on1wheel01

Well drove the car today. It's around 90 somethin and the car stayed around 200 or so(better than 220 which what i had with the mechanical fan). And I have only water in there no anti freze might make a diff. The dayum fans killed my batt and had to get her jumped. Maybe I should put it to the ignition wire instead of the batt dohhhh. The fans cut off when the temp goes under 170 but I guess to much drain for the system.

Durango_Boy

Refresh my memory...what alternator do you have? When using electric fans a stock alternator will sometimes not cut it.

on1wheel01

It a higher output one. The problem is the fans we're staying on untill the can got under 170 temp. Took awhile, so I wired it to the ignition and seems no more problems. I have now decided to try and sell her under 10 mpg is killing me. I drove her through town and blew 2 gallons in 20 mins.

Kid Vette

Welcome to the herd! Moooo!

BigBlockTank

You guys can bicker and argue till the cows come home, MOO.
I know what I have, I know it works in108* temps in Tucson, AZ with a 454/365HP motor. I don't know about all Mark VIII fans, I know all the ones I looked at were 2 speed. If we're talking about a Lincoln Mark VIII from the mid 90's, then it's a 2 speed fan. Not a Focus, not any other car but a Lincoln. My big block runs at 195 in 108* temps in traffic!!!! Have some of that.

on1wheel01

Not sure what point your trying to make but ok. My focus fans are also 2 speed, they work great now that they are wired right,(to the ignition not the batt).

yel76low

Anyone have any qualms on the quality of this stuff? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Therm...mZ320271690870

For $33 shipped it seems like a real solid deal.

yel76low

So this thread is way beyond the original question... but an answer to others who might be looking at this. I picked up a fan from a Linclon Continental (I'm assuming its the same fan as the Mark VIII) and it has three wires: Yellow, Red (or Orange?), and Black. I tested the fan yesterday. Red is low speed, Yellow is high speed. (Red and Yellow at the same time just gives the same higher speed.) Black is ground of course.

Also note... HOLY ****. This thing is really powerful. Really, really powerful.

I'm planning on hooking up the low speed to the ignition and the high speed to a T-stat (just using DB's wiring diagram from his duals).

Durango_Boy

Good, I think you'll be very happy with it.

HHOVette

what year was the continental?

yel76low

No idea, sorry. I didn't pay attention because I was out there looking for the Focus fans... they didn't seem to be in the best shape. I just spotted the Continental right next to the Focus and figured I might as well check... measured the fan and shroud and just decided to go with that one.

DB: the link to ebay that I showed, that should work with the Mr. Gasket housing, right? ( http://www.jegs.com/i/Mr.%20Gasket/720/2557/10002/-1 )

Durango_Boy

Yeah that'll work great.

yel76low

Thanks. I'll order that when I get back from vacation next week.

Now on to the alternator issue. Stock is 70A, right? I will see if that will hold up, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if it doesn't. I don't run the AC ever (it doesn't work), but I do have a newer stereo and some larger speakers in the back of the car (but I have no idea how much power they take, a PO put them in). Do you think the stock alt is up to the task? If not, what size alt. should I look to get, keeping in mind that I might use the AC again at some point (any idea how much current the AC draws?) Any suggestions on a particular one?

Thanks.

DRIVESHAFT

If the fan you picked up is the MK VIII fan, you will fry that 30 amp relay.
That fan has a reported continuous amp use of over 40 amps, with a start up draw close to 100.

Durango_Boy

The best power upgrade is easily a CS alternator swap. You can very easily change out your stock alternator for a CS130 or CS144. The CS130 is a 60 amp at idle and 100 amp at RPM, and the CS144 is a 100 amp at idle and a 200 amp at RPM.

http://photos.imageevent.com/durango...%20Install.pdf

I agree, for the MarkVIII fan you'd be best going with a 50 amp relay...if you can't find one a 40 amp will probably work.

yel76low

Thanks for the info. But what's the deal with the 100A startup? That would mean I'd need a 100A relay, right? That seems hard to believe...

And yes, according to the testing that Tom DeWitt did, it could draw over 40A. See this thread... http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1816636

Any suggestions as to where to find a 50A relay? Or I'll just run into my Autozone.

Do you know the output of the stock alt? 100A doesn't seem like its very much, if this fan pulls 40 by itself...

So there's one other thing I'm slightly concerned about. The low setting on the fan still pulls a lot of air (looking at Tom's info)... part of me feels like I should just leave the fan off until the engine warms up and then run it on high. I'm just afraid that the engine will take all day to warm up if I don't do it this way. Thoughts?

Durango_Boy

Usually it's hard to find 50 amp relays at local places...Here's one I found for a good price. It's about half way down the page, part #2236-50.

http://www.arcoimports.com/Relays/Relays.html

A CS130 alternator has 60 amps at all times, and yes that might be low for a car with a heavy draw electric fan and stereo so you might just want to upgrade to the CS144 and you'll have lots of power on demand.

The fan running at low speed with the ignition on will not hinder the engine's ability to heat up because the T-stat will be closed and coolant will not be circulating through the radiator. Having the fan running, even on slow speed while the engine warms up will help introduce cooler air into the engine compartment for your air cleaner to suck up.

DRIVESHAFT

Dont worry too much about the start up amps. I was just pointing out what a power hog that fan is.
Im not bashing it though, as I have one too.
Here is the relay that I ordered. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Panas...5367QQtcZphoto