haha, sure thing bro

 

In my honest opinion this should be one of the first mods done to anything you drive, because some claim you get a better engine life with one, but I must see this to believe it.

 

That may be true, but I do know that electrical fans do eventually burn up/wear out. That's why many people install a switch so they can deactivate the fan while cruising on the highway. I couldn't do that, because I know I'll forget. Besides, the novelty of switches has worn off on me. I think as long as you get a quality fan, it'll last a 5+ years easy, unless you do alot of idling and let it run forever.

But barring that, I agree, this is one mod that "gives back" free HP.

 

If the fan is installed and control thermostat setpoints are correct, it would never come on on the highway and such a switch is unnecessary. The people putting the switch in have a poorly designed installation if such a switch is necessary.

Edit: Actually, scratch that. If you are using the A/C it will still come on. I might use a frequency comparator on the VSS to kill the fan when the A/C is on at higher speeds. But I don't know that any commercial controllers do this -- but it's a great idea.

The fan spins no matter what at speed due to air flow, but at highway speeds, you'd probably find the fan drawing VERY little amps -- that is, doing very little work -- when you are running on the highway. This could also make that switch of limited utility since it's not going to save bearing wear at all.

 

I was reading a post on TRS last night about the e-fan and it seemed a lot of people were saying that since the e-fan pulls power from the battery, and the battery gets recharged by the alternator that the alternator running harder to keep the battery at proper charge doesn't really increase the available power because power is being used somewhere just not mechanical....

Your thoughts?

Here is the link in case you are curious Clickety click

 

Yes, and no.

Most mechanical fans have incredibly lossy viscous drives that ALWAYS use some power, and waste some power. Also, generally the fan is quite oversized for what is required -- at least as far as most of us can tell since there are no specs available!

The efan's real savings is in using energy ONLY WHEN REQUIRED. So, it's only drawing power from the alternator when running. Unless you run the fan all the time, it will draw less power.

They're quite right to point out you don't get "something for nothing" -- but you do lose the wasted power spinning the mechanical fan all the time and the lossy viscous clutch mechanism. Even with the thermostatic clutchs in the current viscous designs, there is always some energy coupled to the mechanical fan, even at low temperatures.

Manufacturers went to electric fans because of the higher efficiency and it pushed the gas mileage up a bit. It's not a big gain, but it IS a gain, no matter how you look at it -- PROVIDED you wire in a properly adjusted control system. The fan must NOT come on until the coolant thermostat is fully open.

 

I am sure %75 of the vehicles on the road today have electric radiator fans.
Mainly this is true because THEIR ENGINES ARE POINTING EAST WEST INSTEAD OF NORTH SOUTH!!

Someday I too will install an e-fan.
Just not one that mounts through the radiator.
I think off road there is too much bouncing and rough action up front to risk putting any strain on the fins.

 

Agreed! I believe that would be a TERRIBLE idea. Mine is mounted to the original cowling, with a silicone rubber surround to fill the gap between the fan and the original cowling cutout. When I finally get the controls wired in I'll take some pictures.

Man, I completely forgot about the transverse engine on most cars! That's probably as big or bigger a reason than efficiency.

With the new 42 volt electrical systems coming online over the next decade, the power steering pump, water pump, air conditioning etc. will be electric in higher end vehicles. The reason again is efficiency. Also, the starter motor and alternator will be the same device, integrated into the flywheel. These engine compartments are going to look VERY different.

 

I trust the majority in a situation like this where I am completely lost, but since I'm more familiar with y'alls abilities I trust y'all a bit more. Thank you for the info! You have reconvinced me to go electric. Proper wiring...is it hard to wire it for automatic usage? I would also like a switch to turn it off during mudding.

 

NO, NO, NO - that is when you are putting a strain on your engine and it most definitely will need proper cooling.....
Trust me the radiator fan has little to do with spraying mud around in your engine compartment, especially an electric powered one as it has a tight cowl around it.

 

It'll probably turn itself off as soon as the radiator gets wet and cools down.

I wouldn't rush to do it necessarily. I did it because my fan clutch failed and this was the same price as replacing it, more or less. The gains are small -- but if you want to it's worthwhile -- just not TERRIBLY so, lol.

There are two basic systems to control the fan: fixed temperature, and adjustable temperature. Both have a "sensor" or "thermostat" and a relay. The adjustable ones usually have some kind of small electronic control circuit to read the sensor and decide when to turn on the fan. Fixed temperature systems come on at a certain temperature and thats it.

Also, most systems have an input from your air conditioning system that turns on the fan whenever the A/C is on. You can wire that two ways as well. One way is to set it so the fan runs continuously whenever your A/C is turned on. The other way only runs the fan when your A/C compressor cycles on. The first method causes the fan to turn on and off less (in our trucks, the compressor is cycled by pressure in the A/C system). But hooking it up to the compressor means the fan will switch off when the full throttle override kicks in. This turns off you A/C compressor to give you the most power when you "floor it". If you want to make sure you have maximum HP for acceleration, wire it to the compressor. If you want to save the fan from cycling, wire it to the signal that turns the A/C generally on.

There are two common ways to read the coolant temperature. The best method is to get a "neck" for your upper radiator hose that replaces the stock one and has a hole for a sensor in it. Then you can actually monitor coolant temperature more "directly". The other way is a sensor that sticks into your radiator fins, or on the tank on the "inlet" side. This is less accurate, but acceptable, and it is easier and cheaper. If you use this method, an adjustable system is an advantage since it lets you tune the system to come on only when the water gets hotter than normal and you can "tune out" the inaccuracy of the reading.

I'm using and adjustable sensor-in-the-radiator-fins type of control for now. I will wire the fan to the A/C compressor clutch so I have full power at wide open throttle and the fan life be hanged.

That's some of the options you have.

 

I feel smarter after reading this.

 

Ok I misspoke. I don't want to turn it off during mudding, just when the front is submerged. Someone on the thread on TRS said that their fan snapped a fin during a water crossing. The water provided enough resistance for the fan to snap. That is what I meant...sorry. This posting at work doesn't leave me much time to re-read..

John: You confuse me more and more everytime I read your posts....Now I think I'm going to pay someone to do this...

 

Sorry, Bryan! I don't mean to. I'm just trying to explain, but I realize that too much tech for the non-tech is daunting. Take your time, think and learn about it, and then do it yourself. We'll "hold your hand" and help you.

 

The problem is I try to read this while at work :) There is a ****** woman who seems to have it out for me and just goes around trying to find people doing things wrong. I'm always worried she's gonna stop by and see me. If I take my time and read it thru, processing as I read it wont be a problem...I'm kinda impatient like that...no worries John you are the man

 

eFan school 101... now all we need is a wiring diagram.

 

Comes with the fan connection kit when you buy it.

 

-[puts down shovel and wipes brow from digging up an old topic]-

Is the best size of fan for our engines the 16" fans or would we benifit more from the double fan setups? I want to do this to mine but I want some good airflow too.

 

My question for this resurrected topic is this: I live in Florida, and I'm fat. My A/C is always on, so my fan would probably always be on. Is this mod not worth it for me?

 

The fan cools the radiator which cools the coolant to cool the engine. I don't see why that has anything to do with your weight. And you're not fat, you're mildly chubby. I'M fat. Get it straight.

 

Well the fan running puts more strain on the alternator, which in theory causes parasitic power loss, perhaps not as much as the fan created, but enough to somewhat lessen the effects of the mod.

 

Yeah and that has what to do with our weight?

 

At highway speeds the fan only runs when the A/C is on full, but my A/C is always on full because I'm fat.

 

I rarely use my A/C. Only the vent on cold which is as cold as the A/C so I wonder if it's always on? Oh well...

 

This is one mod that I may actually do by the end of the summer. I'd like to find out how John's works out, but that will come with time. That sure does look nice Coy, except for the loose wires, I would tie them up at least.