Hi guys, here\'s my first ever proper question!!
I bought my FC with the intention of drifting it, so to keep things nice and cool I\'ll be sticking some electric fans on the radiator.
I\'ll just be wiring them up on a switch on the dash.
Is there any jigery pokery I need to do to keep the ECU/thermostat happy?
Thanks all!
You need to run a relay to run the fans due to the high current drawn, I would also suggest running electric fans on the intercooler as well to keep the intake charge temp down.
I was going to run a fuse with each fan, still require a relay as well..?
If temperatures are getting a bit much under there, I\'ll take the bonnet off. Could get a little cramped with fans on the top mount...
I\'ll eventually head to a front mounted cooler.
You guys got any specifics as I\'m planning to do this within the next fortnight?
Quote from: ChrisL;825358I was going to run a fuse with each fan, still require a relay as well..?
If temperatures are getting a bit much under there, I\'ll take the bonnet off. Could get a little cramped with fans on the top mount...
I\'ll eventually head to a front mounted cooler.
Yes the relay will still be needed :) The starting current for many electric fans can be 20+ Amps, maybe more - that\'s a big ask even for a large switch, and will cause some arcing each time you operate the fan. Using a relay, you can run much thinner wire to the relay from the switch which avoid heat and losing voltage in the wiring, and you can then keep the fan wiring short and run it from the battery.
The 12A running current of the volvo fan I had ran nearly 45A of in rush current when it started. You\'ll probably want a larger fuse type - like the maxi blade, as the standard blade fuses will just keep popping.
I was going to put 2x10" fans on staggered but how would I go about making it so that if one failed it wouldn\'t cut the other one off? :confused:
I would hope they wouldn\'t fail but I\'m useless at fathoming electrics generally! :(
I was going to run both fans off the battery for power, but then run a relay, fuse and switch per fan, so effectively two different circuits.
Should keep one alive if the other fails, and keep things cool enough to get home/back to the pits to fix/sack it off/bodge it.
You can probably run each fan through it\'s own fuse and relay, but wire the relay coils in parallel to the switch. If one fails, you can always remove the fuse for that fan circuit, leaving the other still working fine.
Ahh right. Cheers guys :Thumbsup!
Fans = 12v, 10A
What size (amperage) wire do I need?
One how to stated it was a fraction of 10A, another stated it was a wire capable of 30+A
Really wishing I hadn\'t had a drunkard as an Elec-Mech teacher at College...
I\'m assuming that the wire will have to match the spec of the fan (10A) but will it need to be beefier to cope with surging and if so by how much?
Reading the how to on www.aaroncake.com (http://www.aaroncake.com) there\'s a black and yellow wire on the right hand side of the engine bay with a switched 12v supply that I can loop the relay into. But since I\'m using 2 fans/ 2 relays/ 2 switches/ 2 fuses will I need to splice the second fan relay into a different wire?
Cheers
Quote from: Kodiak;826991I\'m assuming that the wire will have to match the spec of the fan (10A) but will it need to be beefier to cope with surging and if so by how much?
Reading the how to on www.aaroncake.com (http://www.aaroncake.com) there\'s a black and yellow wire on the right hand side of the engine bay with a switched 12v supply that I can loop the relay into. But since I\'m using 2 fans/ 2 relays/ 2 switches/ 2 fuses will I need to splice the second fan relay into a different wire?
Cheers
I\'d wire both fan circuits directly back to the battery - none of the existing wires have really got any spare capacity.
As well as the Switch power sources?
No, the switch should only be carrying a few tens of milliamps to energise the relays, so they can be fed from just about any suitable power source (fused).
Because I had my fans wired to work with a thermostat in the top rad hose, and also an Emanage Ultimate piggy back, I fed the relays from an always on (but fused) 12 volts, so that when the car was parked up and the ignition removed, the fans could still run to cool the radiator after heavy running.
You do have to be careful of alarms in that respect, as some alarms use a voltage drop sense on the battery, and if the fan was to operate whilst the alarm was armed, it would set it off.
Well if I\'m feeding the fans direct from the battery and fit a thermostat into the spare hole in the rad at a later date I could also have a delay on the fans?
I suppose I could feed the switches from the Cigarete Lighter as I don\'t intend on using it?
Also, regarding cooling, I bought a Godspeed radiator for the FC from America.
Stock Fitment ,Fittings for ancillaries in all the right places and dual flow. Not to mention, MUCH thicker... No idea how much of an upgrade it is but it certainly looks well engineered.
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Little pic of the old vs. new.
I have the Godspeed rad in mine - it coped fine with mid 300\'s HP, it\'s actually quite a good radiator - and as you say, it\'s stock fitment.
Not sure how much better a Koyo rad is, but I was pleasantly suprised by this radiator.
Well Prof,
I went down this afternoon and thanks to your instructions I now have one of the Electric fans in perfect working order! :cheers You are owed sir!
I had thought that the cigarette lighter would be on constantly...
There must be something with a constant 12v feed.
Still after I "acquire" some more wire from work tomorrow I\'ll plumb in the second one.
Thank you!
Pics! Or it didn\'t happen! :rollin
Pics of me nicking cable because Maplin don\'t stock any or of my horrendous attempts at an electrical job? :Hammer
Have you not done yours yet? :p
Right, not a smart job but it works.
Below is where I routed the wires from the switch on the dash. My pinkey is pointing at what appears to be a hole for a LHD\'s brake cylinder to seat.
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Below are the Relays mounted just behind the front bumper. There\'s a small hole on the passenger side of the radiator that I fed the cables through.
[ATTACH]54918[/ATTACH]
And here\'s the fuses, hidden from view beside the washer bottle.
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at this point I\'m sure anyone electrically minded is cradling their head in their hands but nothing\'s permanent :)
Does that help?
Just one observation, from someone who nearly got caught out by this....
I\'ve used those holes to feed wires through as well, nothing inherently wrong in that, but be careful of vibration on the wires, it will act over time like a knife as the wire rubs against the metal, and eventually it will short to ground - I noticed mine just before it became an issue - and the wiring was in place for about 2 years - but for the sake of a few pence for a rubber grommet....
Righto! :Thumbs-up
Will sort that tonight. Only thing left now is to wire power the the 2nd switch...
However, started topping her up with coolant last night and water is still leaking from near the thermo housing.
Nice work mate, doesnt look too bad at all :)
My progress has been brought to a stop by not being able to find any front anti roll bar links, and needing an MOT :(
I lied!
Not a completely stock fit! The Cold air intake pipe that sits parallel to the Bumper doesn\'t fit over the slightly larger radiator. Not sure if it be be adapted to fit but I\'ve been driving it with that pipe off so my stock airbox, after 15 minutes of driving, is getting the warmth radiating of my top rad hose.
Also by doing this I\'ve removed the old viscous fan, however, that\'s all I did. Take the fan off. Do I have to go further and take what I presume will be the impeller that drove it?