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Anyone using an electric cooling fan? |
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1982AMCConcord
AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/13/2012 Location: Kenosha, WI Status: Offline Points: 1287 |
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You guys are providing lots on mind candy and now that I am on a computer instead of a cell phone I can make better sense of it. I appreciate it.
Edit: I found some videos by OldsMob on You Tube for a Javelin electric fan install...
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farna
Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19676 |
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Looks like the cheap fans I have on my car now. Enough with the three row radiator, as long as the AC isn't on! As I said earlier, running down the road with the AC on is fine, 10-15 minutes moving 35 or less and temp has risen form 192-220 or so and I have to cut the AC off. It might still rise to 225-230, but won't go up any more. Takes a good 20-30 minutes of driving at 35+ for temp to come back down to 195-200, even with AC off. Then it's safe to run the AC, as long as I'm still moving! It runs 200-210 running AC moving down the road, doesn't rise until stopped. So it's an airflow issue when not moving, needs better fans! The guy in the video has a different but similar problem. Plenty air flow with the hood up... should be about the same with the hood down. His issue is the hood down holds in more heat, and temp starts going up. Needs more airflow. An aluminum radiator can get hotter than a brass/bronze radiator, so he may not have had the same issue with a stock brass/bronze radiator. I say "brass/bronze" because I'm not so sure the radiators are made of actual brass as most people assume. Bronze is a brass/tin alloy that looks similar but is stronger than soft brass...
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Frank Swygert
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Greyhounds_AMX
AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/14/2009 Location: Kansas City Status: Offline Points: 1268 |
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Hi Frank, It seems rare to hear good reviews of any of the fan controllers, so the type you've got sounds like a really good choice based on what you've experienced. On the Volvo relay the two yellow wires would run over to the BMW temp switch, and the switch will ground each one as their respective temperature is reached. The black wire with the ring terminal is the ground for both fans, and was part of the factory Contour wiring harness for the fans. Having the 2-speeds reduces the incremental current draw for each stage, so you get less dimming of headlights, etc. Most folks say though that their Contour fans never need to use high speed. People may want argue with me about it, but the correct place to monitor the coolant temp is at the outlet of the engine. That's going to be the engine temp, which is the variable we're trying to control with this control "system". So you want to do the temp sensing at the water neck outlet or upper radiator hose. This is the standard concept used for aftermarket engine controllers, factory engine controls, etc. A good example of what I'm talking about - on the instructions for the controller you pointed out they state that the capillary tube installs in the radiator inlet.
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1968 AMX 390 w/T5
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Mopar_guy
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jun/07/2009 Location: Ohio Status: Offline Points: 4826 |
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Yep, you're correct. I've not seen an OEM system do that so why would anyone else? It doesn't make sense to me but to each their own. That video is laughable to me. If he would of put a good set of fans on that 3 row it would be fine. That extra row of tubes does so little that it's not worth having. Those Champion radiators are pretty descent and I don't remember what HP they're rated for. Those cheap fans make more noise than they move air. The Contour fans are probably 50% more efficient than those he put on.
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"Hemilina" My 1973, 5.7 Hemi swapped Javelin |
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304-dude
AMC Addicted Joined: Sep/29/2008 Location: Central Illinoi Status: Offline Points: 9082 |
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Yeah, the 3 row is very restrictive in air flow. Dont know if the coolent flow would be as well since i have no clue to the total area consumed. My 2 row 1" tube Eagle which some may think is Champion in ordering, has very narrow fin spacing, which surprised me, and are easy to scuff. I have to do some cosmetic repairs from rubs when unpacking and all the attempts in fitting in my constrained working area. Normally i would have plenty of room to work, without having to contort or work side ways. One thing i stressed in my install thread, is to seal properly. Some fan shrouds fail to seal along the top and bottom tank seams. Also free air movement through unsealed passages, thus bypassing the core when air is pulled. I use neoprene rubber seal strip when gaps are present. You can get a roll of it in 1/4" square and larger. When making a decision to where to place temp switches, look at factory methods over ease of placement. Most factory locations are near the head water exit port, or on the thermostat housing. Also not all fans are created equal. The more efficiant blades look similar to turbine blade shapes. Proper wiring for at temp current under load. The current will increase when fans are worked in high temp conditions. The hotter the conditions the more demands for current. One way to measure if your wiring is not up to par, is to measure the voltage at the fan power connector, while engine is running, so alternator is giving charge voltage. If the voltage is below the charge voltage measured at the battery, then you need to increase the gauge for your power distribution. There should always be enough current capabilty not to allow voltage sag at the load. What happens is premature damage to the motor or controler / relay assembly. One thing to note... the shorter the distance from relay or controler to the motors, the more stable at allowing fans to operate optimaly. |
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71 Javelin SST body
390 69 crank, 70 block & heads NASCAR SB2 rods & pistons 78 Jeep TH400 w/ 2.76 Low 50/50 Ford-AMC Suspension 79 F150 rear & 8.8 axles Ford Racing 3.25 gears & 9" /w Detroit locker |
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Phitown Hustler
AMC Apprentice Joined: Mar/14/2019 Location: Philly Status: Offline Points: 124 |
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I had problems keeping a 30 over 500 HP 401 with a loose converter cool with a very nice 2 row Aluminum and dual fans. Temp would climb to 200 in traffic with a 160 stat even with manual bypass fans at full blast. I bought the cheap Champion 3 row hooked it all back up and now is in the 180 range while driving. BTW, I also run dual isolated trans oil coolers. Aluminum radiators need alot of air to shed heat at idle speeds
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farna
Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19676 |
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200 in traffic is a good temp. 210-220 on a hot summer day isn't "too hot". As long as it's cooling and not boiling over it's generally ok. Might be hotter than you like, but won't do any damage and is actually good for combustion/emissions. A lot of modern cars use 210 t-stats, and run 220-230. That's closer to the boiling point (around 250 w/16# cap) than I like though. Rows on a radiator isn't necessarily a good comparison. Many companies now use two rows, but the rows are much wider -- like 3/4" instead of 1/2". Overall thickness of the core is a better measurement. Mopar_guy, I agree! Those look like the cheap fans I'm using. Just have to have real good fans to really do the job!! Lesson learned... Guess I had better luck than he did -- at least mine cools fine without the AC on.
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Frank Swygert
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farna
Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19676 |
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Chris, I have my probes in the radiator near the outlet, but since they are adjustable I can compensate. It did take a while to figure out the settings to get the fans to come on at the engine temps I wanted. If I ever switch over I'll mount the temp sending unit in the head or upper hose though.
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Frank Swygert
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1982AMCConcord
AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/13/2012 Location: Kenosha, WI Status: Offline Points: 1287 |
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I should point out that I have gone the electric fan route on my 93 Chevy Caprice with a TBI 350. I used a FlexALite Dual fan and an Howe 3 core Aluminum radiator at first. Well.. I started having problems with it right away... the fans seemed like they were always running and in traffic the temps would climb rapidly once I started sitting still. So after consulting with the local radiator shop.. he said the Aluminum is nice but they don't always work as well as a copper/brass radiator. So I got rid of the Aluminum and went to a 3 core brass copper that he custom built for me. I stopped having significant problems with it but I don't like the probe in the radiator. I want to mount it in the water neck or upper hose instead because I think it'll take a better reading when its closer to the engine. But also... on a side note... later I also found that the trans fluid started being pushed out the seals of the transmission. Well I thought they were bad seals so had them replaced but it kept happening... finally the trans guy told me something to this extent...
"It took a while to figure what is going on but your electric fan is cooling the trans fluid so fast that its causing the fluid to thicken up too much. Trans fluid needs to stay consistently hot and mostly thin. Your stock water pump driven clutch fan does a better job at keeping the engine oil/coolant/trans fluid temps consistent across the board by preventing rising and falling temps. This process of heat cycling is not good for engines, transmissions or radiators for that matter." So... I put a higher temp T Stat in it and raised the temp for when the fans turn on a little bit. So that that seemed to solve that problem but I was still considering taking it all off and re-installing the clutch fan... but now that some of you have shown me some of these different wiring approaches.. its got me back to thinking about that car too. I think going to a set up that lets each fan to come on at different temps might work out better for that car. Especially if one starts out at a lower speed and the 2nd one kicks on at a higher speed. For the record.. my experience with the Caprice hasn't been easy and the reason for that is because I didn't understand how important consistent temps were to the drive train before I dove into that fan set up. Edited by 1982AMCConcord - Apr/18/2019 at 8:02am |
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vinny
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/05/2012 Location: Calgary Status: Offline Points: 2837 |
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Just think if we converted some of these cars to electric drive we wouldn't have to worry about these overheating problems.
Dual drive motors in front of the transmission as offered in a kit by EV West ought to do the job and empty the pockets to the tune of about $25000. Another option is to change to independent rear suspension and put the motors at the wheels.
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