Fried the cooling fan circuit

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I upgraded to a taurus fan right before my HG blew. Well that burning smell I have had turns out to be the fan circuit. The factory wiring just wasn't up to it.

I wired the fan straight to the battery using 12 gauge wire and a 20AMP fusible link. It's now activated by a temperature sensor so it won't continue to run with the car off after the temp in the radiator drops.

Questions;
Is a 20AMP circuit sufficient for this fan or should it be bigger?

Where does the fan circuit go? Is it in the ignition switch? I need to make sure that that short is taken care of.

[J-n-R]

I would really recommend going with this companies controller...

http://www.dccontrol.com/

I would go with the KF35. It runs independant of your factory system, but will manage that big fan a lot better. Less current draw off the alternator.

Just an fyi. If you are running one of the Mark 8 based fans, they draw 105amps on the high speed setting wide open...Probably why you smoked the factory stuff here...This controller manages this draw much better and you will never see the fan come on or see any draw on your gauge when the fan is really flowing some air....

It was the only way I could get enough fan in my old blown 5.0...

BEst 100 bucks you can spend on fan control...

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I bought the controller that SVPU sells (~$50) a long time ago. It's independent of the factory setup.

105 AMPS? Yikes! It's a dual speed fan and I set it up for the fastest speed. Maybe I need to use the slower speed. At 105amps how did they fuse it? There is no way there was a 100 amp fuse in the box. And what gauge wire did they use? @120V a 10 gauge wire only handles 30AMPS.

[J-n-R]

Believe it or not...

I ran the 95 mustang gt fan at first as I attempted to cool off my old 5.0.

I used to run 2 - 30amp relays and 2-50 amp fuses to manage the draw. That thing melted the relays at least 1x a year, and would flat NOT even run with anything less than a 50 amp fuse.

there are a lot of threads over on the Corral about it...

Here is one...

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=618690&highlight=dccontrol

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I found this article about it over on Fordmuscle.com.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003/02/electricfan/index.php

It's a 130amp startup draw with a 40amp steady state use. They used a Bosch 150AMP relay and a 14AWG fusible link. Oh and a Hayden 40AMP fan controller.

[J-n-R]

I used that Hayden fan controller, but used the 50 amp fuses not the 150 amp bosch you mention. For all the time, and work, I assure you the 110.00 it costs for the DC-controller is money well spent...

135amp on start up is enough to punish just about any alternator...not to mention if you have external fuel pumps (like my old t-rex) ignition boxes like my old crane hi-6tr, etc. Every little thing helps

The big thing is that running the dc-control you get the fan coming on at @ 20% of capacity and slowly ramping up to manage the temps. It will ramp back down and shut off as necessary. The HUGE advantage is that you won't ever need a 150amp anything because the fan will never be brought on and spike that 135amp hit initially.

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I noticed that everytime the fan kicked on the radio cut off for a second... So I bought the controller that you recommend. If this doesn't do it, that Black Magic fan kit is looking better and better.

[NavySVO]

that Black Magic fan kit is looking better and better.

Take a look at the kit by SPAL before you buy anything. Everything is under the hood, and it will run the fan at 2 speeds, depending on the temp......and you set it for those speeds yourself.
Works with the factory sensor as well.
They also sell an additional relay harness for a second fan if you are running a dual fan set-up.

[J-n-R]

I would be floored if you have any problems with it...please report back here and let everyone know what you think of it...

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I'll give it try before I ditch the fan. I'm not particularly happy about the 2-4 week wait for delivery though. Like most of us here I like to drive my car occasionally.

In the meantime I'll change the fan around to use the slow speed with the wiring I have. The information on the DC Control site indicates that at the slow speed the fan only pulls about 10AMPS.