Finally got my electric fan installed on the bird, after having the stuff laying around for a year and a half. Thanks to Drew Helm, his post gave me the original idea and he gave some good info to get me started.

Thing moves some air, defiantly better than the old metal fan and no shroud. The fan is the Ford type, from the 3.8 Probes, Taurus, ect. Cost $30 at a pick and pull. I used a Hayden adjustable thermostat and wired it for automatic (thermo) and manual (always on) control.

Install was pretty easy, spaced it over a couple weekends but it was only a few hours continuous work. Few pics below.

Took it to work to test it out today, pretty cold this morning, temp gauge never got over 150 so I couldn't set the thermostat. When I turn in on though with the light on it noticeably dims them and the instament lights, I have a 105A alternator installed and I was running round 3k RPM at the time, any ideas on that?

Also, when I came home, I kept an eye on the temp gauge, still pretty cool out and it never got over 170. When I pulled in the radiator was spewing all over the ground, kicked the fan on and it cooled down pretty quick but I know it used to run 200 or 210 in the summers with no problem. Temp gauge is mechanical and taps into the head I think. Never had a reason to doubt it but why would it spew at 170?

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You were probably at the temp where the thermostat was just opening. Thermostat opened up a little and the colder coolant hit hot metal causing expansion thus creating spew. Just a theory.

I`m glad you got your co-driver helping!

It may just have been spitting out a little excess if you filled it too high.
- E-fan should not be drawing enough current to dim lights though, especially since you have a 100A alternator (internal regulator?). Need to check that out.
- Main power line going directly to battery or ignition-run line?
- Size of in-line fuse?
- Fan pushing air into radiator or pulling it from radiator?

I've been using an electric for over a year and it helped tremendously.

I took my electric off (former owner installed) , because it was supposed to be a 'helper', and only slowed air to the radiator ( installed in front of it)...after I removed it , 5F less,
after I added X fillers 10F less, after I installed the missing on right side rubber filler ( factory called "masticated") another 5F less...so it went from 220-225F to 195-200F... now with using the "improved" spacer/divider inside the waterpump at the impeller it stays at 195F summer, 165-170 winter...

Bjorn, he was trying to drive and help at the same time, so much effort had to be recognized.

Nash, from what I've read that Ford fan draws almost 100A startup and a continuous 30A after that. Moves around 2000CFM or more.

Radiator wasn't to full, with no catch can it normally sits a couple inches from full.

Main power line I routed from the horn relay, switch that activates the soleinoid gets 12V from the fuse box, ignition fused slot.

In line fuse from the main power line is 100A.

Fan is a puller type.

Sounds like either the fan motor is pulling too much or alt. is putting out too little.

Hmmmm....I've got a big heavy-duty fan, fuse is 20 or 30 amps max. You sure you have an inline 100 amp fuse? Not sure if I've ever seen a 100 amp fuse!!??

Okay, so its a "Puller", meaning its sucking air through (from) the front of the radiator and pushing it forward toward the grill, right? I've read quite a few info papers that show that is counter-productive, due to the car being in forward motion most of the time. The fan is pushing air forward against the oncoming outside air. Hey, if its working for you then more power to you.

All puller fan pulls air from the front of the car, across the radiator. This fan is installed behind the radiator.
All pusher fan pushes air from the front of the car, across the radiator. This fan is installed in front of the radiator.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that’s the way it goes. So each fan is pulling/pushing air across the radiator, they are just doing it differently. I think that sometimes people mess up and install them the wrong way and then it’s a problem.


If you want to do some troubleshooting on your dimming issue you can start by bypassing circuits with a jumper directly to positive. If you do this and can get the lights to stop dimming you have found your problem. If you cant, then it is an amperage/power problem.
What I am thinking is that this new circuit is somehow putting an additional draw on the lighting circuit and causing it to dim. If these circuits are isolated and ran separately you shouldn’t see a dim.
If they are isolated and you still see a dim, then it is a power problem.
I would run a wire directly from the battery to the light circuit and see if it still dims when the fan is on.
If it dims still, then you have a power issue. If it doesn’t, you will need to separate the circuits.

Oh, and is your pully painted blue to match that Ford part you just put in your car

Thats a great shot of your son in the car. I cant wait till my boy is old enough to help me with the car,,,, or at least try to help me.

Oh yes, mine was a pusher fan...

and I`ve seen them hooked up wrong , once on a Volvo 740 that was over heating ,they were checking to see if the 'helper' fan worked.... it did!
When stood in front of the car I realized it blew on your pant legs...the pusher fan had a contact on it and someone had put the prongs back in the wrong way , just switch it and it was now pushing instead of pulling!

Nash, I figured the 100A fuse since the fan has a startup pull of about 100A.

I'm gonna try the seperate power wire this weekend. If you look at a 67 wiring diagram I used the 10 gauge wire that runs from the battery to the horn relay/alternator/voltage regulator, I just don't have the regulator any more. I thought it would be ok, but maybe not.

Lol, can't claim credit for the blue paint, came like that.

did the fan come with a relay? if not, you may have to install a relay switch to provide the extra amperage draw that this fan requires. **********

If the motor has an inrush current of 100 amps you don’t need a 100amp fuse. You need a fuse that is rated for its continuous load current but in a time delay style.
Basically, there is a time delay built into the fuse. It will handle X amount of current for Y time. After that time Y has passed it will handle a continuous current of Z.
There is no way to properly size the fuse without the inrush current curve for the fan and fuse characteristic curve.
You may want to check the Ford manual from whatever car you got this from and see what size fuse and class that circuit is.
I would suggest a 30amp fuse with a time delay. I would also meter the fan to see exactly what it pulls continuously. You wont be able to tell what its inrush current is with a normal meter so don’t bother. It happens so fast you will just see an erratic reading on your meter.

I wired mine directly to the battery using a relay. The relay is switched from the t-stat and the power ran straight from the battery to the relay with a 30 amp inline fuse, then to the fan motor. Never dimmed the lights, but I was running a 140 amp alternator, too.

As for the boil over....it may be time for a new radiator cap or it may not have been seated correctly. I've had more problems with faulty caps than anything else in the cooling system.....also could be an overfilled radiator.

Glad you finally got it all installed and working!

Drew

What pound cap do you have?
May not be the right one.

i can't think of any reason why the radiator would spew coolant at 170 degrees unless:

a)Air trapped in the cooling system
b)Radiator plugged up
c)Defective radiator cap
d)Radiator overfilled
e)Defective thermostat(engine)

Good choices.
Not e because the engine did not overheat(has gage)
Not d because it didn't get hot enough to build pressure.
Not c because it wouldn't have been all over the driveway at that temp.
Not b because it's probably not plugged.

Leaves us 'a' trapped air.

an electric fan helped my car stay cooler in the city (never over 190 in fl heat)

although it hindered cooling on the highway because it was blocking the radiator

whew!...i thought you were going to say that Ponchos have different spewing problems than Chevys! the guy said that he "kicked on the fan and it cooled down pretty quick", that's why i'm thinking it is/was overheating. i still stand by my choices. :p **********

All (and I know most of you know this),

To clarify my comments, an electric fan can be a Puller or a Pusher regardless of whether its in front of or behind the radiator. Just a simple matter of switching the POS/NEG wires.

The point is that the air flow SHOULD normally flow from front of grill and through the radiator toward the engine.

Thus, an electric fan mounted in front of the radiator should PUSH cool air into the radiator. An electric fan mounted behind the radiator (where engine-driven fan was) should be PULLING the air into the engine compartment.

To set it up otherwise is completely counterproduction to basic forward motion and normal airflow. Use a lit cigarette or other smoke stick and hold it in front of the grill, that'll show you where the airflow is going. A good, well-sealed electrical fan will suck that smoke right through the grill and into the radiator. Bingo!!!

Oh yeah, pick 5 different things. That's sticking your neck out. :rolleyes:

455fbird,

Good point on that blocking, but the big electric fan (or the two smaller ones if you had that config) should normally "free-flow" and spin to some extent when not energized. If they don't then yes, they could inhibit the flow. You know, there have been several posts here over the years that alluded to higher temps when traveling at cruise speed. Never could figure that out, but your point may be a part of it if the fan blades are just sitting there blocking flow.
Most of you know all the different tests I did a year or so back to fix my high temp issues. For my 68 400 it took a large front electric fan pushing and a large new flex-fan inside pulling!! That combo ended my over-heat concerns for good.
CAVEAT: I went through several diffent temp gages during that testing period, and ALL showed different temp readings! So you just never know if that gage is being honest.