This is topic Fan controller stopped working? HELP! in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners .
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Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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Ok so yesterday I noticed my fan wasn't coming on. So I checked it today and put the fan to a battery and it turns on fine. So its narrowed down to either my DCC fan controller or the tyco relay. How can I tell which one is bad? I don't want to end up buying both when I only need one. Thanks!
edit: 93 using a mark fan.
[ 2014-05-12, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: 3-0-Tunes ]
Posted by Tom Renzo (Member # 13165) on
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Power up the relay from the winding portion. If the fan runs you know which component is bad. make sure the relay has power and that the fuses are ok. Good luck
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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I just checked the relay and its good. I have a wire ran from the relay into my car for a on/off switch. From there I have it ran into my fuse box under the dash. I tried a different fuse location and now the fan turns on fine. What I don't understand is did I just fry my fuse box in a spot????
Posted by Tom Renzo (Member # 13165) on
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Hard to say if that section is burnt out. But if everything in the car works you are good to go.
Posted by wilit (Member # 3367) on
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Mark fans pull a lot of amps. Probably not something I would wire through the factory fuse box. I'd run a dedicated power feed straight from the battery with an inline fuse.
Posted by stangin' (Member # 514) on
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the DCC controller doesn't require a relay from what i understand. the positive is wired straight to the battery with an inline fusible link.
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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I have my battery relocated to the trunk. Should I run a wire from the relay to the switch to the battery. I really like the switch cause it turns the fan off when I turn the car off rather than letting it run until it cools down killing the battery.
Posted by Tom Renzo (Member # 13165) on
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We never set up engine fans with a switch. We use sensors and relays. You can wire fans from the stock fuse panel there is always a place to do it. Personally we never run any wires from the battery directly. No need to do that in my opinion.
Posted by *Als50* (Member # 6003) on
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Run a 75amp Tyco Relay. Make sure your Alt. is upgraded to at least an 130amp. Controllers will go out without you even noticing.
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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I have the tyco relay and also the 3g alt. I have the wire ran to the AC spot on the fusebox (which is the highest amp fuse in there). I have to make sure I'm using 10g wire
Posted by Beastly GT500 TVS (Member # 9723) on
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I ran a switch on my fox because i did not trust the controller. I had a bad experience where my controller went bad damn near over heated the car.
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Beastly GT500 TVS:
I ran a switch on my fox because i did not trust the controller. I had a bad experience where my controller went bad damn near over heated the car.
Yeah I like being in control of the fan. The Fan controller I got works perfectly but I like to be able to turn it off when I turn the car off rather than letting it run until the car cools down even when the car is off
Posted by Tom Renzo (Member # 13165) on
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If wired correctly the fan should not run with ignition off. Or it can if it is temp controlled to do that. But i never wire it that way. What i do is use 2 fans one at 1/2 speed and run it all the time. Then when the AC comes on or the motor heats up a bit the other fan kicks in and if more cooling is needed the 1/2 speed fan comes on full. basically having a switch is bad because you might forget to turn it on or someone borrowing the car might not turn it on. Sometimes we use a dual speed fan from like a taurus and run the low speed constantly and control the high speed with a controller or sender. Several choices. In my opinion a switch is not my cup of tea.
Normally if space allows we use 2 fans all the time. You never know when a fan will fail. And they are wired separately with there own relays and senders for safety.
Here is one of my first setups. We now use aluminum stock to mount the fans. Just an example bellow for a mustang
[ 2014-05-14, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: Tom Renzo ]
Posted by JZTRK (Member # 7641) on
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Tom you get an A for effort but you are loosing alot os surface area with that angle iron try using a ford contour dual fan with a flex a lite speed controler
Posted by Tom Renzo (Member # 13165) on
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Proto type the new setup uses aluminum brackets and no restricted air flow. That setup was scrapped. Those fans can move tuns of air believe me i am not kidding.The new setup does not use any vertical braces and allows full fan airflow to the core
[ 2014-05-27, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: Tom Renzo ]
Posted by Camara90 (Member # 134) on
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I would not wire a mark 8 from the fuse box, as you probably know they can pull 80 amps when they kick on. If you need to for temporary run it off a relay/switch I used a Stinger 80 amp relay for mine.
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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I was told to run a wire directly to the battery. Mine is relocated in the trunk so would it be ok to run it to the starter solenoid?? Since this runs back to the battery should this be ok instead of running 10 ft of wire through my car to the trunk?? Thanks for all the advice.
edit: I have the tyco relay installed next to the dcc fan controller. I used an inline fuse at the fusebox and it literally burnt the 40amp fuse I had in there. I want to get this fixed asap
[ 2014-05-28, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: 3-0-Tunes ]
Posted by Tom Renzo (Member # 13165) on
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Not necessary to run a cable to the trunk. Use the cable from the battery i am assuming it goes to the fender relay is perfectly OK. Personally i would not use a fan that draws that much current, 80 Amps is outrageously high for a fan to draw. The fans i use draw 20 then taper off to 10 while running. using a fan that draws that much current is counter productive. But if it does you need an appropriate circuit to handle the load.
[ 2014-05-28, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: Tom Renzo ]
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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Ok so let me get this straight. I have the fan ran to a dcc fan controller, to the tyco relay, into my dash where I have the switch and run the wire instead of into my fuse box, back into the engine bay and onto the starter solenoid?
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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I hooked it up according to how I just explained it in the top part. (fan to dcc fan controller, to tyco relay, to switch, to starter solenoid) Seems to be working good and also it draws less amps when it turns on being hooked up to the starter solenoid. I don't know why?? If for some reason you think theres a better way or I'm doing something wrong. And if what I did is correct please let me know, thanks again!
Posted by Tom Renzo (Member # 13165) on
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Perfectly fine but i am not a toggle switch fan on guy. But perfect. You most likely have a better voltage drop and the current went down proportionately.
Posted by Beastly GT500 TVS (Member # 9723) on
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quote:
Originally posted by 3-0-Tunes:
I hooked it up according to how I just explained it in the top part. (fan to dcc fan controller, to tyco relay, to switch, to starter solenoid) Seems to be working good and also it draws less amps when it turns on being hooked up to the starter solenoid. I don't know why?? If for some reason you think theres a better way or I'm doing something wrong. And if what I did is correct please let me know, thanks again!
sounds good bud.
Posted by Camara90 (Member # 134) on
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The Mark fan will not run 80amp current draw all the time, it is just known to spike as high as 80 on initial start. Grabbing power at the solenoid will be fine. There is a reason the Mark fan is worth running, that bitch pushes 4300 CFM at 33amps!!
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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Thanks for all the advice and feedback. I cut it down to fit clearing the water pump pulley. I then put weather stripping around it to make it a tight seal against the radiator. Works great and keeps the car really cool. QUESTION- I have a 190 thermostat, when should I set the fan to come on? I was told to set it to turn on 10-15 degrees after the thermostat opens (200-205), thus letting the thermostat cool it down enough to where the fan might not even need to come on at all. Any suggestions? Thanks again for the help
[ 2014-05-29, 07:53 PM: Message edited by: 3-0-Tunes ]
Posted by Beastly GT500 TVS (Member # 9723) on
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quote:
Originally posted by 3-0-Tunes:
Thanks for all the advice and feedback. I cut it down to fit clearing the water pump pulley. I then put weather stripping around it to make it a tight seal against the radiator. Works great and keeps the car really cool. QUESTION- I have a 190 thermostat, when should I set the fan to come on? I was told to set it to turn on 10-15 degrees after the thermostat opens (200-205), thus letting the thermostat cool it down enough to where the fan might not even need to come on at all. Any suggestions? Thanks again for the help
I would say 195-200
Posted by wilit (Member # 3367) on
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Hey, sorry, forgot about this thread and your PM. Yeah, like Camara90 said, you can wire to the solenoid instead of the batt. Mine battery is in the trunk too and I have mine wired to the solenoid.
Posted by 3-0-Tunes (Member # 8105) on
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Ok one more question, I swear haha. So should I use a temp gun and point it at the thermostat and adjust the fan until I see 200 on the gun?
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