Car Electric Fan Upgrade
A car electric fan is a simple upgrade that improves airflow through your radiator and helps prevent overheating. It also turns on at a lower temperature, meaning your engine can reach optimal temperatures faster.
While adding an electric fan to your daily driver or street rod is easy, selecting the right one can be a challenge. There are a few key factors to consider, such as fitment and blade style.
Power
A car can make the most horsepower and deliver the best performance when it is running at optimal temperatures. To ensure the engine is cool enough, an electric fan is used to circulate air and keep the temperature down. At JEGS, we offer a wide selection of electric fans for cars to help keep your engine and radiator in the ideal operating range. In addition, we carry electric fan wiring kits to make installing your new fan simple and easy.
A simple fan wiring system can support one or two fans with a relay circuit that is controlled by either a manual switch (typically mounted in the radiator or on the engine block) or a temperature switch that activates the power circuit to turn on the fan at a set temperature. Alternatively, the car computer (abbreviated as ECU or ECM) can be used to control the fan using a pulse width modulation technique that can vary the speed of the fans.
When you have an electric pusher fan installed, the first thing you should do is check to see if it is actually pushing air through the radiator and not sucking it in, which can be done by letting your car warm up until the fan turns on, and then feeling for air flow at the front of the vehicle. If you feel no airflow, or if the fan motor is humming or grinding, it could be a sign that it’s burning out.
Noise
Car electric fans can create a lot of noise, which can be distracting and annoying to passengers in the vehicle. This can also make it difficult to have conversations or listen to the radio while the vehicle is idling. A car’s fan noise may also indicate that the vehicle is in need of service or there is a problem with the air filter or engine.
One way to fix this problem is to check if there are any loose screws or bolts that can be tightened. This can help reduce the car electric fan amount of rattling noise from the radiator fan. Another option is to try lubricating the motor with a type of lubricant that’s designed for electrical components. This can help quiet the noise and can usually be done at home.
The results from the simulation showed that a strong tonal noise existed near the blades, rig, and hub and that its contribution was much higher than that of the pressure side of the airfoils. The OSPL values at Z/D = 5.4 in the far-field region decreased approximately 6 dB with distance doubling. However, the OSPL in the near-field region decreased less than this value due to the complex sound fields of the fan and the reflections by objects, such as equipment installation and walls. The frequency history of the tonal noise peaks were well predicted in the near-field region, and the prediction accuracy in the far-field was acceptable up to 800 Hz.
Maintenance
A car cooling fan is a critical part of your vehicle’s cooling system. It moves air across the radiator and coolant to help your engine stay cool, but it can also break down over time. Unlike mechanical fans with viscous clutches which draw power from your engine’s drive belt an electric fan is independent of the engine and therefore does not affect engine horsepower or fuel economy. However, this also means that the electrical parts involved in controlling the operation of the fan can fail.
Modern electric radiator fans are either switched on and car electric fan off by the ignition switch or a thermostatic switch – which only activates the fan once the engine coolant has reached the operating temperature set by the computer. If your radiator fan is still not working after checking the fuses, the sensor or switch, try using jumper wires to direct power directly to the motor by bypassing the switch. If the motor starts to turn, then the switch or sensor is at fault and will need replacing.
The fan itself is a simple DC motor and will normally have a connector plug that can be disconnected easily, although some are attached by clips and bolts so take care to avoid breaking them. Using jumper wires, connect one end to the battery positive terminal and the other to the motor terminals. If the motor starts to spin then it is at fault and needs to be replaced.
Repair
Most modern cars rely on an electric motor radiator fan to start working when the engine reaches a certain temperature. If your car’s fan doesn’t start running, it may be a sign that the cooling system needs attention.
In most cases, the problem will be caused by a bad relay. The relay controls the delivery of power to the fan, so if it fails, your car’s cooling fan will not run. You can find the location of the relay in your car’s owner manual. Once you know where it is located, shut off the engine and open the fuse box. Remove the relay and check for current at its terminals. If there is no current at pin 30 and 85 (the ones for the thermo-switch) and none at the terminal for the fan lead, the relay is bad and must be replaced.
If the relay isn’t bad, then you’ll likely need to replace your car’s fan motor. This is one of the more expensive repairs you can make, but it is still fairly straightforward. You should be able to find a replacement for your vehicle’s specific model at your local auto parts store. Typically, you’ll need to pay between $80 and $150 for the part and installation. Before you do this, though, you should let the coolant in your engine cool down.
