Electric Fans

[jacksorroche]

I found a dual electric fan set up on a 92 Pontiac Bonneville GTE and pulled it to see if it would fit on our cars. Although it looked tight, it seemed like it just might fit with a few extra mounting holes drilled.
Has anybody used the dual fan setup from these or any other car? Will the electrical system handle the load? Will I be able wire it in using the 87’s fan relays? Lastly, could I get some pointers as to which wires I should splice into? I am looking to go with the 87 ECM setup and would like to install the electric fan if possible. I would greatly appreciate all help on this.
Thanks

 

[mybuick]

i just did this with the ramchargers dual fan setup. for these you will need the racetronix dual fan harness and the 87 harness and computer.

 

[jacksorroche]

Bummer, I was hoping to get away with using my original harness.
Thanks for the info.

 

[mike85gn]

You can buy a fan relay harness from www.casperselectronics.com for hot air cars switching to an electric fan using the '87 ECM. It's an install-and-go option, and if you use the Ramchargers fan, it connects using the option harness from Ramchargers. Plug and play.

 

[WH1]

I personally wouldn't use the Bonneville fans with better choices out there such as:93-up F-body dual fans, 94-up Dodge Intrepid dual fans or some of the mid 90's-up Lincoln dual fans. You'll definitely need a couple of relays (high & low) and the Caspers kit with the 86/87 ECM will serve you better in the long run.

 

[esinger]

I'm glad this conversation has come up, because I was wanting to switch to an electric fan and was wondering what it takes to do this. I'm getting ready to do the 87 ECM conversion and after that's done I'm going to elmininate the fan.

So if I was to purchase everything straight out, would it be these:
Ramchargers #674001 $79.95 Dual speed electric fan 26 1/2 wide 15 1/4 tall 3 3/8 deep
Ramchargers #674002 $22.95 Direct plug in fan harness for Turbo Buick
Caspers #102066 $79.95 Fan Relay Installation Kit 84/85
Total: $182.85

Or could I go with these instead?
Ramchargers #674001 $79.95 Dual speed electric fan 26 1/2 wide 15 1/4 tall 3 3/8 deep
Ramchargers #62230103 $59.95 Fan-Thom II Electric Fan Relay w/Thermostat Protection
Total: $139.90

Is there an advantage to having the ECM control the fan?

Thanks

 

[BuickTV6]

If you even want to go an easier route you could always go to your local parts store and get an electric fan wiring kit with temp sensor. I picked one up for about 35 bux. In it came the relay, the wiring harness, instructions, and a temp sensor. You just insert the temp sensor into the rad fins, wire the system up as per instructions, and you have an electric fan fully operational. Mine kicks in when the rad temp hits 180 degrees, and shuts off when it gets to around 160. It can be adjusted as well. The kit allows me to run duel electric fans if I choose to do so, also let me wire the kit into the a/C compressor so the fan stays on when im running the A/C. I just went this route cause at the time I was running the stock 84/5 ECM. But since the system worked so well, I just decided to keep it for now. Just a little insight!

 

[Bryan C.]

If you are not set on a dual fan setup, a fiero fan works well and is almost exactly the same as the 86/87 fan. I bought mine from the boneyard for $20.

 

[3point8]

Electric fan installation

I've been thinking about upgrading to an electric fan also, even bought a Fiero fan assembly but haven't figured out the mounting details.
I notice no one mentioned what to use for the upper rad support bracket that the electric fan assembly bolts onto.

Any ideas?
Peter

 

[jacksorroche]

That is a very good point, 3point8. I havn't figured it out either. I was going to look for a mounting bracket from the Fiero or the Intrepid as mentioned in the earlier posts. I think with a few modifications I can get one of them to work.

 

[Racetronix]

The RC fan setup is by far the best performing and bang for the buck out there.

This can be combined with a Racetronix harness to work.
We can supply a connector set for the control end of the harness so you can hook it up to an ECM or an aftermarket control.
Flexlite and Derale make affordable reliable units.

 

[jacksorroche]

OK, great info on what to use for fans and harnesses. All I need now is for somebody to chime in on what they used for replacing the upper radiator bracket and shroud. I appreciate all help.

 

[BuickTV6]

For the fan shroud, I just took a hacksaw you cut out the shroud part of the support where the fan wpould spin, and removed the lower one. looks good, and looks like factory, take a look at the pics in my sig and you'll see how it looks. I have since gotten a bigger rad, and i just got an 86/7 electric fan and rad support which bolts right up.

 

[HOTSIX]

Relays

I have the RC dual fans mounted. Also have Casper's fan relay (ecm controlled fan) kit installed.

Will the single 30 amp relay in Caspers kit be enough for the dual fans ?

If not - how do you wire in another relay to the system to relieve the draw ?

Im not concerned with hi / low operation. Just want the thing to work and not blow up.

Anyone ?

 

[Racetronix]

Re: Relays

Originally posted by HOTSIX
I have the RC dual fans mounted. Also have Casper's fan relay (ecm controlled fan) kit installed.

Will the single 30 amp relay in Caspers kit be enough for the dual fans ?

If not - how do you wire in another relay to the system to relieve the draw ?

Im not concerned with hi / low operation. Just want the thing to work and not blow up.

Anyone ?

Doesn't that harness already have two relays?

 

[3point8]

Fan relays

Hotsix:
If it was me I would just get a relay with bigger contacts to handle the higher current load. That's assuming the draw is more than the existing relay contacts can handle. Do you know what the current draw is on one or both?
Peter

 

[Racetronix]

Re: Fan relays

Originally posted by 3point8
Hotsix:
If it was me I would just get a relay with bigger contacts to handle the higher current load. That's assuming the draw is more than the existing relay contacts can handle. Do you know what the current draw is on one or both?
Peter

Depending on the type of relay socket used he may or may not be able to upgrade the relay.
If the relay socket uses 280 series terminals then typically a relay with a contact rating of 30 amps max. is compatible.
If the relay socket uses 630 series terminals then the max. relay contact rating is 40 amps.
For reference the relays used in our harnesses are 40 amp rated using 630 series sockets.
If you are not sure what you have you should call Caspers and they can advise you.
Perhaps what you have is adequate?