Ford Contour Fans

I saw the title to this thread & thought it was going to be about people that like Ford Contours. Then, as a former Contour owner, I thought there is no way anyone could be a fan of these cars. My Contour was enough to put me off of Ford products for life.

farna wrote: II'm  going to need to use a two speed controller through that big factory Contour resistor, I think! The fans are a bit loud on high. Running on high works well, but I also don't have a delay cut-off. The fan wired as the factory Jeep auxiliary/AC fan turns off with the ignition switch. The main cooling fan is just wired to the battery through the temp controller. So the fan runs a couple minutes until the radiator cools off. Not an issue as long as the controller is working. The normal fail is that it cuts power and won't power the fan, but there is a (remote) possibility the contacts could fuse and leave the fan on until the battery drains... not real concerned about that though. This is when you most notice the fan is loud on high... engine off and fan running. I don't like running through a resistor for low speed much, but it obviously didn't bother Ford engineers, and I'm not going to pretend I know better. I don't like using a resistor because it wastes power... uses as much about as much as fan on high. I could use another relay and just shut the fan off with the ignition. That won't  hurt anything, mechanical fans shut off with engine. On high with AC on engine temp stays under 190 unless I run a lot in town, and as low as 180 (195 t-stat). Obviously high speed isn't necessary that often. I'm  letting it go for now, but will be looking hard at 304_dudes AC wiring in the HVAC section (under Body/Interior). http://theamcforum.com/forum/mega-hvac-and-cooling_topic96947.html

Hi farna, i noticed you may need some help on getting better control on your fans with what you have setup.

I did not want to muddy up your thread with mine, and figured you would contact me if need be. Though greyhounds has made a recent thread on the Contour fan setup with AMC radiators.

Let me grasp some of the setup you have, as to add my thoughts on what can be done.

I got a bulk purchace on high current Schottky diodes... their very low voltage drop makes for zero loss of power to the fans if needing to add a switched power source, without effecting isolation of primary or secondary fan. Can send you one at price of mailing, if you find a need for it. Its large enough to take current and be safe with shrink wrap or electrical wire if wanting to cover. Its diameter is about the equivelent of 10 awg wire around its jacketing. I can throw in a stainless clip to hold the diode in place and act like a heat sink if wanting to isolate it to the fender or upper support.

You may find greyhounds info helpful as well.

Just a side note... if you want to control the main fan can have an adjustable timed relay, which is in my thread. They run about $10 or less each. Some dont have as long of a delay, given 2 minutes max is good enough, usually with a powerful main fan, 1 minute should allow time for engine to cool when ignition is off.


Also since you state how loud the fan is, and its probably more powerful than needed... a pwm module can be adjusted for a lower speed that is easier on the ears.

Our Honda has some noisey fans, and can be heard in the house from the garage door entrance. Though we are use to it, until we drive the Toyota. So i understand the noise shock from such a noise difference.

Edited by 304-dude - Jun/23/2019 at 11:43am