- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,799
I'm throwing an electric fan on the SE 2.5 4 banger. I'm torn on doing the home grown junkyard reclaim ..or buying the custom fit Flex-a-Lite shrouded Black Beauty (probably buy the recon/refurbished unit on ebay). The Flexalite has the advantage of all the mounting points for the ps reservoir and whatnot ..and conforming to the existing OEM available mounting points (no fab'ing at all).
Aside from the main fan choice, I've decided on a couple of other things.
I don't want the main fan cycling every time the AC compressor kicks on. I've decided to wire a separate 10" fan through a relay just for the AC condenser flow. The current mechanical fan doesn't do the job at idle ..so this make sense. I had considered not having any fan wired to the compressor clutch cycle. I reasoned that if I was running the AC ..and was not already providing enough foward movement to provide heat exchange for the AC, the engine temp would probably have the cooling fan running anyway.
..but not wanting to tear this all out again I figured, for the cost, I'd just wire its own fan. I can always pull the relay to test the theory later(I'm lazy - measure/think 25 times - assemble ONCE)
I going with either the older SPAL PWM controller or the newer V3 model. I don't see where the newer model would serve me better ..and the difference is about $40 (about $130 vs. $90 delivered).
The advantage of the Spal is that it you select two setpoints on the controller. When it hits the first setpoint, the fan operates at half speed (PWM- pulse width modulation). It then spans the two setpoints up to full speed. Appears to be a very smart box. It's also able to be mounted under the hood.
I had considered a Centech controller.
It has the economy of a knob that you dial into your gauge reading (temp sensor output). It has no variable speed option and needs to be in the driver compartment. That means (at least without more relays/wiring) I need to run higher current wires through the dash.
Both have AC relay features, but I think the direct connection to the smaller fan will, on average, draw less current, minimizing the alternator drag.
Both are capable of just tapping into the OEM temp sensor.
This is going to be in concert with an inlet side thermostat installation. A fellow member turned me on to a home fab'd remote thermostat housing. I just need to reroute the bypass return (heater circuit) to the unit and reverse bias the thermostat to sense that temp.
Any objections ..cautions ..just plain old "if man were meant to fly, he'd have wings comments?
Aside from the main fan choice, I've decided on a couple of other things.
I don't want the main fan cycling every time the AC compressor kicks on. I've decided to wire a separate 10" fan through a relay just for the AC condenser flow. The current mechanical fan doesn't do the job at idle ..so this make sense. I had considered not having any fan wired to the compressor clutch cycle. I reasoned that if I was running the AC ..and was not already providing enough foward movement to provide heat exchange for the AC, the engine temp would probably have the cooling fan running anyway.
..but not wanting to tear this all out again I figured, for the cost, I'd just wire its own fan. I can always pull the relay to test the theory later(I'm lazy - measure/think 25 times - assemble ONCE)
I going with either the older SPAL PWM controller or the newer V3 model. I don't see where the newer model would serve me better ..and the difference is about $40 (about $130 vs. $90 delivered).
The advantage of the Spal is that it you select two setpoints on the controller. When it hits the first setpoint, the fan operates at half speed (PWM- pulse width modulation). It then spans the two setpoints up to full speed. Appears to be a very smart box. It's also able to be mounted under the hood.
I had considered a Centech controller.
It has the economy of a knob that you dial into your gauge reading (temp sensor output). It has no variable speed option and needs to be in the driver compartment. That means (at least without more relays/wiring) I need to run higher current wires through the dash.
Both have AC relay features, but I think the direct connection to the smaller fan will, on average, draw less current, minimizing the alternator drag.
Both are capable of just tapping into the OEM temp sensor.
This is going to be in concert with an inlet side thermostat installation. A fellow member turned me on to a home fab'd remote thermostat housing. I just need to reroute the bypass return (heater circuit) to the unit and reverse bias the thermostat to sense that temp.
Any objections ..cautions ..just plain old "if man were meant to fly, he'd have wings comments?