Any interest in an auxiliary AC condenser fan kit? INSTALL DIRECTIONS IN FIRST POST (1 Viewer)

[Mandrake]

Just a couple of notes before we begin... First, thank you for your purchase. It means a lot to me both in that I'm encouraged to keep making these and develop more products, and that I can also give back to the community by providing a superior product at an affordable price. Second, all fans and harnesses are tested before they leave my garage, but if there is any glaring defect that prevents you from successfully installing the fan and harness, please reach out to me, either in this thread or via PM.

Install directions:

Start by loosely bolting the fan to the tab on the upper left (as you're looking at it) of the AC condenser using the 30mm long bolt and 12.7mm spacer. I've seen three different types of condenser so far- one with a threaded nut on the back of the tab like you see here, one without, and one tab moved forward enough to not need the spacer. I've included the spacer and nut to hopefully cover everyone's individual mounts. If yours is different and the supplied hardware won't work for this mount, please take a picture or two and PM me with what you have going on. The fan should be spaced out approximately 3mm from the condenser core.

Use two of the 12mm long bolts to loosely attach the lower left mount to the condenser, then use a 20mm long bolt and nut to secure the fan to the mount. At this point, you can tighten up everything you've installed so far.

Next, use a 12mm socket to loosen the two bolts that hold the transmission cooler brackets to the hood latch stay. Don't remove them, but loosen them enough so that there's at least 4mm of space between the brackets and the stay. The right mounts will go between the stay and the mounts. Be sure to orient the upper right mount as seen in the picture with the bend going towards the front of the vehicle. Once the mounts are between the cooler brackets and stay, use the remaining two 20mm long bolts and nuts to attach the fan to the mounts, then tighten the cooler bracket bolts.

Go over everything again to make sure all the hardware is tight. Using the ground next to the battery, attach the two short grounds and use the remaining 12mm long bolt to attach the relay to the threaded hole above the ground. I've removed the 15A fuse for clarity. The medium length wire with a ring terminal will connect to the positive terminal on your battery, and the long wire with the bullet connector will go through the firewall and will connect to the fuse tap. I prefer to use the 7.5A IGN fuse for mine, but you can use any fuse as long as it's a switched 12V source. Lastly, route the wire with the weatherpack connector to the fan. Secure all loose wires with zip ties.

You're now ready to fire it up. Turn the key to the accessory position to verify the fan comes on. If it does, you're good to go. If not, post up or PM me and we can troubleshoot it over the phone or FaceTime.


ORIGINAL POST:

Hi guys.

I've been trying out different fans for the AC condenser for a few months and finally landed on something that works really well, even with my modded blue fan clutch. What I have going on would be a complete bolt in with zero cutting or grinding, no zip ties through the condenser, and wouldn't require any cutting or splicing into any existing wiring.

I know Landcruiser Phil was making a kit for a while but it sounds like they're NLA and if there's a desire for these, I'd be happy to become a supporting vender and put some kits together.

No pics yet because everything's temped in right now and I'm still sussing out two of the mounts. Price is TBD. More details regarding features and setup will follow if there's interest.

 

[Gripen]

I'm interested in knowing the specifics. It's a punch in the gut watching my temps rise in stop-and-go traffic, having to turn off the A/C just to keep temps in check, after practically replacing every cooling component.

 

[NeverFinis]

I hope to see your kit but I am running the Toyota AUX A/C fan.

I am not sure how many people know, but the Toyota AUX A/C fan can be purchased online: 88590-60010

It bolts right in, but does need to be wired.

 

[Mandrake]

I hope to see your kit but I am running the Toyota AUX A/C fan.

I am not sure how many people know, but the Toyota AUX A/C fan can be purchased online: 88590-60010

It bolts right in, but does need to be wired.

Any idea how many CFM that moves? The fan I'm using is 1000 CFM and with the engine off, I can feel it moving air all the way back at the rear exhaust manifold.

 

[Mandrake]

I'm interested in knowing the specifics. It's a punch in the gut watching my temps rise in stop-and-go traffic, having to turn off the A/C just to keep temps in check, after practically replacing every cooling component.

As was said in the LCP thread about his fan, this is not meant to correct any engine cooling issues. It is only meant to keep air moving through the AC condenser so the vent temps don't rise when going slow or at a stop. If you have to turn your AC off to keep engine temps in check, you still have an issue but if you've replaced everything, I'd say try a modded blue fan clutch. The way I see it, that's the best way to bullet proof the engine cooling system on these trucks... once everything else is in order.

 

[NeverFinis]

Any idea how many CFM that moves? The fan I'm using is 1000 CFM and with the engine off, I can feel it moving air all the way back at the rear exhaust manifold.

No idea, but it is kept in stock at a parts supplier that is surrounded by desert...

 

[Mandrake]

No idea, but it is kept in stock at a parts supplier that is surrounded by desert...

That's certainly something important to some people.

 

[voodu3]

I’d definitely be interested in a new fan kit. I had an LCP fan kit but I didn’t notice an improvement in AC so I got rid of it. I have since replaced all of my AC components and I’d like to give one another try.

 

[Fj80oregon]

Landcruiser AUX AC Fan Full kit FJ80/FZJ80 - https://maxflateairsystems.com/products/land-cruiser-aux-fan-kit
These guys have been selling a kit for awhile.

 

[Mandrake]

I’d definitely be interested in a new fan kit. I had an LCP fan kit but I didn’t notice an improvement in AC so I got rid of it. I have since replaced all of my AC components and I’d like to give one another try.

I have zero experience with the LCP kit, but it uses what looks to be the same fan as my Sequoia and the fan I'm using on my 80 moves a LOT more air than that fan in the Sequoia. Let me finish mine up and crunch the numbers, get a supporting vender status, then we can talk prices and whatnot.

*edit- I too replaced all my AC components, so I essentially have a new AC system (plus a modded blue fan clutch) that this electric fan is making an improvement on.

 

[voodu3]

I have zero experience with the LCP kit, but it uses what looks to be the same fan as my Sequoia and the fan I'm using on my 80 moves a LOT more air than that fan in the Sequoia. Let me finish mine up and crunch the numbers, get a supporting vender status, then we can talk prices and whatnot.

*edit- I too replaced all my AC components, so I essentially have a new AC system (plus a modded blue fan clutch) that this electric fan is making an improvement on.

Sounds good. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the LCP kit. It would have probably worked great if it was on a properly functioning AC system. Let me know whenever you’re ready. Thanks

 

[Mandrake]

It's about 95 and sunny today and I had some free time, so I took the chance to go out and get some empirical data. I'll need to go back out tomorrow to run the same route and speeds again, but without the fan on to get a baseline. BUT... here's what I have for now with the fan on.

The truck has a new condenser, evaporator, compressor, expansion valve, and receiver/dryer as of about 600 miles ago, and has a modded blue fan clutch. The truck's been sitting in the sun all day and I went out at 3:30 to start the test. The windows stayed up, and the HVAC settings the entire time were: vent/feet, recirculating, fan on full. Temp measurements were taken from the middle dash vent.

-It was 128° in the vent before I started the engine, and it took 1:15 to get down to 70° in the vent with the truck at idle and in my driveway.
-From there, driving around the neighborhood at 20-25 MPH took it down to between 51° and 53° initially and got to that temp in 43 seconds.
-Stopping for two minutes to simulate a long light made it climb to 56°.
-10 MPH @ 1500 RPM (approximating the average RPM I run trails at) got it down to 48°.
-Another 2 minute stop to simulate getting out of the truck or waiting for someone to clear an obstacle took it back up to 56°.
-Back to 10 MPH @ 1500 RPM brought it back down to 48°.

Anyway there you have it. I'm not sure how these compare to what the other fans on the market do, but the seat of the pants tells me that there's probably a 5° to 10° drop in temps at low speeds compared to what it was like before I put the fan in. And as an aside, I saw 43° on the highway at 70 MPH. Brrr!

 

[Mandrake]

All right, got back from testing without the fan on. Same conditions and ambient temps as yesterday...

-128° to 70° took 1:43 (28 seconds longer)
-55° to 58° around the neighborhood (4° to 5* hotter)
-60° after a two minute stop (4° hotter)
-54° 10 MPH @ 1500 RPM. (6° hotter)

These numbers were roughly what I thought they'd be. While they're all mid single digits and I know that doesn't sound like much, the seat of the pants feel is very noticeable. Here's a shot of the setup. The wiring is still just crap wire I had laying around and is loosely zip tied in. I'm a retired aircraft electrician; I can do far, far better when I want to.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

I hope to see your kit but I am running the Toyota AUX A/C fan.

I am not sure how many people know, but the Toyota AUX A/C fan can be purchased online: 88590-60010

It bolts right in, but does need to be wired.

I've had the OEM JDM fan on my rig for quite a while now, but after upgrading to a modded blue fan clutch, I've found it to be unnecessary even on the hottest of Florida's Summer days

In fact the blue FC will move so much air that it will suck spin the unpowered JDM fan

 

[Mandrake]

I'm glad the modded BFC is working out for you, especially down there in FL. I grew up in Bradenton, so I know the struggle with heat and humidity.

I have the same clutch in mine and like you said- it spins the aux fan pretty quickly. My wife joked that I could use it as a generator. I've seen others say that these fans that have been used in other setups don't make a difference once you go to a modded BFC, and that makes me think that the fan I'm using moves a lot more air than the JDM fan and the Denso 100 series fan because as mentioned in my previous post, I'm seeing an approximate 10% reduction in temps on top of what the modded BFC provides. The fan I'm using is advertised at 1000 CFM... no idea what these other fans being used put out, though.

I have two local 80 guys that are willing to do some beta testing for me so I made up a couple more sets of brackets.

 

[Marvelicious]

There is a lot of adjustment available in the blue clutch, both with regard to the engagement point, and the viscosity of fluid people use. I've also heard multiple times that they don't necessarily come from the factory adjusted to the same point, so two guys who bought new blue clutches and swapped in the same fluid, don't necessarily have the same the same engagement.

Personally, I think there's a misconception about how much engine power it takes to run the stock fan. I can FEEL the difference on hot days, and I know for a fact that some on here have their clutch adjusted more aggressively than mine. The idea is that the electric fan is supposed to operate entirely based on AC performance, kicking in when the AC needs it. If your clutch fan is adjusted to the point where it's running constantly (and therefore always cooling your AC), your clutch fan is adjusted to come on sooner than needed and you're wasting fuel pushing a fan when it's unnecessary. Just my opinion, and it's worth what you paid for it.

@Mandrake
Just giving it the calibrated eyeball, that fan you're using seems to have heavier wiring than the OEM fan. No telling for sure, but one would assume that means it draws more current and therefore moves more air, but it's hard to say for sure.

 

[Mandrake]

I bought a new Aisin and followed the directions Landtank posted and noticed an improvement in AC performance over the stock clutch. I think we're on the same page with the fan clutch and its function, and what purpose the engine driven fan serves vs. an electric AC fan.

I haven't measured how many amps the fan pulls, but it blew a 10A fuse. 15A has been doing the trick, so I guess somewhere between the two.

 

[96bruizer]

for all the folks who have replaced all the cooling parts including a blue fan clutch, dont forget to change out the $57.00 fan. Mine exploded, it's the only thing I didn't replace and it just cost me $1,200 to replace all the cooling components again.

 

[Mandrake]

I dunno about you guys, but I've been staying frosty all week. I got the harnesses done and will be installing the two beta fans this coming week.

 

[Marvelicious]

What, not using the stock CDS fan relay and fuse location?

Honestly, if I were making a kit, I probably wouldn't either. Installing the contacts and wiring inside the stock fuse box is non-trivial, but if feels like the slickest possible option.