Word of warning on electric fans...

[robeats91t]

Always be prepared for something in your setup to melt, break or otherwise fail...

Before I get blasted for using a Mini inline fuse, it's what came with the fan. And trust me, the second I saw how inadequate it was, I went out and got a standard size inline fuse holder. When I installed the fans, I decided to see how long the standard issue mini fuse holder would last, just for fun. It actually did make it about 4 months...:icon_bigg

Anyhow, I would've been stranded with an overheating car if I hadn't had a spare inline fuseholder and had my wiring tools in the car with me, waiting for this to happen. And strangely enough, it happened on one of the coolest days so far this fall--oh, the irony. So, if you do decide on electric fans, be prepared...

 

[Justin]

happened to a buddy of mine... we were sitting in line at the boarder coming back from vancouver this summer... when we FINALLY (3 hours later) got across the boarder he pulls over about 100 ft on the american side... melted the shit out of his fuse holder...

Lucky we're all car eletronics people

 

[robeats91t]

Hah, amazing. I was lucky, it happened on a cool morning. It popped at about 50mph on the way back from school in 70F weather, and it really couldn't have happened at a better time. No traffic so plenty of speed & airflow, audible *POP* to signify the failure, and plenty of empty parking lots to choose from. :icon_bigg

 

[suprastanger507mgte]

man, I wish you can post it in the thread where the guy was talking like this thing never happens...I always warn about these at least...that is crazee.l Hope it did not set the car on fire..

 

[robeats91t]

man, I wish you can post it in the thread where the guy was talking like this thing never happens...I always warn about these at least...that is crazee.l Hope it did not set the car on fire..

Hah, I've defended e-fans in the past, and still think they have benefits when used properly. But (as shown here) they are higher maintenance than their mechanical counterparts and need to be properly matched to a vehicle's cooling system--the Supra in particular is very sensitive to changes in the cooling system. When not maintained they can be potentially dangerous.

 

[suprastanger507mgte]

Exactly what I say. The risk factor is higher eventhough they may work great.

 

[suprarich]

What brand of fan is that?

 

[robeats91t]

The fans are the dual Flex-a-lite fans that fit our stock-sized radiator. It's running through a SPAL fan controller which is really nice...but apparently the combination creates a nice little current load.

 

[suprarich]

The Flex 220? I havn't heard of anyone melting the fuse on those before, What amp was the fuse. Prob need a larger gauge wire and bigger style fuse.

 

[robeats91t]

Yeah, the fuse rating was too low for sure, but I thought the fuse would pop before it melted the fuseholder. It was a 20A fuse--I didn't want to go higher for fear of starting a fire. Maybe the on-off-on of the fan controller creates spikes in the load that the slow-blow fuse can't handle...or maybe the whole thing was incapable of handling the current.

In any case, I've replaced it with a larger unit. I'm keeping my eye on it, and if it starts to look fishy I'm rewiring the whole thing.

The joys of electric fans...at least I don't mind the challenge, and like to think I'm neurotic enough about watching things to prevent a major meltdown--I still have nightmares that include the sweet smell of coolant and a needle climbing higher and higher on a temp gauge....

 

[89turbosupra]

My nova used to burn fuses like that withs it fan. It has a van from some volvo turbo and when I went to a relay and circuit breaker. Then it started frying relays so I wired two in parralel and never had a broblem again. you can get the kit from painless for $30 IIRC.

 

[MKIIINA]

clutch fan ftw. sorry man but here in TX it seems to be the only thing to cut the mustard.

 

[robeats91t]

clutch fan ftw. sorry man but here in TX it seems to be the only thing to cut the mustard.

Yeah man, I hear you. Next time I get motivated, I'm going to put the stock fans back on and see where the needle on my GReddy temp gauge sits. If it's that much lower on the average, I'll just leave the mechanical on there. However, I believe that my gas mileage has improved with the electric fans--only slightly, but it is noticeable. Also, throttle response is better, and I have yet to stall between gears like I would with a mech. fan, no matter how much boost I blow off/how long the bov stays open (bov vents to atmosphere). Although, is 1-2 mpg worth an increased risk of overheating? Probably not to most of us. And I could've spent the money on a lightweight flywheel to improve throttle response.

But hey, I'm a tinkerer, and an electronics nut. I had to give it a try...

 

[tookwik4u89]

Mine melted like that on my FAL's not long after I installed them. Needless to say it's been modified.

 

[supraman7mgte]

how many amps were the fans? that was the killer

 

[tekdeus]

I am running Flex-a-lites as well and I actually had one of the terminals on the circuit board "un-solder" itself because it got so hot. These things draw a lot of amps.

 

[robeats91t]

how many amps were the fans? that was the killer

Heh, Flex-a-Lite rates those fans at 19.5A on their website, not specified as max or continuous, but I'd assume that's their continuous, based on the reports of fuse blowing fun. In my case the fans ate the 20A fuse and fuseholder in short order, so either those cheap Chinese-made 20A fuseholders can't handle what they're rated to (probably the case) or the fans are more than 20A of load rather often (also probably true).

 

[starscream5000]

If the FAL's are rated at 19.5A, then it wouldn't take but a lil bit a spike here and there to blow a 20A fuse. Just out of curiosity, how big are the new fuses you guys are using? 25-30A?

 

[Steve_N]

I had that Happen to me few times with the FAL 220's. The 1st time it melted up the control box, Next time was the fuse turned out like yours. I rewired using 12g wiring & 30 amp fuse & several months later the fans failed again do to a melted fuse & distorted holder. Last resort I wired them into the stock rad cooling fan location. I cut the leads off the stock fans & wired them in. That lasted me almost 2 yrs till 1 of the fan motors locked up & I just went back to the clutch fan. However I never had a problem with fires are fuses after I wired it to the factory location.

 

[suprarich]

Flex makes a kit to wire these up properly, it has two fuses and two relays, one for each fan. It is cheaper to do it yourself. Don't use the little inline that comes with it.