• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

P***ing agrevating ...

G

gwstang

Member
as swmbo would say when she really gets mad at me...lol

I have one last problem with the stang I would like to get out of the way! I did post about having a problem with this before, but would like to have another opinion on the fan motor itself.

I have the Taurus 2 speed fan on the '66. I wired it in with a heavy duty relay (30 amp) and soldered in the connections with heavy gauge wire. The first relay melted down and blew the maxi-fuse (20 amp) (and also messed up the fan controller I had mounted in the cabin) after a car show one evening (all the camaro guys (bastards didn't even offer to help) were laughing for sure. I've been using this same setup for a couple of years with no problem! So, I had to hot wire the fan to get home. I put in another relay, 30 amp, and just set up the high speed only on the fan (no fan controller, just on/off with the ignition switch powering the relay on/off). Today we went to Verizon (35 miles each way since I live out in the sticks) and everything was lovely. Stopped by the toys for tots and gave the Marines in full dress uniform a $20 to help out. Shook their hands and thanked them for their service to our Nation! :bowdown I have always liked their uniforms even though I was a Navy medic '75-'79 and lived with them on Okinawa for a year and a half. Great bunch and took great care of their medics/docs. Anyhow, of course I had to do a little Burnout when I left and it was all clear on the road (since they oohed and awwed over the car and swmbo of course). Shortly thereafter the temp started rising so I pulled over to check and no fan, again :sm_PHF swmbo is like "what now"? So, once again I had to hot wire the fan to get home as the relay holder (part the relay plugs into) was melted and probably the points in the relay were fused also. The maxi-fuse was okay this time. If you have trudged through so far, this is the question I have. Could the fan motor be going bad and pulling too many amps? It worked fine for a long time with the low and high being controlled with the fan controller. Maybe the fan motor is not made for the high speed only to be on all the time? How do I check amps with my little handy dandy cheapo electric meter? Maybe I just need to wire in the lower speed and not the higher speed? Thanks for taking time to read this and any suggestions. I am getting very tired of :shee when we go somewhere.
 
The wire is heavier gauge than the smaller wires the connector (oem) wires are!
Yes, the part the relay plugs into is melting. I have the ground directly to the battery ground.
 
Sounds like a resistance issue. Are all wires into the relay the same size?

Are there any that change sizes along the line?

I've seen that problem a couple of times. One was loose female side terminals were the relay plugs in and another where the power side wires were of different gauges.

Have you replaced the actual connector?

A motor with high resistance could be a factor also.
 
I had the like issue with my last '66. PO had no issues with the setup as installed. I had a relay melt....ended up having to get a better quality relay from an after market fan manufacturer. After that, it worked again.... I had other issues that came into play but that was just getting the system beefed up a bit.
 
"Have you replaced the actual connector?"
Yes, when the last one (smaller than this one) melted, I ordered a 30 amp fan relay with the heavier gauge wiring.

"A motor with high resistance could be a factor also."
I'm really thinking this is it because the first fan relay lasted for several years until all of a sudden this problem started. Guess that is the problem with salvage yard parts, never know how much they were "used" before we start using them...lol

Pete, I am thinking of just getting another fan just for s**ts and grins to eliminate that part.
 
Hey guys. I went ahead and wired in one last heavy duty relay plug/30 amp relay, that I have, and just wired the low speed in this time. I thought I would try that out tomorrow and see how it goes. I ran it for awhile just sitting in the shop and the wires only get a little warm not hot like the high speed was causing. The low speed on these fans are probably faster than a lot of aftermarket fans...lol Maybe this will do the job. Mustang is starting to embarrass me when I go somewhere in it. :char
 
I would try for a 50 amp relay and run a quality 12 AWG (keep the run short) with all connections soldered. On the two speed fan motor, are you using the high speed wire only? I am guessing that fan will pull 30 amps or more and is stressing your relay and wire size. Something like this would do it ......

http://www.ronfrancis.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AR%2D70
 
Didn't all of your troubles start the day you visited me and your car pissed all over my driveway? Hmmmm?
 
"67 evil eleanor" said:
I would try for a 50 amp relay and run a quality 12 AWG (keep the run short) with all connections soldered. On the two speed fan motor, are you using the high speed wire only? I am guessing that fan will pull 30 amps or more and is stressing your relay and wire size. Something like this would do it ......

http://www.ronfrancis.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AR%2D70
Click to expand...

This is precisely the problem. This fan draws a little more than 30a on the high speed continuously, and even more upon startup. Typical quotes are around 35a continuous and around 100a startup. You could probably get away with a 30a on the low speed, but no way will it last on the high speed. A 40a or 50a is what people typically use on these fans. I think 10ga wire is used on the fan's high speed pigtail and would run 8ga wire to the connector if you have the battery in the trunk.

If you have the spare cash, the DCControls PWM fan controller is a sweet setup, and is rated for 50a. Its not a quick solution though, as they are hand built and the lead time is often a few months. I'm running the Taurus 2 speed with the controller and couldn't be happier.
 
"Midlife" said:
Didn't all of your troubles start the day you visited me and your car pissed all over my driveway? Hmmmm?
Click to expand...

Ha Ha, Nawww, I hired a witch doctor to do some concoctions and wave some zebra tails around while mumbling incoherently. :roll
 
"gwstang" said:
Ha Ha, Nawww, I hired a witch doctor to do some concoctions and wave some zebra tails around while mumbling incoherently. :roll
Click to expand...

So.....you PAID someone to put the Midlife Curse on you.......wow....
 
"This is precisely the problem."

Well darn, I was sure I read somewhere that it was 30amps on start up and a little over 20 while running. I will order a new relay and perhaps a new controller while I am at it. It's still odd that I ran the same setup for at least 2 years when I rebuilt the 5.0 HO and installed a new aluminum radiator etc... I was using this controller before http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DAK-PAC-2700/ and it worked great until the relay smoked and smoked the controller at the same time. What I liked about this controller is that it worked with the autometer gauge and sender, just program it for that (or other options) and of course the 2 different speeds on/off settings.
 
"AzPete" said:
So.....you PAID someone to put the Midlife Curse on you.......wow....
Click to expand...

I think he must have sacrificed a sheep or something to make it backfire so badly on me :nut
 
I have the same Taurus fan and have only used the high speed. The controller I'm using is nothing more than the $40 summit thermoswitch, relay and breaker combination. The only problem I had is the Summit kit came with a 20 Amp breaker that would overload and open, then cool down and connect back up. For the atleast the first season it worked fine. About 2 years ago I noticed a click sound that sounded much like a relay clicking on and off. It got to the point where it was doing it about once a minute. It ended up being the 20 breaker tripping when it overloaded and then when the breaker cooled down it the fan would re engage. I'm guessing when it was originally installed it probably did it some but I didn't notice. When I discovered the problem I replaced it with a 30 amp breaker. I'm not sure, but I think I'm using a 40 amp relay. You might want to try adding a 30 amp breaker so that it would be the first thing to fail if it over loads, but won't leave you stranded since as soon as it cools down it will re engage. Mine hasn't tripped since I went to the 30 amp breaker. If you need a new fan and don't want to go to the pick and pull, I noticed Advanced Autopart sells them shroud and all for $119. With their P20 code, you can get it for under $100 delivered if you buy it online.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top