How To: Install Electric Fan WITHOUT going aftermarket (Let the PCM do the cooling!) | Page 4 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

How To: Install Electric Fan WITHOUT going aftermarket (Let the PCM do the cooling!)

I apologize for the delay here, Since having Dr. Jack and Baxter Bandit at the house for repairs (At least Bandit Customs is staying busy :) ), my side experiments are put off to the side. My next step, however, is to intergrate the fuel pump controls of the VLCM to Blue and see if that makes the difference i need. :salute:
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





subscribing

This is a pretty cool project. I like OEM parts too. Once you nail down the wiring and parts required I plan to make this swap too.
 












Any updates yet? I'm wanting to put electric fans on my 99 v8 sport.
 






No updates yet, with the emergency motor swap in shade and Blue's transmission giving up the ghost, this side project got side lined. I still got everything out, but will have to spend a good day modifying the stock first gen engine bay harness (mainly the fuel pump relay stuff) to further test if this is going to work. Once I have confirmed that (if it's confirmable) then I will do the fan shroud modification and install it and doublely check that everything works properly
 






Its been almost 2 months. Did you get your needs taken care of? I was thinking about going to the junk yard and picking up a parts list of stuff off of a mark 8 and seeing what I could do with it.
 






No updates as of yet, but by all means, go pick up the stuff and experiement with it! Always better to have two heads working towards a common goal!
 






Well I am OBD II so I think it might be a little different. I don't know if the 2 systems will mesh.
 






From my research, it would *appear* that for OBD-II, a 96+ style VLCM would be best, where as for OBD-1, a 95 or older VLCM would work best
 






Ah man, what a tease! Stumbled on this thread trying to figure the best way to hook up my e-fan, spent 20 minutes reading through, and there's no happy ending?! So far the crummy Hayden thermo switch I bought appears to be the best bet...
 






I have been looking on info for this too. I have found for obd2 that the mark 8 and a 2000 explorer use the same color data lines. I need to get to the junk yard and start pulling some parts.
 






Subscribing as well. If this works, it'll be awesome. I'd much rather use an OEM controller.
 






Subscribing, OBD2 also. Just want to know how to wire it up so I can make it happen.
 






Man...I would love to see this work out...but I think you are going to have some obstacles that you are unable to overcome.

First...keep in mind that PWM does not change the voltage to the load. Your meter will show it does...but that is because it us unable to interpret what is going on. PWM takes system voltage, and pulses it at different frequencies to control the load. So if you are running 13.5 volts, it will be 13.5 volts "on and off" at differing frequencies to control the load. This may appear on a meter as a drop in voltage when in fact it's not. A good analogy I heard was riding a bike and pedaling as hard as you can...but only keeping a medium steady speed. You would pedal like hell, then coast, then pedal, coast, etc. The amount of effort you use pedaling (voltage) would remain constant...you would just use it intermittently. If you were to connect a PWM output to a scope, you would see a square wave.

Ok...the inputs needed to utilize this module. I don't think you need to worry about the fuel pump inputs. That module also controls that...but we don't need it. I would ignore it. What you need is the SCP data. Can you grab that data somewhere and tie it in? But the big question, are the Parameter ID's (PIDS) from the Explorer the same as what was utilized on the early Mark?

And once you have that all hooked up and accepting data, you now have a module that is programmed to match the needs of the Mark. When does it turn on, off, go to high, etc. If you can't program the module to your specific needs, you are stuck with the requirements of the Mark. That may be just fine...but I don't know either.

Finally, if you go to a 97-98 Mark module, I'm pretty sure that would utilize the Multiplexing network (CANBUS) and is of no use to most of us here. My 99 still uses SCP even though it's OBD II compliant. However, there are aftermarket companies for stereo integration (i.e. PAC Audio) that build modules for either grabbing data off a CANBUS and changing it to usable data, or putting data on the CANBUS. I wonder if it's possible there is something already out there capable of doing this switchover. Just a thought.

NICE59...please keep up the good work and let us know what you find...I am very interested in this. This module would answer a lot of questions. Also, do you think it's possible that WDS could reprogram the module if you found the software somewhere?

Oh yea...to the guy who thought it was a BAD idea to give control of the fans to the PCM (can't remember his name) ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME????? Computer control has been the single greatest (and most reliable) achievement in automotive history. Why would anyone want to go backwards if you didn't have to?? Show me one factory vehicle from the pre-computer era that has over 660 hp, a/c and could be driven by grandma to the grocery store.
 






:( i was hoping for some answers. i would LOVE to use this. looks like i need to make time to get to the junk yard! i had the hayden setup on a mark 8 fan and it would burn up relays and wiring. i was always scared of over heating due to fan failure to the point of putting the stock fan back in.
 






This is a very interesting topic, I don't know if these will help, but I found these online for the 93-95 VCRM.

vlcm_01.png


vlcm_02.png


vlcm-03.jpg


From online searching multiple forums, and sites, it seems the VCRM doesn't turn the fan on till 215* and shuts off at 205*
 






custom tune?

I think the main obstacle with the idea of using the PCM to control the cooling fan on our Explorers is that since the PCM communicates with the VCRM via the SCP (OBD) bus the firmware will probably need to be modified to enable it. I suspect the Ford generic strategy (PCM source code) is tailored for specific years and models before being compiled and loaded into the PCM. Since the Explorer was not produced with a VCRM the PCM firmware probably does not support it.
 






Yeah apparently the PCM controls the VCRM fan temp on/off settings. I guess there is always the Volvo 2speed fan controller, with the BMW thermoswitch, or possibly try a Ford CCRM with a thermoswitch.
 






My apologies for putting this project on hold - between work, running my own business, and personal projects, i have just kinda sat on this. both previous posts bring up good points, as the pcm may in fact sent specific commands to the VLCM to activate (a more offensive, active method) instead of the VLCM monitors pids and determining fan strategy itself ( a more defensive, passive method). until i can spend a good day doing some testing, i will not be able to determine which method is relevant here...but i am hopeful :)
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I went to a Mark VIII fan on my 99 5.0. That took quite a bit as I had to switch to the late radiator, trim the threads from the pump, and move the radiator/condenser forward about 1/4" to get it to fit. But it does fit nice now. However, I could not find a controller that is capable of handling the power requirements of the Mark VIII fan and still have all the options I want. The Painless is the closest, but still lacked a couple of things I wanted. So I built my own controller using relays, TR7 relays, BMW temp switch, etc. I have to say guys, this has really turned out extremely well. The only thing I don't like about it is it is not PWM...and at this power level, I really think that is important. I will continue to work on that. However, to mitigate the hit to the electrical system, the power side of the fan/relays (and ground) are connected directly to the battery. I use an Optima battery that has both top terminals (that I use for the normal vehicle cables) and side terminals that I use for just the fan. This puts most the hit on the reserve and capacity of the battery rather than the vehicle electrical system. Volt meters at various points around the vehicle indicate that this indeed is helping.

The relays and TR7's I use see no more than 200 milliamps at any one time. (except for the power relays) They will last a long long time at that power level. The power relays ( the ones used to actually power low speed and hi speed of the fan) are both 100A relays...which is about twice the rating I need. I run 8 ga wire from the battery to the fans through the power relays. This setup is very robust and should last a long long time without issue.

If I do have a failure of a component, there is a high probability the setup will default to high speed on the fan. But even if that fails, keep in mind that any speed above about 35 mph will cool the engine sufficiently. Just shut off the a/c and head to the barn at as high a speed as you can get away with.
 






Back
Top