Mud-club
Vehicle & Technical => Defender => Topic started by: snezza69 on April 20, 2005, 18:09:04
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Hi all, I am trying to fit an electric fan (borrowed from a Mondeo) to the rad on an 83 110. rather than fit a manual switch to the dash I am looking for suggestions for fitting some kind of thermostat switch to automate it. Am looking at the kenlowe option at the moment, does anyone have any alternate options please?
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I use one of these from Merlin Motorsport. Not the cheapest way of doing it, but I felt it was the best way to get control without faffing around, sticking things through the radiator, or trying to get a sensor to seal.
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Tim,
Did you get the fixed or variable thermostat?
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Thanks Tim,
How much did it cost? I have ordered the part now hopefully it will do the biz. I have got a thermostat with adjustable temp, but it wasn't as cheap as I would have liked. On top of all the rest to get the money pit working. But I think this is all I need now to be good on the road. Looking at the pic, does the sensor fit around the top hose?
Oh and while I am here, the fan I am fitting is a dual type. Should this be fitted in serial or parallel. Any other tips as I have heard that some fans require quite a bit of juice to start up (up to 40 amps) should I use this type of wire to be safe?
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Yes, there can be a peak in current draw. Make sure you are using cable and connectors of a suitable rating. I use a pair of Kenlowes and the lights dim as they kick in, then pick up again after a second or so.
Also, don't forget to wire in a switch so you can disable them for wading.
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Hightower : it's a variable type.. little control on the top of the housing
Snezza : Can't remember the price TBH. The aluminium housing goes in the top hose, one chop and 2 jubilee clips.
If you have a twin 12V fan, then they would be wired in parallel
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Well I managed to wire in the fan but only worked when one fan was live. When both were connected the 35amp fuse blew. As the fan was from a Mondeo, I thought I'd go to Ford (big mistake) to source the relay. They didn't hold them on the shelf and couldn't even tell the correct ampage for their relay. Gambled on a 40 amp but when I rewired it still blew the fuse. Now I have the Kenlowe which is working fine, I do not seem to have any probs with overheating (one fan cools it OK). Will consider a second Kenlowe to run the second fan on a higher temp for when it really gets hot.
If anyone has any other ideas to run both fans off one switch please let me know.......
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As mentioned earlier, its probably due to the startup current of the motor. One option would be to use 2 relays, one on each fan, each with its own fused feed.
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I have a few of these if any one is interested.
(http://i23.ebayimg.com/02/i/03/96/c1/6b_1_b.JPG)
wizard :twisted: