Chad Merry
Well-Known Member
For those that have done the electric cooling fan conversion, what did you use for the fan controller?
Electric Fan
- Thread starter Chad Merry
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I made my own..... Found the Low setting ( i used a high low fan) Worked fin for cooling and the double pole relay switched off when the ac came on for the high...
I found the ONLY benefit o got from the cooling fan was colder ac in traffic..... I got ZERO HP on a dyno....
I also had issues with the fan fuses and things like that.... I went back to the OEM fan and clutch....
So I made my own controller...
Todd Z
I found the ONLY benefit o got from the cooling fan was colder ac in traffic..... I got ZERO HP on a dyno....
I also had issues with the fan fuses and things like that.... I went back to the OEM fan and clutch....
So I made my own controller...
Todd Z
I had a Flex-A-Lite 180 Extreme model on our ST, and after 3yrs it gave me overheating problems. I strongly recommend NOT doing a e-fan conversion as there has been one instance of a radiator blowing up because of it. I have gone back to the OEM fan too.
If you are talking about a temperature controller for the electric fan, there are plenty on the market. The best kind are the ones that screw the sensor into the radiator side tanks. They do make some that slide the thermostat sensor into the upper radiator hose, but I never like that kind.
As Todd said, you should always use a relay/s to control the fan and that has several advantages. The main reason for the relays is to allow you to install an bypass switch to allow you to turn on the fan anytime you want or need to. This allows you to override or bypass a bad thermostat switch. In my experience with converting both street and racing vehicles to use an electric fan I have never had an electric fan fail, but I have had numerous thermostaticly controlled switches fail...So the weakest link is the thermostat controller.
I prefer thermostaticly controlled electric fans over thermostatic clutch controlled belt driven fans for several reasons. Electric fans have been proven to operate more efficiently than belt driven fans and dispite Todd's dyno experience, they can and do free up a few more HP.
The other significant factor with thermostaticly controlled electric fans, is that they do a better job of cooling when cooling is needed since they operate at full power when the vehicle is standing still at idle. With a belt driven clutch fan, it is operating at the engines idle speed. Also, one the vehicle reaches about 25-30 MPH there is enough air flowing through the radiator to cool the engine and the fan is not needed. The electic fan cuts off completely, while the belt driven clutch fan is actually still turning at the same speed as the engine... That is called Parasitic Drag and requires some amount of HP and gasoline to keep that fan turning.
If you doubt this, just start your engine in the morning after it sat all night. The engine is cold and does not need to operate the fan, but the fan will be turning at the same speed as the engine. Increase the speed of the engine and the fan speeds up accordingly. That is taking some HP that could be used to power the vehicle down the road.
Having said that, I don't buy electric fans for the HP gains because it may not be a significant amount. However, the gas mileage savings are more significant especially in long highway driving because the electric fan has no parasitic drag and thus uses no energy at highway speeds.
I am not aware of the Exploding Radiator that Rodger mentioned above, but I can safely say that a radiator explosion is not caused by the electric fan. The electric fan or thermostatic control may have failed and cause the engine to overheat, but radiator caps are designed specifically to prevent an explosion.
People who have had bad experiences with electric cooling fans may have not purchased the correct size (CFM) fan, installed it incorrectly (some push air and some pull air throught the radiator) or did not install a thermostat bypass switch.
Remember, most European and Japanese vehicles use only electric fans and they have been proven to be efficient and reliable.
...Rich
As Todd said, you should always use a relay/s to control the fan and that has several advantages. The main reason for the relays is to allow you to install an bypass switch to allow you to turn on the fan anytime you want or need to. This allows you to override or bypass a bad thermostat switch. In my experience with converting both street and racing vehicles to use an electric fan I have never had an electric fan fail, but I have had numerous thermostaticly controlled switches fail...So the weakest link is the thermostat controller.
I prefer thermostaticly controlled electric fans over thermostatic clutch controlled belt driven fans for several reasons. Electric fans have been proven to operate more efficiently than belt driven fans and dispite Todd's dyno experience, they can and do free up a few more HP.
The other significant factor with thermostaticly controlled electric fans, is that they do a better job of cooling when cooling is needed since they operate at full power when the vehicle is standing still at idle. With a belt driven clutch fan, it is operating at the engines idle speed. Also, one the vehicle reaches about 25-30 MPH there is enough air flowing through the radiator to cool the engine and the fan is not needed. The electic fan cuts off completely, while the belt driven clutch fan is actually still turning at the same speed as the engine... That is called Parasitic Drag and requires some amount of HP and gasoline to keep that fan turning.
If you doubt this, just start your engine in the morning after it sat all night. The engine is cold and does not need to operate the fan, but the fan will be turning at the same speed as the engine. Increase the speed of the engine and the fan speeds up accordingly. That is taking some HP that could be used to power the vehicle down the road.
Having said that, I don't buy electric fans for the HP gains because it may not be a significant amount. However, the gas mileage savings are more significant especially in long highway driving because the electric fan has no parasitic drag and thus uses no energy at highway speeds.
I am not aware of the Exploding Radiator that Rodger mentioned above, but I can safely say that a radiator explosion is not caused by the electric fan. The electric fan or thermostatic control may have failed and cause the engine to overheat, but radiator caps are designed specifically to prevent an explosion.
People who have had bad experiences with electric cooling fans may have not purchased the correct size (CFM) fan, installed it incorrectly (some push air and some pull air throught the radiator) or did not install a thermostat bypass switch.
Remember, most European and Japanese vehicles use only electric fans and they have been proven to be efficient and reliable.
...Rich
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Chad Merry
Well-Known Member
I am going to use a fan from a 98 Lincoln Mark VIII, They flow around 4900CFM and are almost the same siaze as the radiator in the ST. I can feel the HP loss in my ST with the stock clutch fan, and when I am offroading you are not going very fast so the engine gets warm very quick. I to have never heard of an e-fan causing a radiator to blow up, and I am not concerned about that possibility.
Steve McKellop
Well-Known Member
I'm kind of surprised that going electric showed no gain on the dyno.................. but they don't lie.
Dan Long
Well-Known Member
Chad, go with a Delta Current Controls unit. I'm using the FK35 on my 5.4L F150 controlling a Taurus fan, no cooling issues at all. I used the same fan and controller on my Sport Trac, never had an issue cooling it down either. You'll probably have a low and a high speed wire on the fan, you'll want to connect it to the high speed wire and let the controller vary the speed for you. I set mine to come on at 50% when I flip a switch that simulates the A/C being turned on, that way I can run the fan when driving around town in traffic and need it to cool the A/C condenser, but I can turn it off when running on the highway and have plenty of airflow. Obviously, it'll also come on anytime as needed for engine cooling.
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2003
- Messages
- 22,542
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- Location
- Long Island, NY
- What engine do you have?
- V8 engine
- What year is your Sport Trac?
- 2010
- What Generation is your Sport Trac?
- 2n Gen Owner
I had the Mark* fan..... See my library for pics..
Todd Z
Todd Z
