Electric Fan- Decided on Chev HHR

[Dono]

My new fan controller showed up last night, and I plugged it in to my existing wiring harness.

Works perfectly.

I have not been able to test it under high engine load conditions, but in the driveway it cycled on low and then to high for intermittent periods as it should. Keeping an eye on the engine temp with my scanguage the temperature stayed right around 89 degrees, just like with the clutch fan.

Some stop and go this morning, and the controller/fan did its job just fine.

Temp Settings used with the sensor in the lower rad hose(Coolant exiting the rad) are
Low speed:160 degrees
High Speed 190 degrees
Im using a 180 degree thermostat.

 

[jd4242]

those temps are way to low.your fan will run all the time and second if it was to ever get to 160 that is way to cold for the motor unless you have a tune but even then its to cold

 

[Maniak]

I think those temps are good.

He is measuring those temps at the output of the Radiator. The water temp leaving the radiator is much cooler than that of the motor or at the top of the radiator. Its the job of the Thermostat to keep the motor warm by limiting how much cool water it lets into the motor.

The Fan our Van doesn't run on the freeway and just runs enough in town to cool off the coolant and ours is set even lower than his. We have ours set for "on" at around 170F, and off at around 130F+ and it is measured near the outlet. It even works well on 110F days.

Now, if you have it reading the temps of the motor output then yes, it would be running all the time.

~Mark

 

[jd4242]

o ok.that seems weird to me. seems to me you would get a more consecutive water temp by measuring the engine water temp.even if i run my fan nonstop i can't get my water temps under 175ish on a hot day

 

[Maniak]

Your seeing higher temps because your thermostat is slowing the water down and your measuring the hot water as it comes out of the engine into the radiator (I think that is where your sensor is.. I can't keep everything straight in my head).

Personally, I like controlling the coolant temp in the radiator by watching the radiator output temp and then let the thermostat control how hot the motor gets.

If you have a good thermostat you actually get a very consistent engine coolant temp (measured at the engine).

Here is a quick video I made when I way playing with the throttle on a 100F day. You can see how the coolant temp (measured as it comes out of the intake manifold) is very constant even when the fan turns on and then off. The thermostat is doing all the work to keep things warm enough.



~Mark

 

[jd4242]

yea it just would make me nervous having 130* water coming into a 200* motor but guess the thermostat controls the amount or flow of it

 

[Maniak]

yea it just would make me nervous having 130* water coming into a 200* motor but guess the thermoset controls the amount or flow of it

Yea, that does seem a bit scary, but its what already happens when your cruising down the road. Nothing is stopping the air from going through the radiator, so its cooling way down, just like the fan does.

~Mark

 

[Dono]

Thanks for the discussion guys. Always appreciate the input.

The painless performance guys also had issue with me using the lower rad hose until I explained the theory discussed here, and that the temps I was using were very low as I was using temps off coolant that had already been cooled by the radiator.

Testing last night using the scanguage to see engine temps showed that the temperatures were pretty good, and kept the engine at a constant temperature without the fan running very much.

After I'm comfortable that this setup is working, its on to the next mod. Im thinking Amsoil 3.5" filter and MAF adapter. Then cat back exhaust. Lastly..........a tune.

I lent my truck to a friend this morning. No phone call yet of it overheating.

 

[Dono]

Its about 85 degree's here, and in stop and go with the air conditioning on, the HHR fan definately can not keep up. ****.
Looks like I'll be going for a bigger fan.

 

[boominXplorer]

Its about 85 degree's here, and in stop and go with the air conditioning on, the HHR fan definately can not keep up. ****.
Looks like I'll be going for a bigger fan.

Take it off the pretty shroud you made it into and put it directly on the radiator, that might help some. Is your condenser free of debris for air to pull through?

I have ran a 18" thunderbird fan on my 302 with a 1 row radiator in 100 degree temps with the ac on with no issues. When my radiator went out I went to a 2 row with a dual electric fan setup from a 00 Cougar. Haven't had an issue with that setup either.

 

[Dono]

I hate it when a plan goes bad. On the way home on the highway, My temps seemed high also. That leads me to believe its the shroud also.

Yup, both the coolant rad and air conditioning rads are pretty clean. Might be the 16 inch opening and not enough air flow thru the rad.

Seemed like such a great idea. Now it looks like after all that work, its going to be very difficult to mount the fan another way. Figures. :-(

 

[albi1cnobi1]

I've been running the Contour fan for almost a year and a half now with no issues. All last summer and so far this summer(several 90+ days) never goes above 205*. The dual fans move a lot of air, and together with not having the whole rad covered I think is the ticket.(for me at least)

 

[jd4242]

This fan may not cool enough for the sohc

or the ohv with ac

 

[Dono]

I'll see what I can do with the fan shroud tomorrow. Failing that, Lincoln Mark VIII here I come.
We really only get about 2 months of hot humid air, but I still don't want to have to worry about overheating during that time.

 

[Dono]

Well, Ive come to the conclusion that this fan just doesn't move enough cfm for me.

Even after a small period of wot, its really hard for this fan to cool the motor down. I cut up the fan shroud and moved the fan nice and close to the radiator, and its better, but still not great. As is, it gets by, but thats it.

I found a couple of 12 inch fans off of something at the boneyard, but they are going to take some serious modifying to fit. It looks like on the diagonal I can do it. No 18" fans anywhere in the yard. I'd buy one off a member here, but I think shipping costs would be unreasonable.

The area of 2 12" fans is 710, and the surface area of a single 18" fan is 799 if my calculations are correct, depending on fan speed and design of the blades the 18" fan is still best

 

[Dono]

update- Found a fan at the boneyard that is much like the Taurus fan. It looks to be about 15.5" and has S style blades (Out of a Chrysler Minivan). I had to cut the shroud a few inches to make it fit, but no biggie with the dremmel. Theres about 1.5" on each side not covered by the shroud. First impressions coming in to work today is that the new fan works much better. Ill know how well it works later today driving as its going to be hot today.

My opinion of the HHR fan now that I have looked at different fan blade styles is that it will not move air, and not to use it.

 

[jd4242]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322554

 

[Dono]

Ok, hot day today (90*F), and my truck temperature still starts to run away on me during city driving. I had to turn off my air conditioning at an engine temp of 207*F to let the motor cool down to its normal temp of 192*F.

I just ordered this fan:
http://fanconversion.com/17_Continental.html

Lets hope this takes care of my issue. Im betting the heat wave will be done by the time I get this fan, and I won't know how well this fan will work till next summer.

 

[jd4242]

what did that fan cost you shipped?just in case you havent seen this thread.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227617

 

[Dono]

I tried pm'ing Caseywan a few weeks ago on his fans, but have a feeling he isn't doing this anymore. There was no response to my pm.

Cost of this fan is just under $85.00 shipped.