Fan clutch operation

[Mickalo]

Was planning on changing my belt and idler pulley tomorrow and was checking the fan clutch, with engine cold, it seemed a little stiffer then I would have thought with a cold engine. It turns by hand but I thought it be a bit more "free wheeling" when the engine is cold. Would there be some resistance turning the fan when engine is cold? Also what exactly does the electrical connections to the fan do is this tied into the temp sensor circuit ?

this is a 2010 xlt 4.0

TIA

 

[Davidm53]

Checked the fan before the summer season. It does not freewheel when cold, has some resistance.
Went to a radiator shop also and had them spin it.
Long story short, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
My temp gauge is rock solid in all temp ranges.
Starting out on a hot day the fan will be loud for a min or so then calms down.
4.0 also.

 

[Mickalo]

ok make sense haven't any issues with it was mainly more curious about it. also wasn't really sure what that elec. connection does with the fan.

 

[Davidm53]

Probably connects to the computer and engages the fan if needed.

 

[Mickalo]

that was my thinking maybe tied into the engine temp circuit some how. I gotta ford electrical manual for this explorer but need to take some time to dig through it .... electrical is not my strong point

 

[michael loibl]

The electric connection controls the engagement percentage of the fan clutch. Lots of slippage relative to engine speed when engine is cold. Very little slippage when engine is hot. It also engages when AC is on to give maximum airflow over the condenser, even when engine is not hot

 

[Mickalo]

thanks for the info