Electric fan conversion

[bigwheel15]

Okay so im switching over to electric fans on my truck. I picked up two fans off a honda and was wanting to know, would it be better to have it set up to have one on with the ignition and the secondary coming on only to cool things down or have both come on and off at the same time?

Also are these mounts okay to use for mounting the fans?

[jrcaprai]

you could have 2 thermostats and have them come on at certain temps.. one at 180° and the 2nd at say 195°
I have 2 setup that way... Course I live in UT, where in the winter it would never get up to temp if it came on with the ignition
I would mount them better than that...

[tucsonjwt]

Electric fans do draw amps and create an additional demand on the engine, but I don't know why you would need them to turn on at other than normal engine operating temperature or higher.
After I rebuilt my cooling system recently (stock fan clutch, water pump, hoses, radiator, thermostat) I find that my engine is running a lot cooler and the engine runs smoother, even in stop and go HotZona city traffic. I would try that first before going to electric fans. If you have a lot of high power engine mods and headers I can see why you might need electric fans. On stock big and small block squares in the desert I have never used electric fans and have not had any problems - other than normal cooling component failures.

[bigwheel15]

Its not that I "need" to replace the clutch engine driven fan, I mainly wanted to switch them over due to a complete engine bay overhaul and I think it makes things look much cleaner. Now that I think about it I think ill be fine having both come on at the same time or like you said jrcaprai it would take longer to get up to operating temp during the cold.

And yeah I actually planned on building a metal bracket to mount the fans however I seen a few fans installed using those zip tie looking things and thought id ask about them.

[tucsonjwt]

Just one thing to remember on the electric fans - they operate on an electronic sensor, so if you have the sensor fail your fan(s) won't turn and your engine will overheat. It is true that the engine driven fan clutch can fail also, but it is less likely than having a sensor fail. I lost an engine on a Honda due to fan temp sensor failure, so I am not a "fan" of electric fans. Of course, the Honda was an aluminum engine, which is less forgiving of overheating than a cast iron engine. If you keep an eye on the temp gauge this is not an issue, but I don't look at my temp gauge when I am driving.

[hatzie]

When the vehicle is moving above 30mph the fan should not be needed even on a hot day. My VW fan never comes on unless I have been tooling along at 25 in heavy traffic or have the AC on. I don't know if the Honda fans will move enough air to keep a V8 with AC happy in traffic.

I glance at all my gauges as a part of my left to right sweep of mirrors and the road to my sides and ahead. If you intend to run electric fans a buzzer on idiot lamp sensors for engine temp is not a bad idea . The temp sensor hole is only filled in one cylinder head.

[bigwheel15]

Originally Posted by hatzie

When the vehicle is moving above 30mph the fan should not be needed even on a hot day. My VW fan never comes on unless I have been tooling along at 25 in heavy traffic or have the AC on. I don't know if the Honda fans will move enough air to keep a V8 with AC happy in traffic.

I glance at all my gauges as a part of my left to right sweep of mirrors and the road to my sides and ahead. If you intend to run electric fans a buzzer on idiot lamp sensors for engine temp is not a bad idea . The temp sensor hole is only filled in one cylinder head.

Theyre two decent sized fans and I dont have ac so I think ill be okay but I will for sure be keeping an eye on the temp. Maybe this gives me a reason to go junk yard hunting?

[coondogg52]

i just installed an elec fan in my truck a couple of months ago. i had the fan hooked to a tstat to start when the truck came upto temp. the problem with that was that when i ran my ac it was over heating my ac system and causing the freon to blow off. i changed the fan to come on as soon as i turn the key and have had no more problems, and the truck comes up to temp without any problem.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by coondogg52

i just installed an elec fan in my truck a couple of months ago. i had the fan hooked to a tstat to start when the truck came upto temp. the problem with that was that when i ran my ac it was over heating my ac system and causing the freon to blow off. i changed the fan to come on as soon as i turn the key and have had no more problems, and the truck comes up to temp without any problem.

You should always wire the fan relay to switch on when you engage the AC compressor or the coolant temp sensor reaches its setpoint. A properly thought out electric fan setup will not use as much fuel as the engine driven fan because it will keep the engine temp constant without running all the time.

If you run the fan all the time you won't save a thing. TANSTAAFL. The electric fan loads the engine the same way the mechanical fan would. It just uses a different route. The fan sucks electrons out of the battery and the alternator loads the engine to replace them.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by bigwheel15

Theyre two decent sized fans and I dont have ac so I think ill be okay but I will for sure be keeping an eye on the temp. Maybe this gives me a reason to go junk yard hunting?

Get some cooling from the darkside. These guys are using MKVIII or Taurus fans on V8 F bodies

[cr34t3d_by_d4rkd3n]

put one on a thermal switch with optional override and dummy light. other on with ac/ switched.. as long as they come on man ur good. switches r just to save fuel when warming up. other then that let the thermal switch figure it out ... edit. go with a brand like flexalite or bkackmajic black majic are known for there selfcontained thermal sensors. no wiring or plumbing involved. u want the fan on at 150ish to keep her at 165-180. 180 isbprime operating temp for engine and trans. i have a 1200 cfm blackmajic and it aint enough in100+ wether. using a 160 thermostat

[rayfinseats]

I set mine up all on full time when the ign switch is on. What ever you do don't just put them on a switch. Sometimes people forget. And use a relay to power them on. Mine gets about 180-190 on a hot day. I have some kind of chrysler dual fans. I just made my own mounts.