Advantages of using an electric fan

[kwaapia]

Hypothesis: Better cold-weather emissions and better fuel economy will result from replacing the hydraulic fluid-coupled belt-driven cooling fan with an electric fan.

The emissions gain at cold weather stems from the fact that the current fan starts running and blowing cold air onto the engine right from when engine starts running. It takes longer for the transmission and engine to warm up compared to an electrically-controlled motor. The ECM will keep the motor off at the start to make sure the catalytic converter heats up as fast as possible. The heated O2 sensors don't work until they reach about 600 degrees so closed-loop emission control is not possible until then. The fastest way to reach this temp is through a combination of hot exhaust and heating the wire element in the O2 sensor.

2nd benefit of the electric fan is the ability to increase the fan speed even at idle, since the fan speed depends on the frequency of the PWM control pulses. The belt-driven fan cannot turn faster than the pulley driving it, so at idle speed the fan is at its slowest.

I am starting a project to replace my fan with an electric one. I will share my results here in the spring. It will need some fancy electronics and software to do this, my estimate is about 2 months.

 

[lt1fire]

You could just make it with a manual switch like mine and it will only take a few hours.

 

[rmatnze]

Electric fans also help when wheeling because if you can up the fan speed manually before the engine gets hot which is nice especially when your radiator is covered in mud.

 

[akarilo]

I tried several different electric setups on my Turbo FJ62 with marginal results. In the end I scrapped the project and went back with the standard setup. Summary: it was a waste of time and money for me. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Skrewball]

in my experience no electric fan that will fit in place of a mechanical fan will out flow a mechanical fan.

usually on an obd 2 vehicle it takes less than a minute or two to go into closed loop.

i have seen electric fans blow to pieces when just barely touched into water(mild water crossing)

also the current draw the electric fan puts on the alternator is pretty big. alot required if running at night (headlights, rocklights, heater fan)

they are also very noisey if they flow an adequate amount of air.

heres the funny part...................i run an electric fan on my offroad buggy, and i don't have problems with it(after installing a bigger alternator)

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

I have a stock electric fan on my '98 5.9L Jeep Grand Cherokee. Came that way from the factory! Works great & is real quiet. If that fan can cool down a big V8 stuffed into a little engine bay with only to louvers to help, I think it will definetly work for a Landcruiser.

 

[gotmud]

I have a stock electric fan on my '98 5.9L Jeep Grand Cherokee. Came that way from the factory! Works great & is real quiet. If that fan can cool down a big V8 stuffed into a little engine bay with only to louvers to help, I think it will definetly work for a Landcruiser.

You might want to look twice at your setup. IIRC, the V-8 GC's come with a hydraulic fan that is powered by the PS pump. It does resemble an electric fan though. Pretty slick setup in my opinion.

 

[IronYuppy]

...It will need some fancy electronics and software to do this, my estimate is about 2 months.

You would get the same net result by attaching a simple thermoelectric switch to your radiator. Flex-A-Lite sells one for about $25.

It has a brass thermometer probe that trips the circuit. You can adjust the temp range, and wire-in a bypass switch to run the fan full-time if you want to. I had this set-up in my 22RE 4Runner and it was a really good mod.

Electric Fan Accessories at Flex-a-lite Consolidated

Part# 31147-Adj. Temp Sensor
(20 amp rating)Turns fan on/off at the desired temperature. Dial-adjustable 1800-2400F. Gives the freedom to set one temperature for occasional high-demand use, then reset for highway or day-to-day driving.

edit: IMO, it makes more sense to read the temperature from the rad as that's the area you'll actually be cooling.