Electric fan anyone!

[Thermo]

If you go with that setup from Amazon, you have to figure out a key thing, where are you mounting that big brass fitting in the coolant system? There is no real place for you to mount that in our trucks. So, you will still end up getting some sort of thermostat controller for the truck, which is the expensive part of the whole setup.

Also, that setup has a 180F thermostat associated with it (assuming you use what they provide). Our trucks have a 195F thermostat in them. So, the fans are going to start running before the truck is even up to temp and they are going to be running any time the truck is up near normal operating temp. This is a complete waste. This is a good setup for older cars (ie, 80's and such), but for our trucks, the purchase will be good for the harness and the fans, but that is about it. Then you have to figure out how to modify the system to make it work.

If you want to make this system work, let me know and I will see what I can do about finding parts that will make things a bit more "plug and play" for those that are not wiring savvy.

 

[AlexExpy]

Thermo, You're such a nice guy.

 

[ZuluBravoTango]

Yep you are a saint... Was a good price for just the fans alone though. I would be open to any suggestions for improvement. Let me know what you have, and I can follow accordingly.
Oh and anyone can pick these up through the link above on Amazon.
I think it's still a good deal.

 

[AlexExpy]

Yep you are a saint... Was a good price for just the fans alone though. I would be open to any suggestions for improvement. Let me know what you have, and I can follow accordingly.
Oh and anyone can pick these up through the link above on Amazon.
I think it's still a good deal.

You need two of this. You can get this from Summittracing. They are 43 bucks each.

DER-16759 - Fan Control, Thermostatic, Adjustable, 150 to 240 Degrees.

 

[ZuluBravoTango]

Good call, thanks! We will figure this out. I do appricate all the help.

 

[Thermo]

For those looking at the above setup, the wiring harness for the fans will have 2 wires that are to be connected up to the brass plug/temperature switch. Toss out the brass plug/temperature switch and get yourself a good quality ON/OFF temperature controller (do not get one of the pulsing style as this will trash the relay in a heartbeat and leave you with bigger problems). This will normally have contacts in it to activate a relay. Wire this in place of the brass plug/temperature switch and you are good to go. The only other modification you might need to do is to run power over to the controller to allow for proper operation.

Please keep in mind that with this sort of setup, you have either no fans or full fan flow. Nothing inbetween. If you want a stair step air flow increase, then you need to either get a new wiring harness (which normally comes with a pulse type controller) and then the pulse type controller. The benefits of this setup is you get more of a constant temperature inside the engine as you can control the amount of air going across the radiator, and therefore slowly apply more cooling to steady out the temps. But, at the temps the engine runs at, a 5 or 10F variance isn't that big of a deal. The other option is to get 2 ON/OFF controllers and then set them up say 5F apart from each other. That way you get half the flow when you get just above the thermostat temp and then if that does not provide enough cooling, the second comes in shortly thereafter, giving you full cooling. A poor mans way of the pulse style controller.

 

[AlexExpy]

Thermo,

I'm going with stagger controllers 5F apart. Since our engine thermostat opens at 195F. Where would you set the first fan to kick on? I'm thinking around 197F. Your opinion is appreciated.

 

[ZuluBravoTango]

The stagger method sounds like a plan. I am going to chase down the parts. Any other ideas on parts and system is very welcome.. I will post pics to my build thread as the packages show up!

 

[Thermo]

Alex, I think mine are set at about 200 and 208F as I recall. Something like that. My truck needs to get a few degrees above where the thermostat tries to maintain the engine. that way my fans are not kicking on all the time. yet, I am not running the engine so hot as to cause any damage.

 

[AlexExpy]

Alex, I think mine are set at about 200 and 208F as I recall. Something like that. My truck needs to get a few degrees above where the thermostat tries to maintain the engine. that way my fans are not kicking on all the time. yet, I am not running the engine so hot as to cause any damage.

Thermo, Appreciate your input. I guess 200F is reasonable, not nearly close to boil temp.

I will set it around 197-198F and see how that go, I can always go back and change it.