riggs 74

Another Budget build.

Well, as I am putting the car back together after some front end modifications
I wasn't about to reinstall that big *** fan shroud ever again. I wanted to do
an electric fan setup back when I replaced the radiator last fall but didn't have
the time or money to do so. After reading several post here and other sites I found
that I wanted to do the Ford Focus dual fan setup over the other single units.

This setup will be run on two separate controls, one for each fan to be able to
eliminate total fan failure if in the event that one of the fans happen to short out
it won't take out both.

I bought a new Ford Focus fan on Ebay for, winning bid of $11.25 plus $20 shipping:partyon:


These fans can be bought for around $100 on Ebay at any time.

I started with making some brackets out of 1'' angle iron and 1'' square tube.



Then I sand blasted the frames and shot some spray on them and attached them to the shroud.



And then installed it in the car. The frames were made to set in the same
U-brackets that the radiator does, to simplify the setup.






I now have to wire up the fans but didn't have time today to get that done.

Does anybody know what the wattage or fuse size is for each of the focus fans are?
There is no info on the fans about their draw.

I will start out with 25amp fuses and 30amp relays and see if that will hold.


I will post some more latter after I finish the install.

Riggs.

chvet73

I have the same fans. Did the brackets differentl than yours. They work very well. I used two 30 amp relays and 30 amp fuses. I have one fan running on a variable temp control. That let me set where it came on, it also comes on if the A/C is on. The other is always on. But I paid alot more for my fans. More like $110.00. You got a great price.

jordan89

What year focus did the fans come out of? I'm thinking about doing this. Please go into the wiring process in detail, since it's what worries me the most. Keep us posted.

Theiskell

Well thought out brackets….Good job!!!

Sully1882

i think that style is only from 2005- 2007 focus

sweet upgrade that I really want to do someday!

riggs 74

The setup that you mentioned is exactly what I am doing. I bought a dual
fan adjustable setup from Summit and found it to be a cheap piece of china,
but I am going to use it on one fan and I bought another 30 Amp relay, fuse,breaker
and thermostat switch that will be used on fan #2. I like this setup because if one
system fails, the other will still get me home with out over heating.


Sully, The fan is from a 2003 Focus, I think most focus fans are the same. I was
originally looking for a 2006 and wound with this 2003 unit.


I will try to post my set up once I'm am done, The setup will be very basic.
It will be this X2, These run $35 on E-bay







This was the first one I bought and I will still use it on fan#1. If it ever fails I well just replace
it with one like the other setup, I like it better.
This one is from summit and will run dual fans, it cost $45



Thanks for the complements,

Riggs.

jordan89

Eddie 70

Oooooohhhh! I like it. Nice work, that really turned out nicely. Now that you scored that good deal on the fans, we all will be running the price of Focus fans up on each other trying to get a good deal too.

I am going to say it again, I really think you are doing some really neat things to improve your car. Keep up the good work and keep the pics and post coming.

riggs 74

Thanks Eddie, I'm trying to give back to the forum what I have gotten
from the forum, Great ideals and lots of enthusiasm to get out and work
on our projects and have fun doing it.



Riggs.

speedreed8

great deal on that fan, probably too late to ask for some dimensions on those brackets.?
looks great, i still have the factory L82 electric fan in the shroud, but i rewired it using that setup from summit. being doing fine
for over a year now. but would like to go totally electric on that fan setup. you have inspired me and stay on budget with your setup.

chvet73

I had that thermostat setup. Mine was a Derale. Several companies offer that same switch. It's a piece of junk. It failed in about 45 minutes. According to Derale it can't handle the amps those fans draw. I got a replacement one, which is sitting in my garage. I found a different one which I wired through a double relay, one internal and one external. This second switch has worked perfectly. It is made by Cen-Tech.

riggs 74

Wiring is all done.

First off for anybody doing there research and gathering their parts, I need to
remind others that you will have to up size your alternator to a larger size,
110 amp with AC, and you should be able to get away with with a 78 amp
if your not running AC. I have AC but I intend to eliminate it or just not run it for now.

After I test this set up, I hope to take some amp readings to see just how much
these fan draw, I have asked and searched and nobody knows.


I pulled my power from my starter/battery terminal using #10 (red) wire up to my
30 amp breakers, One wire to each.
(the taped up harness is from the previous owner, I'll tidy it up later)



Then from each breaker I ran one #12 (red) to the each relay as the supply power.



Then I ran the thermostat switches out to the front of the engine, On the
one in the intake this will be the ground path from the engine to the relay, and
on the other in the top of the water pump is a line in/line out switch. These switches
will turn the fans off and on at different temperatures, one slightly different
than the other.



Then I ran #12 from the switched side of the relay to a fuse at the fans
and picked up a #12 ground (black) from the alternator case and ran it to the fans directly.
From the fuses I finished off the circuit to the fans with more #12 wire.






Here is another look at the wiring diagram, This is basically what I done.



I hope to test the fans this weekend.

Riggs.

ptroxx

Nice work..

jordan89

Looks really good. I'm now looking for some Focus fans myself to try this conversion.

riggs 74

Update,

The fans and controls work great. The dual fan setup is real quite, this
was a great budget build.

I brought the car up to temperature and made sure the fans were going
to come on and that every thing was working the way it should. Then
I pulled the relays to let the car come up past 200, then plugged the relays
back in and the temperature fell quick. Granted, this is not a 90 degree day but I
think it will be just fine in extreme heat conditions.

You can't beat the cost that I have in this, Fan, controls, Brass reducers
and wire, I only have about $140 in it, not bad.

Riggs.

bluegtp

Are you running a dewitts? How does the focus fans do with the summer heat? And lastly how modified is your engine?

thegavel

Hey GUYS,
Thanks for the great write up & info.
I'm wanting to do a similar setup in my 74.
Just need some further info,
Has anyone got the measurements of the Focus setup ???
I'm down here in Australia and could save a few bucks sourcing
a similar setup from our local cars, (if I know the dimensions).
Thanks again,
GAV

speedreed8

you realize this thread is 2 yrs. old. i think riggs74 has an LS engine set up now.

riggs 74

I couldn't say enough good things about the dual ford fuccuss fans, they kept my old 355 gen1 motor cool, and they do an excellent job keeping my 402 LSX motor cool as well.
This is a great setup that was really enexpenive, I feel you don't need to buy those expensive aftermarket fans to keep the motor cool. I've never had a problem with sourcing my parts from other makes or model cars to make my setup perform better with out paying an inflated cost for after market parts.

Hope this helps.
Riggs.

oldalaskaman

thank you for posting back , good tech. never gets old. added to my fav's