[LouisianaGuy]

Ok who is running a set of dual electric fans off of some junk yard car ???
What car did it come off of and how's it working on your set up? Im hitting the yards Monday to look for some things and figured I would add this to the list
Mike

[LouisianaGuy]

another

[Joel Koontz]

The website is actually teamchevelle.com and you can find the info in the Chevelle Tech forums, primarily in the Electrical Forum.

My testing also indicates that the center terminal is not used, at least on the year/model of fan that I have. Might be used on other years/models, don't know for sure.

As I mentioned previously. I think the existing fan shroud will work fine if sealed well.

I think I have a 110 amp alternator and it seems to work fine, but the fan is usually only running a small portion of the time.

See my previous comments about relays.

[LouisianaGuy]

Geek I was wondering the same thing, Im going to be wiring through a temp switch with my fan, just gota get the temp switch, I dont wana have to flip a toggle switch to make it work.
You need to get a relay from a ford car of some type, go to the junk yard and look in the relay panel and get a few of the relays or go to auto zone and get a few standard bosche relays, I know that much just dont know how to wire them
.
Mike

[Sporter]

I run a factory Ford connector with 2 red wires and 1 black wire. Middle connector is a dummy.

[firechickenman]

geekwagon - I believe you have mail

I'll go ahead and post it here too so everyone else can see. If you want to run on a temp. switch instead of a toggle, just run from terminal "F" on the relay to the temp. switch, then the other side of the temp. switch to ground.


The fans I used are from a '95 NewYorker and they fit my stock 3-row radiator very well. They came with a 2-speed module/relay attached, and my first thought was to just wire it to use the module. No such luck, the module was bad and would not let the left fan work. So, I went to plan 2. I robbed some relays off a late 80's or early 90's Buick Century. They have a "bank" of relays behind the passenger's headlight fo the fuel pump, cooling fan, etc. Get the wiring connectors with at least 6" of wire and the mounting bracket also - they come in handy!! The relays can be mounted where the original module was.

I can draw up a diagram if you need me to, but my artistic skills suck, so I'll try to describe the wiring. From the battery positive (B+) post, I ran a heavy gauge wire (10 or 12 ga) through a heavy duty 30 amp fuse holder, then split it to run to the "A" terminals on both relays. Then from the "E" terminals on the relays to the positive lead on the fans (if I remember right, it is blue on the driver's side, and tan on the passenger's side). Then simply run a heavy gauge wire from the ground leads on the fans (I spliced mine into one common wire near the fans, both black if I remember right) to the negative battery post. The fan "power" circuit is now complete, and the fans will run on full battery voltage anytime the relays are switched on.

Now for the fan "control" circuit. This circuit will only carry about 1/2 amp of current, so small wires (18-20 ga.) are fine. From the fuse box "accessory" terminal, I ran a wire to the relays and split it to run to the "D" terminals on each relay. Then from the "F" terminals, I ran 2 seperate wires back inside the car to 2 seperate toggle switches. If you use simple one position switches, the wires from the relays go to one terminal, and the other terminal is connected to ground. Now if you have the key "on", and the switches "on", the control circuit will switch the relays on, which will power the fans.

I don't think the fans are going to cool quite as good as it did with the factory shroud and a flex-fan. That's not a major concern of mine since my main goal here was to free up some HP for the track. The best part is the fact that the only things I had to buy were the toggle switches, some wire, and connectors. I have maybe $20 in the whole thing (I'm not going to mention how many hours, LOL).

[LouisianaGuy]

Well I got me a fn from a Lincoln Mark XIII today, cost me 35 bucks and I got a few Ford relays, and a hand full of maxi fuses
I measured the shroud when I got home and it was the perfect hight, but the length is short on both sides by about 3 inches per side.
I suppose Im going to have to make some extra fan shroud to go on it to take up the extra 3 inches on each side of the radiator, anyone got a pic of some stuff they have done with the mark 8 fan?? Sporter?? didnt you use a mark 8 unit.
Also the Newer Thunderbirds fans are identical the the Mark 8 fan, I think like 95-98 Tbirds just gota be sure its got the V8 in it, they had one of those at the yard also, If some one would like it i can pick up up for you and send it you pay purchase price and shipping, The guy said he would let it go for the same price as what I paid for the Lincoln fan.
I got some pics I will post later on tonight.
Mike

[onetru462]

That should be plenty of alternator for the car. Just remeber to use a good relay and keep the power wire from the battery is good sized and short as you can. Just don't use a harness feed for the relay.

[firechickenman]

Mike -

From what I could tell from the wiring diagrams, the Mark VIII fans are variable speed and controlled by a module. You're only going to have high speed. The newer models have 2 wires - light blue and black. The older ones have 3 wires - light blue, black, and one wire that the color was not specified (it says that wire is unused and ends in the harness). Light blue is power, black is ground, and the other black??? Are the 2 black wires the same gauge? If they're not, then the larger one is the gound wire.

[firechickenman]

I just picked one up today from a '95 Chrysler New Yorker. Looks like the one in AndyR's second pic. I think it should mount fairly easily to my '68 Bird's radiator support. It's even equipped with a a 2-speed module. Bolt hole spacing is 28 1/4".......the same width as my radiator!!!

[Joel Koontz]

Ras, I don't see how using one relay to trigger another would be any benefit at all, it would in fact, make it less reliable. Each relay would pull the full amperage and if either relay failed, the fan would not run.

Lguy, yours may work for a while using a std 30 Amp Relay but you are asking for trouble. A relay is NOT like a fuse. A normal fuse that functions properly will burn out as soon as it is overloaded. If a relay is overloaded it does not normally burn out as soon as it is overloaded(unless it is hugely overloaded), it will deteriorate each time it is overloaded(and to some extent even if it is not overloaded) and will eventually fail. The more overloaded it is the faster it will fail. You might get 6 months out of it but I would not be surprised to see if fail in less than 30 days if you drive the car much. I strongly suggest you carry a spare relay in the car if you continue to use a 30 amp relay.

YOU SHOULD NOT RUN LIGHT GUAGE WIRING TO THE FAN. It should be at least 12 guage, 10 guage would be better. You can use light guage wire to trigger the relay but the main power feed to the relay and from the relay to the fan should be at least 12 guage and as short as possible to get the best performance from the fan. The ground wire should also be at least 12 guage and as short as possible.

Although I doubt(but I'm not sure) it will hurt the fan, a 16 or 18 guage wire will hinder the performance of the fan significantly. The fan will get reduced voltage and will run at reduced speed. Have you ever installed relays to improve headlight function. I have done it on a couple vehicle and it made a huge improvement. The fan draws a lot more amps than the headlights do and you need a heavy wire to get as much voltage as possible to it, to get best performance.

[Blue '66]

Sporter,so you used "L"brackets with a bolt and washers on the top and inside to mount the electric fan?Just courious on how to mount this.I'm really thinking about an electric fan just not sure how to mount and wire it up.

[LouisianaGuy]

So chicken ya think I should run 2 relays on my single fan?
Im not going to run a toggle switch, just run through the coolant sensor.
Mike

[DAVE RIBEIRO]

If you are going to the junkyard,look for the fan off a Buick grandnational..I use one on my race car and it works great...Good-luck
Should be $25-30 bucks.......Dave...1033/stock

[LouisianaGuy]

Andy are they double fans or you have to get 2 of them?
Mike

[Half-Inch Stud]

Use FORD or GM relays for best results.

[LouisianaGuy]

Nice install chicken, going to call around and see what I can find tomorrow
Mike

[firechickenman]

I finally got around to installing my '95 New Yorker fans on my 'Bird today. A little more work than I thought it would be. I had to do very minor trimming on the corners of the shroud to get it on the radiator nicely, and made some brackets that mount to the rad. support the same way that the radiator does.

I ran each fan on a seperate relay and switch so I can run them independently. I also used 2-way rocker switches - up is "on", middle is "off", and down will "on" and ran through a coolant temp. switch (temp switch will be installed later).

Pics......

[LouisianaGuy]

Ollie, yeah the radiator needs to be replaced LOL, but its still holding water and cooling good. LOL.
Its not mounted to anything ,I just knotched the shroud a little at the top and bottom so it fit better and stuck it in there for the pic.
I bought some flat aluminum stock at Home depot yestarday and Im going ot bend it into some kinda support/hold down, then adding some 18 guage metal to the shroud to make it larger, It should look ok and function well.
I don have a question tho.
The fan harness has 2 black wires and one blue wire...Are both of the black's grounds and the blue hot?
I hooked both blacks to neg and blue to pos and it worked and pulled real hard, just wondering if this thing is some how a 2 speed fan like on the wifes caddy.
Mike

[rasilverbird]

Cool deal Mike....I have some fans out of a '96ish LHS, so they don't quite pull the same air as the Mark VIII unit. Hopefully I'll just need the one relay, but we'll see.