Dual Fans

[Red C5]

Hey guys. Alradco will be coming out with a dual fan kit in the very near future. I have a thread in the Alradco section of turbobuick, here http://turbobuick.com/forums/threads/dual-fan-kit-alradco.386673/

Before we put it together I thought I'd ask to see if anyone has any other input? Anyone running a dual fan set up, let me know what you like and don't like about what you're using. Thanks.

Peter

edit: changed link to finished product.

 

[turbo nasty]

On my dual fans I added a caspers fan day module that delays the start of the second fan 3/4 of a second. This helps the electrical system from in rush current. I believe all the newer caspers fan harnesses have this. Would be a added nice feature if you supply a harness.

 

[Nick Micale]

On my dual fans I added a caspers fan day module that delays the start of the second fan 3/4 of a second. ........

Good point Jason, but we generally use a different approach.

A really good dual fan setup should move twice as much air as the stock fan, so we wire one fan to work with the computer, and the other with a manual switch.

This offers 2 advantages, one is dual fans make it hard to keep the engine up to optimum temp in cold weather, and even in normal temps, you usually do not need 2 fans running.

Second, the switch allows cool down w/o the engine running in hot weather, or after a hard run.

Even if Peter supplies a harness with the delay, it could be wired with either method.

Another thing we like when working with alum radiators is that nuts, or flanges, can be welded on to make it easy for installing and mounting the dual fan setup.

 

[turbo nasty]

Good point, Nick do you wire the pass side fan manually since thats the cooler half?

Ive actually never considered this and have always had a manual switch for both to come one.
Biggest reason was wiring off the diag port and that controlled both. I think Im going to do some fan wiring changes with this engine swap

You very wise sensei.....I happiry forrow your guidance...LOL

 

[Red C5]

Nick, thanks for the suggestions and ideas. It was good to talk to you tonight.

Any other ideas, just keep them coming guys.

Peter

 

[SpeeednV6]

I have the Ramchargers duals. They work good. I have an 07 Cad. ESV with duals and man...they will pull the shirt off my back! Now if you can utilize and create a fan set-up of this type, might be the best fans ever!!

 

[Crazi]

Bringing this thread back up from the dead to try to figure out if the phenomenon that I am experiencing is normal and I JUST figured it out today or its specific to my setup.

I have my fans wired like above. One fan is computer controlled and the other is on a switch. Since I installed the fans, I was thinking that they pull more air so they have to work better (2000cfm each). Well they didn't really. It cooled the car down but not like I was expecting. So I order an Alradco Radiator (to replace the FBody one) and finally get it installed. While I have the fans off, I notice that it looks like the computer controlled fan has been pulling air in thru the manual controlled fan instead of thru the radiator. Basically negating the shroud that both fans are bolted to.

So get everything put back together and run a test. I run the car like normal but since its 60+ degrees today, I expect that it will run a little hotter. Ok so it heats up and stabilizes and after about 20 mins on the highway, I get stuck in traffic. It heats up to ~185 and then stays about 180 even tho the computer fan is running the whole time (turn on temp is 170-175). So at this point, I turn on the second fan and the temps start dropping. Gets down to turn off temp and I turn the fan off (computer fan already off). It heats back up to high 170's eventually and stays there again until I turn the manual fan on. Anyone seen anything like this before??

Probably going to just order a delay relay but would like to keep the setup as it is wired now if at all possible. The fans draw at least 25amps each!

PS. Have a front mount intercooler, two large trans coolers (laid out so they are end to end and flat against the rad), and then the radiator. Removed the AC condensor YEARS back.

 

[dpasadena]

On my dual fans I added a caspers fan day module that delays the start of the second fan 3/4 of a second. This helps the electrical system from in rush current. I believe all the newer caspers fan harnesses have this. Would be a added nice feature if you supply a harness.

Yes the delay would be nice. My car would stumble pretty good when both fans came on at idle with an older Caspers harness

 

[RmvBfrFlght]

Interesting, I can see what you are saying occurring. If there isn't a divider between the fans on the shroud, then a lot of air will be pulled through the non-running fan.

I would check if there is a divider, and if there is one, do something to seal it better to the radiator. If there isn't a divider then making one should do the trick.

RemoveBeforeFlight

 

[Cheeseburger]

A harness that plugs direct into the xfi or factory ecm would be nice, why plug into 25 year old relays/wiring!

 

[Red C5]

Our harness does not have a 3/4 second delay. With the harness we had Caspers build for us, only one fan turns on when the computer calls for "low" speed. The second fan turns on when the computer calls for "high" and at that point they both run. We didn't see a point in running both fans if they weren't needed. No manual switch but as Nick pointed out, can easily be added if someone wanted.

 

[Crazi]

There is no divider between the fans on my car. Tested a shop towel behind the second fan while the computer controlled fan was on and its pulling a good amount of air thru the second fan... Looks like I'll have to change my setup...

Red C5, didn't mean to thread jack but was wondering if this was a common dual fan in the same shroud issue. The Alradco Radiator is an AWESOME piece by the way!! Thanks again...

 

[Hotrodbuick]

When I run dual fans on my care in the past I cut out both holes for fans to mount to and hold up my shroud I made and measure from radiator to shroud and usually take a piece of angle and weld to shroud so it separates the two fans. Has worked in the past for me. Just a thought

 

[Red C5]

There is no divider between the fans on my car. Tested a shop towel behind the second fan while the computer controlled fan was on and its pulling a good amount of air thru the second fan... Looks like I'll have to change my setup...

Red C5, didn't mean to thread jack but was wondering if this was a common dual fan in the same shroud issue. The Alradco Radiator is an AWESOME piece by the way!! Thanks again...

Glad you like the radiator. You don't have the Alradco fans though if I remember correctly?

I may as well update this thread with our finished product. We offer two options, standard/thin fans and an extreme kit for the guys running big front mounts. Our test car is in Florida and was a challenge keeping cool on summer days.

ALRADCO also offers several finishes like on our radiators, the standard aluminum finish, black powder coat, and a chrome powder coat which I'll have to get a picture of. The shrouds are designed to work with ALRADCO radiators as well as stock. Also, the shroud covers the entire core to maximize coverage.

As mentioned above, we had Caspers Electronics design and build a custom wiring harness which they did an absolutely perfect job of doing. In low mode one fan turns on and when the A/C is turned on or computer calls for high mode, the second fan turns on. Few pictures below.

Extreme Kit in black

Standard/Slim Fans in standard finish

Standard/Slim fans in black:

 

[TLI]

What is the difference in the CFM of the two styles?

 

[Red C5]

What is the difference in the CFM of the two styles?

About 1700 on the slim kit and 2800 on the larger.
The following is what the owner of the test car in Florida had to say.

Let me start off by saying that I am extremely happy with the fan kit that I tested. Since I live in Florida and have a gigantic custom-built front-mount intercooler that covers the entire radiator, I was in need of some fans that could really move some air. With the stock fan, the engine always ran hot, especially while running the air conditioning. 200 degrees was the norm, and if I had the A/C on while sitting in traffic, the temps would climb towards 220. I resorted to driving with the A/C off, which wan't very pleasant in 90+ degree heat. Now, with the new extreme-fan kit, I've seen the temps drop by as much as 30 degrees and the car actually runs cooler the slower I go in traffic. It just plain works, and works well. The fan shroud utilizes every square inch of the radiator and the fans move a ton of air.

Here is an interesting side note. Since my engine ran at 200+ degrees all the time, I had switched to 10w-40 to improve the idle oil pressure a bit. Now since my engine runs so much cooler, I was able to switch back to 10w-30 because the oil pressure was so much higher.

A huge thanks to Alradco for bringing another fine product to the Buick community.

 

[jasjamz]

So I guess the Alradco does not have a divider in between the two fans....

 

[Red C5]

So I guess the Alradco does not have a divider in between the two fans....

Correct.