Electric fan thermostat

[warmonga]

Hey guys just wondering if anyone here is using a thermostat to turn on the electric fan and if so what type do you guys recommend. I prefer the thermostat that goes on to the intake manifold and not the one that plunges into the radiator. I am using the one pictured on the bottom , but have gone through 2 of them while the car is sitting in my driveway idling ,
also do you guys thing it is a good idea to install the fan to run all the time instead of only when the car get to the 185 degrees? The reason why, is because my son is 16 and this boy head hard . I do not trust him to keep an eye on the temperature gauge.. .. let me know what you guys think.. I had it set up with the tstart and an overide switch but the tstart just not wrking proper..

 

[FE3X CLONE]

Are you using a relay between the electric fan and the threaded thermostat? If not, then that is why they aren't lasting very long. They can't handle the current.

For my electric fans I have them wired to the coolant temp sensor in the intake manifold through the ECM.

First fan comes on at 170*F and off at 160*F. Second fan will come on at 180*F and off at 160*F or if the A/C is activated in which time it will run continuously.

Do not install the fan so that it runs continuously. That completely defeats the purpose of an electric fan. If you have the wiring setup properly then there should be no need to worry about what your son does with it.

This the wiring diagram I came up with for my car. Yours will be different but will give you an idea.

 

[warmonga]

nice diagram , and thanks.. I have it installed the same way , I have number 86 going to the thermostart... Isee on the summit diagram they have the 86 going to the ignition switch and the 85 going to the thermostat..I wonder why is it different?

warmonga

 

[FE3X CLONE]

It depends on if the relay is a normally open or normally closed and how you want it to act.

I prefer to wire them so that they are normally closed and the fans run continuously until power is applied to the relay which opens the contacts and shuts the fans off. It's kind of a fail safe in case you have a relay go bad on you the fan(s) will still run until you can get somewhere to replace the relay.

Same idea as the fail safe thermostats that will fail open so that you don't overheat the engine.

 

[am4blue]

As long as there isn't a diode to protect the coil side of the relay, it does not matter which signal goes to 85 or 86. Normally, 85 is low side drive (ground) and 86 is high side (current.)

Some relays have a diode to protect against current spikes. These "protected" relays are used when the switching source is computer controlled. It keeps the current from spiking to the computer and toasting something. You can usually see the internal schematic of the relay imprinted on the side of the relay. If you see an arrow pointing at a line in parallel with the coil, then it is diode protected and it would matter what you hook up to 85 and 86.

Chances are you have the one that does not have a diode.