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Electric Fans

Hello Folks,

Here's a short .mpg movie clip (zipped to allow upload, otherwise, invalid file format) of just one fan running and pushing air out of my twin hood louvres. You can right-click on the .zip file, select Save-Target-As and save it to your desktop. UnZip it and the .mpg file will be created.
 

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  • ElectricFans-Louvers.zip
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Thanks for the update, Franko, good to hear from you....
I am glad that you had good luck with this mod.
 
Yes, thank you very much!!! That picture of the battery with the relays is scaring me away fast though! Why so many relays?

Fantastic looking job!

Did you notice any MPG gains?
 
Matt Bachand said:
Yes, thank you very much!!! That picture of the battery with the relays is scaring me away fast though! Why so many relays?

Fantastic looking job!

Did you notice any MPG gains?
Click to expand...

Hello Matt,

Thanks, man.

The objectives were to minimize unnecessary lengths of hot and ground wiring (concerns with voltage drop and proper grounding were highest on the list), and centrally located for easy access and troubleshooting . So, I figured, why not on top of the battery? There was enough room but I had to come up with a design that was both compact but easy to troubleshoot. I stuck with red/orange for positive, black/green for ground, for example.

If you look at the top-right of 16_RelaysFuses.pdf, you will notice the black boxy object with a black nylon tie around it -- that's a six-wire trailer connector that I used to centralize the control wiring for the accessories (air horn, cooling fans, auxiliary driving lights, lift pump, etc.).

The wires coming off the top (looking at photo) of the connector go to switched or unswitched power sources (tap off headlight circuit to energize relay for driving lights, tap off ignition-on circuit to energize lift pump, tap off ignition-on circuit to energize cooling fans when temp controller closes the circuit, etc.).

The wires coming off the bottom (white, green, brown, and yellow visible) of the connector go to the each accessory's respective relay terminal 86 (follow the black relays from right to left: green, brown, yellow, white wires "drop off" to their respective relays).

The relays' terminal 85 is grounded (20_RelayWiring.pdf attached) which is a short wire to the aluminum grounding bar (I would have used copper bar if I had one) onto which the relays are mounted and, in turn, is bolted onto the battery's negative terminal post.

The relays' terminal 30 is connected to the battery's positive terminal via the in-line fuses (orange wire in 16_RelayFuses.pdf).

The relays' terminal 87 and 87a are connected to the load/accessories (red, white wires).

I've also attached a .pdf of the heavy duty 12volt relay (17_HeavyDutyRelay.pdf mounted on the bracket for the ABS module that has since replaced the one mounted on the aluminum grounding bar used for one of the cooling fans (the first one that kicks in). The relay is also visible at the bottom center of 20_RelayWiring.pdf.

18_RelocatedTempController.pdf and 19_RelocatedTempController.pdf are self explanatory, looking down from the passenger side.

93_Avalanche_DualCoolingFans.pdf show how our 2006 model did away with the engine mounted cooling fan/clutch.

I never took mileage measurements because I was too engrossed with troubleshooting and fine tuning the system. I noticed, though, the significant drop in engine fan noise to the point that I could hear more of the engine noises -- that took a while to get used to. Then, I said to myself, "Self, it's a diesel after all..." The engine also seemed to spool up faster.

Regards,
Franko
 

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  • 17_HeavyDutyRelay.pdf
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  • 18_RelocatedTempController.pdf
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  • 93_Avalanche_DualCoolingFans.pdf
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Matt, I took my mechanical fan off over three weeks ago and haven't put my electric on yet. I got stuck in 1 1/2 hour traffic jam 3 days later @ 55 degrees and with the heat turned on, with the windows down, was enough to keep it cool, just to give you more info.
 
guybb3 said:
Matt, I took my mechanical fan off over three weeks ago and haven't put my electric on yet. I got stuck in 1 1/2 hour traffic jam 3 days later @ 55 degrees and with the heat turned on, with the windows down, was enough to keep it cool, just to give you more info.
Click to expand...

I took mine off the end of aug to clean the radiator and it's still off.
 
Good info for sure. That is my thought, I don't use it EVER, until I mount up my plow and drive around....

I guess it would save 90% of the work and cost by just removing the mechanical fan, and not installing an electric!
 
You have to remember the disadvantages of a electric fan. Neither system is very reliable. You fan clutch losses 200 RPM per year and is junk at 5 years old. In addition to leaks and bearings locking up.

Last time I experimented with efans…

2006+ Trailblazer SS with a 21” EV clutch fan. At idle the “free standing CFM” of efans are higher than the clutch fan with radiators and hood closed. However at 2500 RPM the 21” fan kicks even the highest rated efan at 5500 CFM around the block with a ‘suck a bird and small animals off the road’ 10,000 CFM. Recall the efans are rated without restriction and the EV clutch fan was at full restriction.

1st time I attempted to use efans a stupid 10 cent fuse popped. That right a 10 cent fuse is in the way of ruining your thousand dollar engine and AC equipment. The temp gauge climbed and the AC… well it bent all the rods in the compressor from condenser overheating/overpressure. Quite frankly use a auto reset breaker or burn up the wires unfused rather than trusting a stupid fuse!

The second time I almost walked. 1995 Yukon 350 gas. I used a Permacool (crap kit). The first kit lasted 30 min before the passenger side motor started smoking and quit. The 2nd kit lasted 2 weeks before the motor shorted out. I cut the wires to that motor and melted the wiring to GET HOME.

I dropped in a flex fan and finally ended up with a SD fan clutch and a pusher e-fan to boost the AC. That setup worked the best.
 
I am using a commercially-manufactured kit, as I have mentioned. It is FlexALite.

http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/chevy-full-size-truck.html

It was very easy to install. Only took me a couple of hours, and much of that was taking all the old system off.

Yes, I agree that a mechanical fan is probably more reliable, but I was trying to solve a 3" body lift cooling problem.

That problem is solved, and I have been happy with the system for over 2 years. No problems so far, and I purchased the kit used.

I think it will work fine for Matt.

-Rob :)
 
wow this is a great thread! Just wanna say to both Franko and Rob, thank you for your input on your different projects. Rob for your 3" body lift idea and Franko for the P/N's and pictures. Franko for yours those Volvo fans appear to be no more than 2" thick from computer screen. Is this about right?

For an electric fan to do 3000+cfm @18 amps thats very impressive. I'll have to write down these P/N's and info for later use ):h
 
Wow! What great info! I have wanted to look into electric fans for my truck for a while now. I am thinking about a trip over to pick-n-pull for a recon mission.
 
TurboTahoe said:
Yes, I agree that a mechanical fan is probably more reliable, but I was trying to solve a 3" body lift cooling problem.
Click to expand...

More reliable? - No! I have ruined more fan clutches than I care to admit. However catastrophic failure is uncommon as the fan clutches usually cool some before total failure.

The point I make is light duty work like 1/2 ton trucks use electric fans. HD trucks like the 2500 on up usually have the clutch fan. The electrics simply can not deliver the airflow of the clutch fan. So if you are towing full load avoid electrics except for a small AC booster fan. 90% of GVWR or more electrics are not recommended.

Light loads you can increase your power and MPG with efans.
 
Lincoln Mark IIIV...What years are they? I'd like to start getting parts to do this for my Burb. I don't know how the 3" BL will effect my cooling yet, but there is no harm in being ready for summer. :)

Bill
 
The taurus fan used in the mid 90's also flows about 5000 CFM on high speed, they are made by seiman's for Ford... 2 will fit side by side, and with some work, you could make a 4 stage system with the right sensors and relays. Derale makes an adjustable switch to throw the relays
 
94K30 said:
The taurus fan used in the mid 90's also flows about 5000 CFM on high speed, they are made by seiman's for Ford... 2 will fit side by side, and with some work, you could make a 4 stage system with the right sensors and relays. Derale makes an adjustable switch to throw the relays
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: Good ideas here.

More speeds, more relays, more places for something electrical to fail. KISS is your best friend. The best setups use 2 speeds to keep the noise down. If noise is not a concern go on/off only. An in cab override switch will save your butt to force them on.

At the end of the day you want the thing to have run and kept you cool. Odds are the simplest system with the fewest parts will do this. And will be 1000X simpler to get installed and working.
 
Taurus!? REALLY?!! The next door neighbor kid's Taurus just got totaled.. Hmmmm
 
I realize that some may be removing the stock fan to save on RPM's or to find something more reliable, but on my jeep I have a three core radiator in front of a 304 V8 and I was worried about cooling. Instead of replacing the fan with an efan, I tied the efan behind my grill and use both at the same time (well, I turn off the efan in high water if I remember). If cooling is the issue - There may be enough room to squeeze a fan behind the grill of the truck...at least to one side...maybe??
 
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