IC fan question

V6Sprout

Registered User
Will the fan burn out if its on ALL THE TIME? Or should I only turn it on when at the track or after driving a lot? I was gonn ahook min eup to a switch to turn it on and off. I am also going to make a shroud forit, so if the fan is not on I wonder if the IC will not work to effectively since it will be covered on the backside other then the opening for the fan.

Any opinions?

BTW, its a custom made Double IC I have and an 8 inch fan if I remember corerctly.
 
funny you should put this up...mine quit about 2-3 months ago.i had it wired so it ran all the time with the car on....it lasted about 5 years.got it at pep boys,im not putting another one on though.dont really feel like fooling with it anymore....
 
for mine i just ran a switch into the car so i can control when it's on and off.

i turned it on whenever the car was running. i really dont see a problem with running all the time.

and if ddw250's lasted 5 years, i say thats pretty long for about $60
 
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yeah definately a fuseable link, I was just worried about burning out the fan but then again 5 years is pretty good. Mine is used but no biggy. I was going to hook it up to my fog light switch since I don't run foglights, but I will most likely turn it on all the time anyways. Thanks guys.
 
mine is set to come on with key on, works like a champ and has been on the car for 5 ish yrs going back to previous owner.:)
 
I dont' put a lot of miles on my car either since I don't live far from work so it should be fine, cool!
 
I'm using an adjustable thermostat I ripped out of a fog machine, you could find them on ebay for cheap.

Just a thought.
 
yeah definately a fuseable link, I was just worried about burning out the fan but then again 5 years is pretty good. Mine is used but no biggy. I was going to hook it up to my fog light switch since I don't run foglights, but I will most likely turn it on all the time anyways. Thanks guys.

Don't run that fan off the f/l switch direct, unless you have a fire extinguisher handy, use a relay.

I'm actually in the process of wiring up a system to use relays for the headlights, fog lights and a relay for the IC fan. The IC fan stuff will have the fan come on when the low speed fan kicks on for the rad, with a switch on my center console to turn the IC fan on continuous, kind of like an auto mode and continuous mode.

The wiring itself is simple with a relay and a couple of diodes. I just need to figure out the best spot to tap into a 12V source for the low speed fan to signal the relay.

ps: OMG! I just realized for the first time ever in a forum I've gone over 1000 posts. I'm keeping my mouth shut from now on.
 
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the factory fog lights on the mustang uses a relay from the factory, I don't have one so Ihave to get one, it won't work without it the way teh factory foglights are setup I believe.
 
I'm almost sure this stupid fan isn't doing much to cool my IC. Mine has been running for two year each time I have the ignition switch on. If it burns out after five years it won't get replaced.
 
The biggest thing about any fan is having a shroud around it so the air can't be sucked back around to the intake side again. You mount that IC fan without a shroud and I pretty much bet your only seeing about 50% efficiency with that fan.

When I was working down in the mine outside of town, I helped with a ventilation survey and study because some folks felt we weren't getting enough air movement for the amount of fans we had running. We found that we had twice the cfm from the fan if we built a wall around the fan. After doing some more measurements, we found that most of the cfm we where losing without the "shroud" was being sucked around the fan back to the intake side, which we further confirmed with several engineers.

I'm planning to build a cover on the engine side of the IC with an opening the size of the IC fan that will mount to that cover, or even take the fan off the motor, and mount it on the power steering pump pully.

I believe that with a proper shroud design and a good fan, I can get an effective IC setup equal to a double IC with a fan and no shroud.... so if I actually go to a double IC with a shrouded fan ;)
 
take the fan..... and mount it on the power steering pump pully.

What a great idea! :cool: Did you just make that up? I wonder if there is a small fan that could be used for that? Just mount it to the pulley. I suppose balancing it might be an issue though.
 
The biggest thing about any fan is having a shroud around it so the air can't be sucked back around to the intake side again. You mount that IC fan without a shroud and I pretty much bet your only seeing about 50% efficiency with that fan.

When I was working down in the mine outside of town, I helped with a ventilation survey and study because some folks felt we weren't getting enough air movement for the amount of fans we had running. We found that we had twice the cfm from the fan if we built a wall around the fan. After doing some more measurements, we found that most of the cfm we where losing without the "shroud" was being sucked around the fan back to the intake side, which we further confirmed with several engineers.

I'm planning to build a cover on the engine side of the IC with an opening the size of the IC fan that will mount to that cover, or even take the fan off the motor, and mount it on the power steering pump pully.

I believe that with a proper shroud design and a good fan, I can get an effective IC setup equal to a double IC with a fan and no shroud.... so if I actually go to a double IC with a shrouded fan ;)


This makes sense, but don't see it having as much of an effect on a vehicle that is pushing air through it anyhow driving down the road at 60-70mph. If the fan was mounted to a non moving item then sure the shroud would be more beneficial, but with it on a moving vehicle that air is being forced through don't think the effect will be as much. IMO. Either way a shroud is a good idea and I use one, just don't think the logic completely applies in this situation.
 
This makes sense, but don't see it having as much of an effect on a vehicle that is pushing air through it anyhow driving down the road at 60-70mph. If the fan was mounted to a non moving item then sure the shroud would be more beneficial, but with it on a moving vehicle that air is being forced through don't think the effect will be as much. IMO. Either way a shroud is a good idea and I use one, just don't think the logic completely applies in this situation.

I thought the exact same thing. When you're cruising down the highway there should be plenty of airflow going through the IC. But then I started datalogging the intake air temp and was surprised that on a summer day with occasional acceleration down the highway the intake temp could easily get up over 140F :eek: And I don't even have overdrive pulleys. It would slooowly cool off, but never as cool as I'd like to see it. Didn't quite make sense to me since going 60mph+ should be pushing plenty of air through the IC. So either it needs MORE air (via a fan?) or the IC needs to be replaced with something having more capacity and efficiency.
 
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