well damn, after further inspection I did blow the 25 amp fuse. I'm putting a 30 in to see how it goes. If it fries this one as well do I need to get a bigger fuse and relay? Remember this doesn't happen everytime. I just tested it with my microtech and it tuned on just fine however it's just when I'm driving around it will randomly do it.



am I talking to myself.........................

whats the rated amperage load on that fan? is it a dual fan? i cant remember, i used to work on fieros when i was 15, it is very possable you are using too small of a relay for the requirements, BUT i also think that the high heat is playing a role too, you might want to think about relocating the postition to a cooler spot and use a rated relay that meets the demands of the fan motor(s)


hope this helps

no dont put a bigger fuse in their unless the fan is rated for that much amps. your fan is the one pulling the amps not the relay. if your relay is rated for 30 amps and your fan is only rated for 25 then use a 25. ive been running my microtech with my blackmagic 150 and havent had a problem with the relay burning up. check your 12volts to ground, and measure the amps your fan is pulling.

thanks guys. How exactly would I messure the amprage of the fan on enitial start up and then the normal load? I'll try to see if I can find anything on what kind of amperage the fan pulls. If this helps any the first time that the fan didn't run it was because the relay blew (actually melted around the fan terminal) and the second time it was the 25 amp fuse that blew. Thanks again for the replies so far.


edit: oh yeah as far as the battery and ground. I have the ground going to the stock body ground and the postitive is wired as per nz's write up (going to the battery with a fuse inbetween).

Better get the POS running so we can get The master himself (steve Kan) to tune it!!! Im ready for the trip!!

awesome! now if I could convince sonicrat to go we would be set. I just found out how much it's going to cost to rent a truck, dolly, get the car tuned, stay in the hotel and gas. around 1k :( Or I could bight the bullet and drive all the way there with the stock fan if need be.

Most OEM Fans draw around 20 amps but might peak at 70 amps when first turning on.

A 30 amp relay would be way to little for an OEM electric fan. At very least you should be using a 40 amp relay. Twice what the average load will be.

ahhhhh thanks ICE mark you are certainly the man in my book :)


edit: if the initial pull of the electric fan is 70amps do i need a relay that size so it doesn't burn the relay up? Or does it not matter when it's only on startup? Also what size fuse would you use? Thanks.

I would run with a potter & brumfield or a DEI or some other 40 amp relay and see how that works. Since you are not blowing fuses, the start up surge must be pretty quick.

well I actually did blow the fuse today. The relay was good but the fuse was bad but I'm all up for putting a beefier relay in. I'm going to order one now. 40amps on the fuse as well?

get your self an amp meter and find out what it really pulls. every different fan company is using a different motor.

I just figured someone else was using a fierro gt fan and knew exactly what relay to use etc....

interesting.................so would a 25 amp fuse not be big enough?

got that info from this link. https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...iero+fan+relay

edit: damn just saw this too


never knew that. though I dont' see that wire. Can anyone confirm this and show me exactly where this is? would this cause my problems?

then this right below it.......................hum.............going for a drive on the 30 amp fuse tomorrow.

Same problem as this guy

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ight=fan+relay

He got it working, but I don't think he posted what amp he used
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ight=fan+relay


I'm installing my efan relay on my Lt10s tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turned out.

Hey thanks for the links man i do appreciate it. I'm going to put in a 40amp relay and fuse if this 30amp relay and fuse doesn't work. My fan works beautifully up until it blows the relay or the fuse. Yeah let me know how your efan relay turns out in the long run cause when I put it on there it works just fine but for some reason I start driving around and it pops???

Cam, When I worked in lifting my friends Zu, we installed a e-fan and we had a relay that slow built up the amps that way it didnt blow the fuse for the kick on which takes much more amps then to run it. I will call/txt him about it and I will call and let you know what he says.

Cant wait for The road trip its gonna be killa!

There are relays with the shunt diode that supposed to handle the initial motor spike in current?

Another thing to watch out is that if you're running the fan as a puller (as must people would behind the rad), make sure the fan does not touch any part of the rad itself.
The key being it running in puller mode, as the blades will flex outward from the spinning; the you run the fan as a push in front of the rad, the blades will flex away from the rad.
Dragging blades cause the fan motor to "work harder", and this causes current to drive higher.
This will quickly kill the fan or if the excessive current doesn't kill the electronics first.
This happened to our 20B FC on the track. :(
We happened to kill a month old Spal fan like this.


-Ted

thanks matt let me know and yeah the trip is going to kick ass hopefully. I just gotta descide wether or not to rent the truck and dolly or just drive my pile up there.

Thanks for the info ted is there anyway i could know if it's rubbing or not? it really doesn't look like it is rubbing to me however the fan is very close to the rad. Does the fan bend rad fins or anything like that? thanks.

almost all fans, OEM or Efan will flex even a little at higher RPM's ive heard of ppl using weather stripping and washers to give that little bit of distance they need between the Efan and the radiator, once you get it working again throttle it up and look real hard and see if you can see or hear anything, if your having some type of clearence problem you should have signs of something going on

ok cool I'll put some whether stripping under it first and then test it. The only wether stripping I got here is like 1/2 inch thick, wonder if I should go to something smaller or if that will work ok? Guess i'll just try it :)

Check the rad core to see if you see shiny spots.
If you can inspect the fan blades edges / tips to see if there is damage.


-Ted

oh ok cool I'll check it now, thanks man. I'll let yall know.

edit: I didn't realize but that fun sticks up about 1/2 to 3/4 on all blakes so unless it's flexing that much I don't think its that. The closest thing to the rad is the middle part (motor, center of fan) and that is a little less that half an inch from the fad adn it has no damage under it.