I purchased an aluminum radiator for my 1978 online. Good fit , but when I hook up my fans so they run constantly, when I shut off the car the GenV lt1 continues to run for 3-5 seconds before it shuts down.
Not sure what to do. . Do I need to add a diode inline to stop this. And if so ,what rating ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ed

 

Hello Ed, I'm sorry but I need to answer your question with a couple questions.
First and foremost, with all the different methods available to control your electric fans, why would you run them full time? This is not only just not necessarily, but electric fans pull a **** ton af amps causing your alternator to work triple overtime!
And 2, your fans certainly should not be causing a run on with your engine, so it makes me question where your pulling power from for these fans.
Where are you pulling power ? From the battery?

 

I guess I didn't realize they pull that much power. After looking at the Dakota digital PAC-2800BT controller wiring diagram , and having to try and find good connection points,I figured I could probably just hook the fans up to an auxiliary temp sender on the passenger side like the original engines had. Trying to find a sender got put on the shelf when I thought I could just hook up the fans.

It looks like I will try to figure out a way to add a sender to the block now.
Thanks

Ed

 

I am currently pulling power from my starter connection with a 15 amp inline fuse .

 

Pull power right at the solenoid. But run it through a 60 amp Yes 60 amp relay. Or 2 30 amp relays, one for each fan.
trigger the relays with any power with key.on source. But run through relays. A 15 amp fuse for twin fans is seriously under rated. I run through a 50 amp strip fuse. These things pull way over 20 amps each.

 

Why would you do that when they make this?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/d...saAm2_EALw_wcB

 

That does seem a WHOLE lot easier to wire than the dakota one.
Thanks
Ed

 

I am actually pulling power from the solenoid now , but If they are pulling that much amperage I will need to rewire with probably 12 gauge wire. I think I have 14ga now.

Thanks,

Ed

 

I have decided to order the Davies Craig relay switch for a couple of reasons. First , it looks a lot easier to wire it and can be installed in the engine compartment , and it a lot better price than Dakota Digital.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in. Hopefully it will help the next person that is doing a swap.

Ed

 

Well, there have been numerous threads on here over the years on the topic of wiring in electric fans.
which is why above I mentioned that there are numerous ways to do this.
Your fans if everything else in your cooling system is done correctly should only need to run when stopped at a long light or crawling in traffic.
The other time they really, really need to kick on is when your air-conditioning system is running and your high side pressure starts to build. The factory system does not have a trienary switch or even a high pressure switch in the air-conditioning system. As the car came with a mechanical fan that runs all the time.
So,, do you have air-conditioning? Do you understand the need for a trienary switch? Do you know how to wire that in so you don't blow your condenser to the moon?
Do you also realise that because of the HUGE electrical power demands of electric fans that you not only need much heavier wire. You also really need a much higher output alternator to support this? Lots and lots of threads on here over the years. Perhaps you might wish to look some up and do some reading.
When I first put in electric fans I also knew nothing. I learnt the hard way with a broken down car many times.
ABSOLUTELY overkill the wiring! Heavier is better. Those kits you purchase cheaply, like above are the right idea. But wiring should be heavier. Heat in the engine bay affects wiring, this means move that stuff out of the engine bay or wire up even heavier.

 

Great advise. I would add for you to visit and read the information on the MAD Electrical website. Mark is a savant with this stuff. Jerry

 

There are a couple of videos showing the wiring process of the ' Davies Craig ' switch that I watched, so I should be able to wire it , including the A/C which I have. I purchased the Holley mid-mount front accessory package ( $$$ -ouch ! ) for the engine, so the alternator should handle it. I will also make sure about using heavy enough wire to avoid a disaster with inline fuses , soldering joints, and weatherproof connections.

I think this forum is the best !

Ed

 

In the past when I first upgraded to an electric fan I soon learned that having the proper wire size is critical and the lengths can be longer to run using many bends to keep the wire out of the way in your engine bay.
If you visit a marine parts store they will carry a different style of wire that is many times more flexible than the standard automotive stuff. The wire is available in multiple sizes and is made up of tiny copper wires and has a flexible jacket on it.

The Marine grade Heat Shrink is also better than what is used commonly on automobiles. The marine heat Shrink has a heat activated glue inside the jacket which seals the connection even better than normal heat shrink. Then last but not least, I wanted some fuse protection near the battery. For this I used marine grade circuit breakers and they work great in this application. My C3 is a convertible and this means the parts inside should be at least water resistant and well protected. The parts designed for use on a boat are a perfect match for another hole in the water. The wire and fittings are better suited for the type of use we expose them to.

The Corvette Forum has jumped up and helped save my butt numerous times! It is indeed one of the very best places to learn more about our Corvettes! I thank you all who make this place the great Forum that it has become! I really appreciate the experts who come on and help, they could be out making money but they share their time with us.