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Electric Fan help

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Old 02-10-2023, 11:55 AM
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Default Electric Fan help

2001 ram 1500. 5.2L. Auto Trans.
stock mechanical fan.

Bought dual 12in fans. Need help with the electrical part. 6.67amp draw each fan

Im just looking for details on the pieces I’d need and where to go with it. Amazon has wiring kits with directions.

help?
 
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Old 02-10-2023, 01:36 PM
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Need a temp switch, on around 195-200, off around 180 or so. Use the switch to control a relay, that feeds power to the fans, DIRECTLY from the battery. (inline fuse would be a good idea too. ) Where to put the switch though.... Maybe drill and tap the boss for the second temp sensor your truck doesn't use?
 
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Old 02-10-2023, 05:01 PM
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Some mechanical temperature switches have a sensor/bulb that you just push in between the fins on the radiator.
They wire in the same.
 
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Old 02-10-2023, 08:17 PM
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I added one of these before the fan relays. I set the timer for a few minutes after the after the temp sensor closes. It makes it so the fan doesn't cycle on and off a bunch of times after you've shut off the engine on a hot day. It also makes your fan relays last a longer if the system cycles less. .https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hla-996152131
 
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Old 02-11-2023, 05:10 AM
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Old 02-11-2023, 07:25 AM
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Also dont forget to wire a trigger for the a/c, usually tie off the a/c clutch circuit, could get fancy with a high pressure switch if you wanted to.

Just my 2 pennys. I've got electric fans on both my 96 360 and my 06 Cummins. I hate them on both trucks, terrible cooling, especially in the summer, even worse towing.
Not sure your plans with the truck just food for thought
 
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Old 02-11-2023, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by dodgetruck2
Also dont forget to wire a trigger for the a/c, usually tie off the a/c clutch circuit, could get fancy with a high pressure switch if you wanted to.

Just my 2 pennys. I've got electric fans on both my 96 360 and my 06 Cummins. I hate them on both trucks, terrible cooling, especially in the summer, even worse towing.
Not sure your plans with the truck just food for thought
A high pressure sensor switch on the AC seems like a great idea, especially if it could directly drive a relay. I have a circuit that should detect the AC pump control line from the PCM but I haven't hooked it up and tried it for like 3 years now. Away to drive a relay directly seems like a more elegant way to go.

Are you using a fan shroud? What fans? I get the idea that those two things can make quite a difference.

Mine seems to keep things cool enough while hauling/towing heavy loads in the summer. If the fans ever do come on, the temperature falls fairly quickly and within a few minutes they are off again. Though, I do run a shroud and the fans blow a ton of air. Each draws enough current to require its own relay.The first fans I tried were too wimpy and right on the edge of being able to cool well with the single row radiator. Upgrading those made a noticieable difference for me.

I loved how switching from clutch to efan changed the way tthe truck feels when you drive it. Seemed to free up more power than I was expecting it to. But the fan control was indeed a little quirky when I first put it on there and I had to dial it in a bit. The price of rolling your own fan control rather than buying a kit, I guess.
 

Last edited by Ugly1; 02-11-2023 at 01:18 PM.
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Old 02-12-2023, 07:01 AM
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Also dont forget to wire a trigger for the a/c
The kit i mentioned has provisions for this, You need to tap into the hvac switch(compressor on) wire. I didn't do this because i set the on temp fairly low and if the ac is on(standing still) it will raise the temp of the coolant enough to turn the fan on.
 
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Old 02-12-2023, 09:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Ugly1
A high pressure sensor switch on the AC seems like a great idea, especially if it could directly drive a relay. I have a circuit that should detect the AC pump control line from the PCM but I haven't hooked it up and tried it for like 3 years now. Away to drive a relay directly seems like a more elegant way to go.

Are you using a fan shroud? What fans? I get the idea that those two things can make quite a difference.

Mine seems to keep things cool enough while hauling/towing heavy loads in the summer. If the fans ever do come on, the temperature falls fairly quickly and within a few minutes they are off again. Though, I do run a shroud and the fans blow a ton of air. Each draws enough current to require its own relay.The first fans I tried were too wimpy and right on the edge of being able to cool well with the single row radiator. Upgrading those made a noticieable difference for me.

I loved how switching from clutch to efan changed the way tthe truck feels when you drive it. Seemed to free up more power than I was expecting it to. But the fan control was indeed a little quirky when I first put it on there and I had to dial it in a bit. The price of rolling your own fan control rather than buying a kit, I guess.
My 06 has the Flex-a-lite kit for that year, makes around 500hp at the wheels, very cool EGTs even towing it rarely passes 1000* unless I really stand on it, really no reason it should struggle cooling

My 96 has the extreme duty FF Dynamics kits, two individually shrouded fans that cover 85-90% of the fin surface, my hate for these is a little less as its a project truck and lots of things going on at once, maybe not all the fans fault but after the experience with my 06 there's some preexisting hate for electric fans

In short electric fans cannot move the same air as a mechanical fan
 
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Old 02-12-2023, 11:38 AM
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Those FF Dynamics fans look pretty cool.

It is too bad about your 6.7L. You see people boasting of 500 and up on efan but also quite a few having trouble at those levels.

I'm assuming yu already went to the bigger radiator. That would seem like a good idea too. I've always had this impression that the single row radiatior is just on the ragged edge of being adequate even for stock 5.9L.

One thing I've always wondered about but it's not like I know anything about the subject....

Most of the aftermarket 2nd gen efan shrouds butt the fans right up against the rdiator. I think that means the air gets pulled in kind of a donut shape pattern, through the radiator, where the flan blades are. If that's true then not very much of the radiators surface is getting air pulled through it. Maybe not ideal.

Those aftermarket shrouds are quite a bit a bit different from the factory shroud since it had a pretty big space between the fan and radiator. I was wondering if the extra space, the factory shrouds have betweeen the clutch fan and the radiator, acts as a bit of a plenum allowing air to be drawn through the whole radiator. That is quite a bit more radiator surface area to have the air drawn through than just in a donut shape like with the aftermarket shrouds. ie I think spacing the fan away from the back of the radiator could allow more efficient BTU removal.

Naturally, that led to me wondering about how I could do this to mine. It probably wouldn't take much for someone good at metal fab. I'm a different story. I'll probably have my best luck trying to modify and kludge off the shelf objsects. I've found a few candidates I could picture bolting to the back of a modified version of my existing efan shroud...for example maybe even seal a couple of somethng like this with some rubber gasgeting...https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hre-34304m
 

Last edited by Ugly1; 02-12-2023 at 11:54 AM.


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