wiring electric fans

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

greencruiser

greencruiser

Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Threads
24
Messages
292
Location
courtenay British Columbia
so I got a fan, couldnt find a taurus fan so I went with a cavalier fan :) it seems to pull pretty good

anyways I want to wire it up and am wondering how all you guys did yours?
should i go with plain switch or use a relay, or is there a common type of thermostat switch that would work on a 350? it may need to run full time to keep engine at decent temp

any info appreciated

thanx :beer:
 
I'm one of those that isn't a "fan" of electric fans to begin with but I have to say using a cavalier fan to cool a small block is a doubtful solution.

TO answer your question, a switch will work but will experience less wear if using a relay. 30 Amp relays are cheap so just toss it in and go.

Good luck,
Rice
 
I am a fan of electrics. I have them on all my conversions. One of the large advantages of them is the ability to only use it when it's needed and not having to worry about it. A full time running fan and a switched fan kinda defeat those purposes.
I, too, worry about the capacity of a Cavalier fan. Taurus fans are all over eBay and the junkyard. You can use any three wire fan from any 3.8L application. Taurus, Lincolns, Sables, mustangs, etc.
You must run a relay. They draw a bunch of amps on start up and you don't need that running into your cab. Besides, the coolant temp switch you should be using is a ground side switch designed to run with a relay. You probably don't want a stock switch for a 5.0L or a 5.7L. They turn on at 220. I run 190 switches on my 40, T-100 and F-100 small block conversions. Jegs, Summit and eBay are good sources for them. They just screw into the intake and ground the relay when they reach temp. You can also get slightly more expensive controllable switches where you can set the turn on and turn off temps. If you want you can run a second grounding wire to a switch on the dash to turn on the fan independant of the switch, but you shouldn't need to. If you are running a 190 switch and a 190 t-stat your fan will aready be running when there is no coolant running through the radiator to cool. Any lower would be silly.
DOn't be cheap and just run a manual switch. It will save you about $30 until you forget to turn it on, then it will cost you 20 times that.
 
I have an electric fan, works great. Larger alternator is the key to having a large E fan. Oh ya, word of advice, use a good switch for the fan, cheapy ones just melt. Question though: My E fan works like a generator and keeps the motor running for a moment after I shut it off. What do I need to do to stop that from happening??

thanks,
SD
 
I've been thinking about this for some time. My temp stays right at 190 on the road with a fixed engine fan. When I get down to crawl speeds and idle the temp will creep up to 220. Can you run an electric fan as well as a mechanical fan? I really just want to cover the cooling issue when I am crawling. Or do you rec dumping the fixed fan and going %100 electric?

Its a 350 with summit aluminium rad. Thanks
 
You could get a small electric and use it as a pusher to help the mechanical one out. i think that's what Woody does. you could also look into your shroud and make sure that's up to snuff. 220 isn't all that bad in a crawl situation anyway.
 
I have mixed thoughts on electric fans 1 truck I love it on and 1 I went back to the mechanical. I have two HO Tarus fans I'll sell 1. As for the relays go big the Tarus uses 40-50 amps on high start then settles down to 12ish or less. They move alot of air make sure you build a real mount stay away from the zip ties through the radiator it will get you one day. Good luck
 
How do the Tarus fans stack up against the aftermarket ones? I've been thinking about the Black Max that Man-A-Fre has: 2800 cfm at 14 amps draw. Comes with the switches (manual and thermostat). I"m sure a junkyard Tarus would be cheaper than the $280, however. Any other benefit to the Tarus besides price?
 
I have heard 2000 CFM from multiple sources, but nobody seems to know for sure. The Taurus fan has a low speed, but I don't know why you would use it. I think the Taurus uses it during A/C operation when the coolant isn't high enough to warrent the high speed.

1/10th the price is a pretty good advantage.


http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003/02/electricfan/index.shtml
 
drohweder said:
I've been thinking about this for some time. My temp stays right at 190 on the road with a fixed engine fan. When I get down to crawl speeds and idle the temp will creep up to 220. Can you run an electric fan as well as a mechanical fan? I really just want to cover the cooling issue when I am crawling. Or do you rec dumping the fixed fan and going %100 electric?

Its a 350 with summit aluminium rad. Thanks
Click to expand...

Dan,

I had an electric fan and the mechanical fan on a '89 Dodge Cummins that I used to have. All I did was hook the electrical fan to a themostatic switch c/w fuse direct to the battery. I selected a thermostatic switch to come on about 5 degrees hotter than the thermostat. It worked great as it only came on when the usual systems (mechanical fan and thermostat) were unable to keep things cool and kept running until everything cooled back down (much like the stock electric fans do). Put the fuse as close to the battery as possible so if the wire shorts the fuse will protect everything.
It only came on when I was really working the truck, ie: pulling up hills, running A/C while going really slow etc.
 
I had a Black Magic on a toy pu and I think the tarus pulled more air on high. This is just a subjective messure. I know for the money I bought two Tarus fans and relays and thermosats and spent less than 1 Blak magic which puked out 6 mos after I sold the truck.
 
Gumby said:
Run it through an ignition switched relay like you should be doing anyway.
Click to expand...


It has always been hooked up that way. Still keeps the motor running.

????
 
i also think NO on the cavy fan, what yr?

I hate and will never run rad probe style temp switches.

screw in adjustable temp switch ground, manual overide ground, one switch low speed or off, one switch high speed or off, two 30 amp bosch relays (one high one low speeds), the factory 30 amp slow blow fuse and fuse holder for the TOREASS/tauras fan. Done. all switches are lighted to let me know.



AND i am on a stock cruiser radiator.

MILD 406 sbc stock pump
Run around on low speed all yr only on days above 90 degrees out do i have to run with high speed, and it still cycles on and off.


NO need for bigger then 30 amp stuff, just the 10 gauge wire needed to run them. 70 -110 amp relays are for starters, one writeup made it sound like it would only work on them.

did two manual fans, a different radiator, about three other electric fans, none worked but tauras fan.

Mech and electric can interfer with each other, it is only when the mech is not pulling enough air at low speed, where the elec can help.
 
I have the black magic, and it works ok. The rad probe temp thing s*** after a year. It also seems smaller than a taurus fan. If you center it in a stock rad you get a 2-3 inch overlap all the way around. Seems like a custom shroud is needed to get full cooling potential.

Considering I don't wheel much I may go taurus or back to mechanical.
 
drohweder said:
I've been thinking about this for some time. My temp stays right at 190 on the road with a fixed engine fan. When I get down to crawl speeds and idle the temp will creep up to 220. Can you run an electric fan as well as a mechanical fan? I really just want to cover the cooling issue when I am crawling. Or do you rec dumping the fixed fan and going %100 electric?

Its a 350 with summit aluminium rad. Thanks
Click to expand...

i have both, and only use the electric one when im wheeling and the temp starts to climb. it works great for me.
 
Well after hearing all the great results that people have had with the taurus fans I ditched the cavalier fans and got the taurus 2speed fan for $40 :) that thing sure does pull :flipoff2:

Anyways I am going with pretty much the same setup as these guys didhttp://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003/02/electricfan/index.shtml using a hayden controller and 75amp bosch relay except I dont have a/c and am wondering about the freewheeling diode have any of you guys used the diode? I dont think the taurus originally had one in the wiring?

I got the fan mounted just not wired up and wasnt sure if it was a good idea to run it without the diode in the circuit?

now if the fan draws over 100 amps on startup wouldnt it need a 110 amp fuse or something, or maybee a fuseable link , what are you guys running for a fuse?



thanks for all the info:beer:
 
More electric fan info....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

AYM707
Electrical Wiring Loom Build
2
Replies
33
Views
5K
peesalot
P
Tancruiser
Distributor wiring
Replies
7
Views
878
Tancruiser
Tancruiser
1lukeduke
Electric brushless radiator fan
Replies
13
Views
2K
1lukeduke
1lukeduke
stewt
FJ45 Wiring
Replies
2
Views
741
mrboatman
mrboatman

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom