electric fans

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georgboy

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Jan 26, 2008
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I did a search and turned up nothing. I wanted to see who was running dual electric fans on there 3gen, and how do you like them? Thanks guys.
 
I have them,but I don't tow with my truck. Not recommended for trucks that tow since it gets hot.

The A/C blows colder and engine stays cool and cools back down faster with the fans. But for the money. I don't think it was worth it. Just that I went through 3 stock fan harnesses and was cheaper to replace with electric fans.
 
I have around $225-250 in my dual taurus fans, they cooled the truck with a 12,000 trailer behind it. I was towing just fine in 100*+ Texas heat last time I towed that much. All the aftermarket setups I have seen are a joke and WAY too expensive, do yourself a favor and install a couple ford taurus fans from a V6 car early 90's along with a pair of Delta current controllers (look up DCC controller). Should take you less than 2hrs to fab up the entire setup and make it look factory. Mine come on high when the a/c is on, have a setting to come on 50% at a preset temp then 100% about 10* after that, works great. I also gained about 1.5mpg's.
 
carcrafter22 said:
I have around $225-250 in my dual taurus fans, they cooled the truck with a 12,000 trailer behind it. I was towing just fine in 100*+ Texas heat last time I towed that much. All the aftermarket setups I have seen are a joke and WAY too expensive, do yourself a favor and install a couple ford taurus fans from a V6 car early 90's along with a pair of Delta current controllers (look up DCC controller). Should take you less than 2hrs to fab up the entire setup and make it look factory. Mine come on high when the a/c is on, have a setting to come on 50% at a preset temp then 100% about 10* after that, works great. I also gained about 1.5mpg's.
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I have one of those fans on my jeep...that baby moves some air, sounds like it could suck a cat through the grill. When i was shopping the boneyard, I did come to find Ford used 2 different styles on those cars.
 
On a 3rd gen just tie into the clutch coil. Shut if off while doing the dnyo or the sled pull, then turn it back on at the end. Of course if competition is the reason your using them.
 
fordassassin said:
I have them,but I don't tow with my truck. Not recommended for trucks that tow since it gets hot.

The A/C blows colder and engine stays cool and cools back down faster with the fans. But for the money. I don't think it was worth it. Just that I went through 3 stock fan harnesses and was cheaper to replace with electric fans.
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Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure about them. I tow less than 5000 pounds usually but I didn't know how the fans reacted to that. I think I will just stick to putting electric fans( pull apart special) on my hunk of junk 1976 nova. Thanks guys.
 
i run a single taurus fan and i only needed to turn it on for stop and go driving and climbing the cajon pass while pulling 8-10k.

Garrett
 
I'm Going to throw this out there, on both of my 5.9's the fan stops turning at a higher RPM's. Hence you would be theoreticly moving at 65+mph, air would be moving through the grill, and through the radiator, keeping it cool...

I have it set up on my '96 to where the fans kick on only at about 210 or so.
I've towed heavy loads with it, and after its initial warmup cycle, never got up above 190, even when stopped in traffic.
 
apocalypse1812 said:
I'm Going to throw this out there, on both of my 5.9's the fan stops turning at a higher RPM's. Hence you would be theoreticly moving at 65+mph, air would be moving through the grill, and through the radiator, keeping it cool...
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You are correct, the CR fan never runs more than 80% engine speed and that only at idle or extreme heat conditions, once the accelerator pedal is pressed the fan speed will reduce to a maximum of 35% engine speed. A few years back I commuted two hours a day to and from work. I ran my '04 from mid fall to early spring with the engine fan off the truck. I checked fuel consumption difference and it was so slight that I chalked it up to air temp change.

Unless it's a dedicated puller or race truck leave the stock fan/clutch on your CR!
 
Well I didn't say they aren't useful. They just aren't worth the money you spend on them. I only replaced mine because I went through 3 stock fans because the 03-04 have a problem with the harness getting caught and snapping off.

And I have towed 12k up the Grapevines without a problem of getting hot. But then I towed 19k with them the other day and it got to 215* going up the hill, but on a straight or steady incline. Didn't have a problem with that. My fans come on fully right when my key is turned to the ON position. I didn't wanna do the whole control crap at all.

The other benefit of electric fans is for after a sled pull or run at the track. I usually leave my fans on full blast and let them pull the heat out of the radiator and bring engine temperatures down.
 
does anybody know what each wire is used for in the factory fan harness if you wanted to use that?
 
carcrafter22 said:
I have around $225-250 in my dual taurus fans, they cooled the truck with a 12,000 trailer behind it. I was towing just fine in 100*+ Texas heat last time I towed that much. All the aftermarket setups I have seen are a joke and WAY too expensive, do yourself a favor and install a couple ford taurus fans from a V6 car early 90's along with a pair of Delta current controllers (look up DCC controller). Should take you less than 2hrs to fab up the entire setup and make it look factory. Mine come on high when the a/c is on, have a setting to come on 50% at a preset temp then 100% about 10* after that, works great. I also gained about 1.5mpg's.
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Can you do a write up on this with pictures, parts list, and schematic?? I know it's a lot to ask, but I love the control feature you've implemented. I also feel detailing this setup would be something many members could offer. Call it "The CarCrafter 3rd Gen Fan Mod." LOL

This system seems to address my goals for a possible electric swap:

Transparent dual stage control, no manual switch tom foolery. (possibly include an optional manual override switch in the schematic for those who want that too.)

Reduced cost compared to retail systems.

Adequate flow to support moderate towing.


If you can't I understand, but it would save us having to pave a road you've already successfully traveled.

Did you have this setup in place at TS last year? Weren't you the cat who was towing two trailers?
 
carcrafter22 said:
I have around $225-250 in my dual taurus fans, they cooled the truck with a 12,000 trailer behind it. I was towing just fine in 100*+ Texas heat last time I towed that much. All the aftermarket setups I have seen are a joke and WAY too expensive, do yourself a favor and install a couple ford taurus fans from a V6 car early 90's along with a pair of Delta current controllers (look up DCC controller). Should take you less than 2hrs to fab up the entire setup and make it look factory. Mine come on high when the a/c is on, have a setting to come on 50% at a preset temp then 100% about 10* after that, works great. I also gained about 1.5mpg's.
Click to expand...

I am using dual SPAL fans on my Tahoe with their fan controller that is a progressive unit like the one you mentioned... veyr good set up!!!

LReiff said:
The 3rd gens have a 26" fan from factory...two 15" electric fans do not move as much air.
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Size is not the only determining factor in CFM of fans!!!! Some small fans will outflow a large fan... Blade design and pitch have a HUGE impact on flow as well as the motor driving the fan... I don't know anything about the factory Taurus fan, but I can guess that just about any reputable aftermarket fan will outflow a 10+ year old design factory fan for a given size...

Just my 2 cents
 
Chris Tobin said:
Size is not the only determining factor in CFM of fans!!!! Some small fans will outflow a large fan... Blade design and pitch have a HUGE impact on flow as well as the motor driving the fan... I don't know anything about the factory Taurus fan, but I can guess that just about any reputable aftermarket fan will outflow a 10+ year old design factory fan for a given size...

Just my 2 cents
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The OP asked about a 3rd gen truck. For obvious reasons the 3rd gens do not have a 10 year old fan design.
I've tried various electric fans on my '04 and none cooled like the oem fan. I do suppose there is a 26" electric powered fan somewhere that moves enough air as efficient as the oem 3rd gen fan but no one is using it...so back to where I started...there is not a significant fuel saving by installing an electric fan on a 3rd gen, there is not a significant power increase either. Manufactures design and build this stuff now days all on a cad/cam design system without ever testing the product, that same system is where they get their performance numbers. Now, I'll just sit here and watch y'all toss money out the window like I did once.
 
LReiff said:
The OP asked about a 3rd gen truck. For obvious reasons the 3rd gens do not have a 10 year old fan design.
I've tried various electric fans on my '04 and none cooled like the oem fan. I do suppose there is a 26" electric powered fan somewhere that moves enough air as efficient as the oem 3rd gen fan but no one is using it...so back to where I started...there is not a significant fuel saving by installing an electric fan on a 3rd gen, there is not a significant power increase either. Manufactures design and build this stuff now days all on a cad/cam design system without ever testing the product, that same system is where they get their performance numbers. Now, I'll just sit here and watch y'all toss money out the window like I did once.
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The 10+ year old fan I was refering to was the Taurus one that was recommended by other poster's. I was saying that modern aftermarket fans will flow more for a given size...

Yes I agree than in most cases you will not notice a power or mpg increase with a switch to electric fans, this is because the energy required to drive the fans will come from the batteries and the alternator and that is crank driven too... so it ends up being a wash... Also a good thermal clutch mechanical fan design like on your 3rd gen will not waste a tone of energy at speed...

But despite the size diff, I would guess that you could come up with an aftermarket config with electrics to match and even exceed the CFM capability of the 26" factory fan...
 
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