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Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:01 pm
by samuraibaz
Any1 know the details for an electric fan conversion? cheers baz

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:20 pm
by magpie
you need to get a Loom from Danthe and buy a pusher fan from ebay ,what engine are you running ?

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:24 pm
by jonesy318
I want to do this just cause i dont like the viscous fan, only running an m42 conversion but wanna do it anyway, whats the loom from danthe like then??? :D

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:37 pm
by redcar
A fan set up in pull is better.

There is a thread somewhere on how to do the loom properly from the fusebox.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:21 pm
by samuraibaz
nice 1 magpie gonna fit to my 318is 1st but think i will make it the norm looks like i need to talk to danthe for a price???

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 12:10 am
by MartyP1977
I have E36 electric fan and switch from the rad that fits my 319is rad. I just don't have a clue how to connect it up and I am no good at reading wiring diagrams.

Help please

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 5:58 am
by Grrrmachine

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 8:36 am
by magpie
redcar wrote:A fan set up in pull is better.

There is a thread somewhere on how to do the loom properly from the fusebox.
erm no :mad:

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 8:56 am
by redcar
magpie wrote:
redcar wrote:A fan set up in pull is better.

There is a thread somewhere on how to do the loom properly from the fusebox.
erm no :mad:
ideally, if there were space, the fan would be in the engine bay side of the radiator, set up in pull.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 12:42 pm
by jimbom30cab
I used a Danthe loom - very good quality, simple plug and play, just follow the instructions

i also used a thermostat switch from car builder solutions

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 5:50 pm
by broadie
Is there any gains to be had on fuel consumption or power by geting rid of the viscous fan and fitting an eletric fan?

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:18 pm
by Brianmoooore
broadie wrote:Is there any gains to be had on fuel consumption or power by geting rid of the viscous fan and fitting an eletric fan?
None at all. All you do is increase the risk of overheating, since the electrical system is far less reliable than the simple viscous coupled fan.
If you have fitted an engine that occupies the space where the fan should be, then you have no choice, but other than that, just make sure the OE system is working as it should.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:22 pm
by ross_jsy
I think citing reliability as an issue is frankly ridiculous when so many manufacturers use an electric fan without problems. A quality fan will more than likely out live the car.

You will get a power increase but not a huge amount as the fan still draws power, albeit from the alternator.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:35 pm
by Brianmoooore
You have a fan, thermoswitch, relay and fuse, plus several electrical joints, all of which can fail. You've obviously never owned anything French.
The alternator has to convert engine power to electricity, and then the electricity has to be turned back into rotational power by the fan motor. Both these processes are far from 100% efficient, so, for equal amounts of air moved, the viscous set up uses far less power/fuel than an electric fan.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:45 pm
by ross_jsy
I personally think that the drag caused by the fan when it's not in use cancels any benefit from the inefficiencies in the electrical system. No figures to back it up, it just seems like it would be the case.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 7:50 pm
by Brianmoooore
Drag on the fan is negligible - you can hold it still with one finger. At speed, when there's a decent airflow through the rad., you could even argue that it's adding power to the engine.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 9:55 pm
by Morat
Or a VW!
I was in my wife's old mk4 Golf diesel (non turbo) when the alternator belt started slipping. It ran fine on the battery until overheated in traffic. If it had had a viscous fan it would have kept on going just fine.

Re: Electric fan conversion?

Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 12:35 am
by e30topless
if your car is running a standard mill as yours is... your wasting time and money fitting an electric fan,

the viscous if in working order is well up to the job unless you have an underlying problem with overheating ?