Ford Contur Dual Radiator Fan?

[Elbert]

For those running the ford contur dual electric radiator fan...

Do you need to purchase wiring pigtails to wire up the fans?

and... do these fans have a simple pos & negative connection?

Thanks

[CruisinFJ60]

yes simple positive and negative conection
and i would get a pig tail as it will make it easier to wire them to relays and what not. all you need of the pigtale is a few inches so you can add your own wire. and do what you like. junk yards are your friend.

[FJ40Jim]

Do you mean Taurus fans?

Fans from a 2.0L contour would prolly not be sufficient for a 4.2L Cruiser.

[Elbert]

I'm told the dual electric fan setup from a v-6 contur works well. I think the taurs and the Lincoln and others are single fans? Anyway a couple of guys have done writeups on the contur setup.

[rover67]

I have the contour fans on my 5vortec truck and it cools fine pulling gear and people at 80 up passes in teh thin air here in colorado when it's warm out. They also cooled the truck fine last year when i towed a 5000lb trailer out here going the same speed and it was in the high 80's when i made the trip. AND in Memphis when it was 100 out it cooled the truck fine too.

I have them mounted to a new FJ60 radiator.

As far as wiring goes, i just used the female spade connectors to connect pos and neg to the fans.. not the slickest setup, but it works fine and they stay connected. there is enough clearance between the two terminals on the plugs so the connectors don't touch either.

I ran the pos to the battery through a circuit breaker and a relay for each fan (they pull quite a bit of current), and ran the neg to a body ground. the relays on my 5.3 vortec computer are switched on by a ground from the computer. esentially the computer grounds the relays to switch them on.

glad to hear from ya elbert, haven't been on here in a while.

[Moby]

Contour dual fans work well and fit a 60/62 rad perfectly. There is a thread from a year or so back with pictures from my install. Wiring is easy but you either need a good fan controller Delta Current or SPAL or a big relay rated for inductive loads. Similar to the Mark VIII fans the Contour dual fans draw ~32 amps and spike close to 100 on start up. I originally ran mine with a Bosch 75amp relay with a diode. I now run mine with a Delta controller because it ramps the fan up slowly to avoid the initial spike and has infinitely variable control to keep the temp closer to a constant and keep the amperage draw down when full speed isn't needed (it rarely is). The SPAL controller has similar capabilities.

[Spook50]

Originally Posted by Moby

Contour dual fans work well and fit a 60/62 rad perfectly. There is a thread from a year or so back with pictures from my install. Wiring is easy but you either need a good fan controller Delta Current or SPAL or a big relay rated for inductive loads. Similar to the Mark VIII fans the Contour dual fans draw ~32 amps and spike close to 100 on start up. I originally ran mine with a Bosch 75amp relay with a diode. I now run mine with a Delta controller because it ramps the fan up slowly to avoid the initial spike and has infinite variable control to keep the temp closer to a constant and keep the amperage draw down when full speed isn't. The SPAL controller has similar capabilities.

Hey Joel, just a quick question while on the subject: what size of wiring to you have feeding the Delta controller, and is it connected from the battery?

[Moby]

Originally Posted by Spook50

Hey Joel, just a quick question while on the subject: what size of wiring to you have feeding the Delta controller, and is it connected from the battery?

14ga fusible link off the battery to 10ga wire to the input stud on the controller. 10ga from the controller output and ground studs to the fans (this is probably overkill but I don't keep 12 or 14ga on hand just 10, 16, and 18).

[Moby]

Couple of links (sorry, didn't have time to dig them up when I first replied):

http://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wa...t-control.html

Current feedback about my setup start at post #12

http://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wa...n-project.html

Pictures of my setup start with post #14. The problems with the fan on and speed control that I mention had to do with clogging in my radiator (the temp sensor wasn't getting a good reading). Moved the sensor and the problem went away. However I am now running a Ron Davis aluminum rad.

[Spook50]

Originally Posted by Moby

Couple of links (sorry, didn't have time to dig them up when I first replied):

http://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wa...t-control.html

Current feedback about my setup start at post #12

http://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wa...n-project.html

Pictures of my setup start with post #14. The problems with the fan on and speed control that I mention had to do with clogging in my radiator (the temp sensor wasn't getting a good reading). Moved the sensor and the problem went away. However I am now running a Ron Davis aluminum rad.

I can't help but laugh at myself. I've started collecting so many parts for so many projects, and still have so many that are almost done but still need a couple little things to be finished completely.

Well, after I get back from Nevada and have a few days off that I'll be staying in Spokane for, maybe I'll take the opportunity to finish up a few and give the Plymouth a tune up as well so I can save a little gas money (and finish more Cruiser projects!).

Looks like you've got it set up pretty much the same way I'm planning on doing it. For mine though, I'm planning on having a 1/8" mild steel adapter plate with bolt locations for the Contour fan and also to mount in place of the factory fan shroud. The controller will be fed by a heavy duty NC relay that I'll have a master kill switch in the cab for, too (probably in place of my old 4WD button). I've got the P/N for the relay somewhere. I just gotta find it...

[Elbert]

Originally Posted by rover67

I have the contour fans on my 5vortec truck and it cools fine pulling gear and people at 80 up passes in teh thin air here in colorado when it's warm out. They also cooled the truck fine last year when i towed a 5000lb trailer out here going the same speed and it was in the high 80's when i made the trip. AND in Memphis when it was 100 out it cooled the truck fine too.

I have them mounted to a new FJ60 radiator.

As far as wiring goes, i just used the female spade connectors to connect pos and neg to the fans.. not the slickest setup, but it works fine and they stay connected. there is enough clearance between the two terminals on the plugs so the connectors don't touch either.

I ran the pos to the battery through a circuit breaker and a relay for each fan (they pull quite a bit of current), and ran the neg to a body ground. the relays on my 5.3 vortec computer are switched on by a ground from the computer. esentially the computer grounds the relays to switch them on.

glad to hear from ya elbert, haven't been on here in a while.

Good to hear from you Marco.. I've got my 5.7 vortec running and trying to prep for getting the A/C setup.

I have a spal controller which as I understand will control two fans with the addition of another relay setup. It can vary the speed of one fan 1 and can turn fan 2 off and on, as I recall.

Rright now I'm running about 203F or so in town and about 210F on the hwy. Truck will cool down to around 200F at extended idle. Aftermarket 4 core raidiator and one 16 inch SPAL fan with a "custom" shroud. THe fan is offset to the drivers side of the radiator to clear the water pump. I've debated on trying to install a couple of "flapper valves" in the shroud to allow better air flow on the hwy but I don't know anyplace that sells them. I have the A/C condensor installed but have not finished the setup for the GM/ Toyota hybrid A/C yet.

Can someone post their temps.... with ambient weather in the 80's or hotter. Don't know where the temps are going when the A/C starts to work... I assume they will increase.

Don't know if I can get better cooling than the setup I have now? See attached pics.

[Elbert]

post your V-8 engine temps based on your dual contour fan setup... my request above may not be clear.

[FJ40Jim]

Originally Posted by FJ40Jim

Do you mean Taurus fans?
Fans from a 2.0L contour would prolly not be sufficient for a 4.2L Cruiser.

Originally Posted by Elbert

I'm told the dual electric fan setup from a v-6 contur works well. I think the taurs and the Lincoln and others are single fans? Anyway a couple of guys have done writeups on the contur setup.

A-Ha, I musta missed that thread!
Thanks for clarification.

[Moby]

Can't speak to V8 temps. For my built 3FE my dual Contour fan, Ron Davis Radiator, 180 degree tstat and Delta controller kept the truck at 192-193 last weekend when temps went to 90 in Seattle. This is also with an enormous auto tranny cooler in front of the A/C and radiator blocking airflow.

[iaintscared1969]

Running 5.3 vortecs with a 160 degree thermo at any speed or dead stop and a/c on around 160-180. And i run both fans of the ECU with out a controller. A/C on fans on. Temp rises fan on. I let the Truck do the work.

[meatloaf]

Originally Posted by iaintscared1969

Running 5.3 vortecs with a 160 degree thermo at any speed or dead stop and a/c on around 160-180. And i run both fans of the ECU with out a controller. A/C on fans on. Temp rises fan on. I let the Truck do the work.

The way Randy set mine up is sweet. With close to 100° temps here in Austin today, the needle never hit the half-way point on the gauge. This was in stop-n-go traffic. I am hooking up the AC this weekend...With what I have seen so far, it should work just as good with the AC on.

[Tinker]

Anybody know if the aftermarket Dorman fans are as good as the OEM Bosch? And will a Flex-A-Lite solid state controller handle 1 of the brushless, induction-motor fans?

Have a Flex-A-Lite on my inadequate single now & planning on installing another so I have an independent controller for each Contour fan. I'll set one @ 185F & the other at 200F.

[Spook50]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Anybody know if the aftermarket Dorman fans are as good as the OEM Bosch? And will a Flex-A-Lite solid state controller handle 1 of the brushless, induction-motor fans?

Have a Flex-A-Lite on my inadequate single now & planning on installing another so I have an independent controller for each Contour fan. I'll set one @ 185F & the other at 200F.

I haven't heard any complaints about Dormans (a few guys I know have their fans in their Mopars), but I would expect the Bosch fans might be better overall quality, a-la their relays (which now bear the Tyco brand name).

[Elbert]

got my dual motorcraft fans in from Rock Auto.. What's the difference between the passenger and drivers side fans? THe passenger side has a metal "heat shield" on the back while the drivers side does not.. Any other differences between the two the two?

[boots4]

I took my contour fan assembly apart to clean it and the numbers on both motors are the same so I'd say there is no difference. I know from the factory they were wired different with a resistor going to one to give it a low speed but if you are using your spal controller that is irrelevant since you won't be using that resistor. You could choose which one you want to be variable depending on how you have your cooling row setup. i.e. I have a tranny cooler shifted to the passenger side and the outlet of the radiator is on the lower passenger side so I chose the fan covering that area to be my variable and will have the other one be the 100% kick on (I too am using a spal controller) once I get a relay wired up. I figured the backing plate was a heat shield since the car I got mine out of was a traverse mounted 4-cylinder and the exhaust ran that way. I'm not sure what purpose it served on the V6 application. I took mine off since I didn't need it.

[rover67]

my motor has a 180 thermostat and the radiator keeps it there........

[Elbert]

See the new radiator assembly mocked up with the fans. I saw another guy who set his fans up using 1 inch square tubing so I may change this prior to actual install. Will use the SPAL controller I allrady have installed along with another relay harness to power the 2nd fan.

Radiator is from man-a-fre...

[Elbert]

Ok,

Don't know right off hand if I have a wiring issue or not. I have dual fans plus new radiator installed. I have the drivers side fan wired to the old fan wiring that I used for the SPAL fan. I bought the pigtails too so I have them installed too. My 30 amp fuse is blowing right off the bat when the fan should come on.

I've wired the passenger side fan independelty with another 30 AMP fuse and SPAL fan harness I allready had. The extra SPAL harness connects to the SPAL controller by a single gray wire that controls it by on an off.

I suspect that the fans are drawing a low of amperage right off the bat or I've done something wrong. I'll try and verfity the fan wiring but I'm fairly sure its correct according to the directions....

Anyone know if 30 amp fuses are enough for each fan (one each)? It would seem that if the controller could operate the single large 16 inch SPAL fan it would operate at the dual fans....unless these things are really power hungrey at inital turn on.

Maybe its a wiring thing I'll go look. Right now the primary fan (drivers side) is blowing a 30 amp fuse, the passenger side is not blowing a fuse... but at the same time neither fan turns on. I hot wired both fans prior to wiring to make sure they work...both did.

I can't find any amperage documentation on the SPAL stuff, but it comes with 30amp fuse holders sow that may be its max capacity...

[Moby]

I don't know about the SPAL rating however prior to getting my Delta Current Control controller I ran both fans through a single 75amp Bosch relay with a 14 ga fusible link and 10ga wiring. Never had a problem with that setup but I didn't use it for very long.

[Elbert]

Ok...

I think the controller is fried. As soon as I reach the set temp for the controller to power up the primary fan it blows a 30 Amp fuse. I hot wired the primary fan to test it with light gauge wire and the fan powered right up and ran for 10+ min fine. I then tested the realy setup on the passenger side fan and it fired right up when I grounded the control wire (like its suppose to). I may take apart the SPAL contoller to see what's inside and let the smoke out. I double checked the wiring and its wired correctly .

THinking of going with a simple two relay setup using one of the SPAL on/off sensors if I can acquire one tomorrow as a temp solution. I like the idea of a controller so that the fans have variable speed but in the interest of getting it driving now...the simple relay setup looks good.

To answer my own question looks like a 30 amp fuse is fine for each single fan. Don't know the issue with the SPAL controller, but its not working... as soon as you get to the appropriate temp it blows the 30 amp fuse. I"ve checked the wiring a couple of times to make sure its correct and that I had no "shorts to ground".. I read somewhere that the SPAL controller is gettting redesigned.