Alu radiator and elec fan upgade help please

[Commando440]

Greetings all you wonderful experts.
Long time researcher, first time poster.
I have a few questions regarding my upgrade that i cant find direct answers in the post history.
68 Fury/383- so i damaged my radiator and fan and while looking for a new radiator (i am in australia so very hard to find parts for these beauties), i have decided on an aluminium radiator with dual electric fans. I know there are alot of people that do not like these and i reapect that.
Ive bought a quality wiring kit and have looked at many different diagrams and instructions for install.
My question is- i have recently had people tell me that i need to run 1 fan directly to alternator to run constantly? But all research that i do tells me to run both to the temp sender? It is an 85degrees celcius sender.
What do you guys reccomend please?
Also, what is the best place to put sender? I was planning to screw into top of water pump, but have been told by these same people that it will be no good and to put it at the top hose?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Luke

 

[CBODY67]

Use a relay to run the fans. Locate the temp sender for them near the thermostat, somewhere, so it does not run until it needs to. To me, "on the water pump" is not an optimal location.

Most OEM applications will have one fan run pretty much all the time the engine is at 180 degrees F and the other fan comes in as needed. Or they will run one at a lower speed and then increase the speed as needed. Kind of the same orientation as a functioning fan clutch that will run a bit at lower temps and more-fully lock-up when the cooling demands are higher.

It might be advantageous to wire the fans directly to the battery, so they'll be like the OEM fans and run a bit after the engine shuts off. Which MIGHT help ease any potential hard starting after a "hot soak" shutdown situation. Otherwise, use a keyed electrical source. Your judgment call.

IF you do wire the fans direct, be SURE you have a big enough battery reserve power to support that activity. Plus a large enough alternator, too!

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

 

[1970FuryConv]

Greetings all you wonderful experts.
Long time researcher, first time poster.
I have a few questions regarding my upgrade that i cant find direct answers in the post history.
68 Fury/383- so i damaged my radiator and fan and while looking for a new radiator (i am in australia so very hard to find parts for these beauties), i have decided on an aluminium radiator with dual electric fans. I know there are alot of people that do not like these and i reapect that.
Ive bought a quality wiring kit and have looked at many different diagrams and instructions for install.
My question is- i have recently had people tell me that i need to run 1 fan directly to alternator to run constantly? But all research that i do tells me to run both to the temp sender? It is an 85degrees celcius sender.
What do you guys reccomend please?
Also, what is the best place to put sender? I was planning to screw into top of water pump, but have been told by these same people that it will be no good and to put it at the top hose?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Luke

Hi Luke,
I disagree with having an electric fan running constantly. Electric fans should come on when you need them to cool the engine.
Most BB water pump housings have temp sending unit installed in the water pump housing. I see no issue with using the factory location.

 

[MONC440]

I'm running both my fans on a relay that is wired to battery. I have my temp sensor in the top of the radiator and comes on at 180 F. After driving the car and parking it the fans will run for 3 to 5 minutes after the engine is off. At first I had the sensor in the thermostat housing but the fan would run for almost 10 minutes after turning the engine off and I didn't want it to run that long so I moved the sensor to the radiator.

 

[Commando440]

Use a relay to run the fans. Locate the temp sender for them near the thermostat, somewhere, so it does not run until it needs to. To me, "on the water pump" is not an optimal location.

Most OEM applications will have one fan run pretty much all the time the engine is at 180 degrees F and the other fan comes in as needed. Or they will run one at a lower speed and then increase the speed as needed. Kind of the same orientation as a functioning fan clutch that will run a bit at lower temps and more-fully lock-up when the cooling demands are higher.

It might be advantageous to wire the fans directly to the battery, so they'll be like the OEM fans and run a bit after the engine shuts off. Which MIGHT help ease any potential hard starting after a "hot soak" shutdown situation. Otherwise, use a keyed electrical source. Your judgment call.

IF you do wire the fans direct, be SURE you have a big enough battery reserve power to support that activity. Plus a large enough alternator, too!

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

Thank you for your information.

 

[Commando440]

Hi Luke,
I disagree with having an electric fan running constantly. Electric fans should come on when you need them to cool the engine.
Most BB water pump housings have temp sending unit installed in the water pump housing. I see no issue with using the factory location.
View attachment 556186

Thank you for your thoughts.
In your photo- is the temp sending unit where your fuel line is circled in black? I have a plug in the area where it is circled white which i was going to use for the sender...

 

[Commando440]

I'm running both my fans on a relay that is wired to battery. I have my temp sensor in the top of the radiator and comes on at 180 F. After driving the car and parking it the fans will run for 3 to 5 minutes after the engine is off. At first I had the sensor in the thermostat housing but the fan would run for almost 10 minutes after turning the engine off and I didn't want it to run that long so I moved the sensor to the radiator.

Thanks for your info.
So your fans wouldnt run constantly then would they? If they are connected to temp sensor..

I am just confused because my friend is adamant that id need 1 fan to run constantly and 1 to kick in when sensor detects, but nothing ive read tells me that continuoulsy running the fans is a good idea.

 

[1970FuryConv]

Thank you for your thoughts.
In your photo- is the temp sending unit where your fuel line is circled in black? I have a plug in the area where it is circled white which i was going to use for the sender...

View attachment 556217

My temp sender is at the brass fitting with white sealant visible to the lower left of your black circle. I think the white circle area that you choose with the plug installed would work just as well. I admit, I don't know what running the temp sensor at the "top hose" means.

Also, I agree with using the temp sender to activate the fans via a relay.

 

[Commando440]

My temp sender is at the brass fitting with white sealant visible to the lower left of your black circle. I think the white circle area that you choose with the plug installed would work just as well. I admit, I don't know what running the temp sensor at the "top hose" means.

Also, I agree with using the temp sender to activate the fans via a relay.

Ahh yes, i see. I also have that temp sensor there but that runs my temp gauge im pretty sure (??)
Do you think i could splice in and attach the fan wires there?

Sorry, i am a bit of a novice.

There is fitting you can get that gets spliced into top radiator hose which has a threaded hole which the sender gets screwed into. It is what i was reccommended to use, however ive already got the wire run neatly and ready to attatch at the top of the housing.

I think i will connect both fans to the sender, but also run an optional over-ride switch.

 

[Justin Plant]

Consider this, there are NO new or newer cars that run their fans constantly. All of them turn on and off when needed. Running the fan constantly wears the fan out, and taxes the charging system big time. I have an electric fan assembly from Be Cool on my El Camino, it came with everything needed for install, it looks great and performs it job very well.

 

[MONC440]

Thanks for your info.
So your fans wouldnt run constantly then would they? If they are connected to temp sensor..

I am just confused because my friend is adamant that id need 1 fan to run constantly and 1 to kick in when sensor detects, but nothing ive read tells me that continuoulsy running the fans is a good idea.

Both fans run only when the radiator is above 180 F. The sensor provides the ground to the relay that turns the fans on.
The only time I have ever seen people run the fan continuously is if they don’t have a sensor control for the fan.

 

[MONC440]

Ahh yes, i see. I also have that temp sensor there but that runs my temp gauge im pretty sure (??)
Do you think i could splice in and attach the fan wires there?

Sorry, i am a bit of a novice.

There is fitting you can get that gets spliced into top radiator hose which has a threaded hole which the sender gets screwed into. It is what i was reccommended to use, however ive already got the wire run neatly and ready to attatch at the top of the housing.

I think i will connect both fans to the sender, but also run an optional over-ride switch.

The sensor for your temperature gauge and the one you need for your fan sensor are two different types so you can’t control your fans from the temp gauge sensor.

 

[Commando440]

Thank you everyone for your great knowledge and input.
I have a solid plan now and will be connecting both fans to sensor, with an over-ride swith to keep my friend happy.

 

[MONC440]

Keep in mind if you put the fan sensor on the engine and your fans are running off battery voltage they will probably run a long time after you turn the engine off. If run the fans off the ignition voltage then they would turn off with the engine.

The way most car manufactures do it is to allow the fans to run after the engine is off but are on a timer so they don't keep running and run down the battery.

If you want to be able to control each fan separately and want to have a timer for shut off like the OEM's do you can buy this,

Dakota Digital PAC-2800BT Electronic Fan Controller 70 Amp with Bluetooth Control
User-settable on and off temperatures.
Key-off run time adjustable from 0-5 minutes.
Works with many stock temp gauge/senders.
Can be directly connected to a Dakota Digital plastic-control box instrument system (does not work with earlier systems with aluminum control box). When used in conjunction with BIM-compatible Dakota Digital instrumentation or a BIM-01-2, a single cable transfers speed and temperature data to the PAC-2800BT allowing the fan to be shut off at an adjustable highway speed!
OBD-II compatible (with purchase of BIM-01-2, sold separately).
Dedicated temp sender available.
Bluetooth enabled for use with mobile programming/ setup app.
LED readout for simple programming.

 

[1970FuryConv]

The sensor for your temperature gauge and the one you need for your fan sensor are two different types so you can’t control your fans from the temp gauge sensor.

What makes the 2 sensors different? Couldn't the gauge temp sensor ground the relay?

Thank you everyone for your great knowledge and input.
I have a solid plan now and will be connecting both fans to sensor, with an over-ride switch to keep my friend happy.

I'm always leary of connecting current loads to battery power, because they can draw down the battery. I have never had a heat soak issue as long as I had good radiator and fan shroud. If you decide to go off battery instead of ignition, I strongly endorse having a shut-off timer in your plan.

 

[MONC440]

What makes the 2 sensors different? Couldn't the gauge temp sensor ground the relay?

If you used the Dakota Digital controller then yes you could probably use the stock temperature sensor.

If you don’t have a controller the sensor used to ground the relay is really a switch that closes above a certain temperature and is open below that temperature. So basically it is on or off. Your stock temperature sensor is not a switch it is a sensor that changes resistant with heat and that makes your gauge move.

 

[1970FuryConv]

If you used the Dakota Digital controller then yes you could probably use the stock temperature sensor.

If you don’t have a controller the sensor used to ground the relay is really a switch that closes above a certain temperature and is open below that temperature. So basically it is on or off. Your stock temperature sensor is not a switch it is a sensor that changes resistant with heat and that makes your gauge move.

Very informative. Thanks!

 

[marty koirtyohann]

Greetings all you wonderful experts.
Long time researcher, first time poster.
I have a few questions regarding my upgrade that i cant find direct answers in the post history.
68 Fury/383- so i damaged my radiator and fan and while looking for a new radiator (i am in australia so very hard to find parts for these beauties), i have decided on an aluminium radiator with dual electric fans. I know there are alot of people that do not like these and i reapect that.
Ive bought a quality wiring kit and have looked at many different diagrams and instructions for install.
My question is- i have recently had people tell me that i need to run 1 fan directly to alternator to run constantly? But all research that i do tells me to run both to the temp sender? It is an 85degrees celcius sender.
What do you guys reccomend please?
Also, what is the best place to put sender? I was planning to screw into top of water pump, but have been told by these same people that it will be no good and to put it at the top hose?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Luke

if u have a good max cool ac radiator (copper/ brass ) & the right heavy duty temperature controld fan clutch u will not have any over heating issues , also get a high flow thermostat a 150-180 no more

 

[marty koirtyohann]

my set up