adding a dedicated transcooler fan

[SPOT MY 6]

I am going to add a dedicated trans cooler fan to my car. I want to know what is needed as far as wiring. If this is a complete stand-alone setup, do I need to have some sort of relay? Basically I just want to wire up a switch in the car to turn the fan on. I dont know much about electrical stuff so please be specific if you can. Thanks in advance.


ps. I am adding a tcooler fan because I street race a lot and unfortunately street races dont get off quick like they do at the track and by the time we are ready to get down my trans temp is too high for comfort.

 

[Shane]

It depends on the wire guage that is required, as well on your personal taste. If the wire gauge is small enough to be inside of the car, you could just run a wire from the battery to a switch, from the switch to the fan. Take the ground from the fan and wire it to a known good ground.

That would be the ghetto way to do it. Here's how I would do it.

Run a 14 gauge wire from the IGN terminal on the fuse box to a switch. From the switch connect it to a relay on the switching terminal. Take a bigger wire, maybe 10 or 8 gauge and connect it from the battery to the power terminal on the relay. Take some more 10/8 gauge wire and connect it from the fan to the switched power terminal on the relay. Ground the fan with some more 10/8 gauge wire and you're good to go.

Wiring it this way will run the trans fan only with the key in the on position. That way you are protected from over drawing the fusebox, as well as draining the battery if you forget to shut the fan off.

You could put some fuses in there too. Maybe a 3 Amp between the switch and the fusebox. To figure out what size fuse to use for the fan, do this:

If the fan lists it's amperage, use this formula:

I(fan) * 1.2 = I(fuse)

Where I(fan) = Fan Amperage and I(fuse) = Size of fuse to use

If the fan lists it's wattage, use this formula:

(P(fan) / 13.5VDC) *1.2 = I(fuse)

Where P(fan) = Fan wattage and again I(fuse) = Size of fuse to use


HTH

 

[Shane]

Oh yeah....

STREET RACING IS BAD!

 

[SPOT MY 6]

Aweosme writeup. Thanks man!

 

[Shane]

No problem, man. If you ever have any electrical questions, give me a buzz. I'm an Electronics Technician by trade, so I can do anything electrical on these cars it's the mechanical stuff that gets me sometimes.

 

[SinistrV6]

Shane,

I sent you an e-mail on an electrical problem I'm having.
Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mark b]

It may be a tad more expensive but you could follow Shane's excellent instructions and buy the Painless wiring system for fans. They make a whole bunch of wiring solutions. You can find them at Summit, Jegs, etc. The fan kit gives you the wire, fuses, relays, etc. It also has 2 different kinds: thermostatically controlled and non-therm.

BTW Shane - when I do mine I'll email you if I need help. I'm up the road in Milford, CT

Are you at the sub base?

 

[Shane]

Richard- I emailed you back, hope I got you on the right path at least.

Mark- Yup, I'm on the sub base. For at least the next 1138 days . If you need help let me know. You wouldn't believe how bored I am on shore duty, I would love to help you wrench a bit. I'm so bored I have waxed the GN three times this week alone.