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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Installing electric fans


Big Mark

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Considering fitting electric fans when I change my radiator but can't see a fitting guide anywhere on here. Do people have then both on all the time, or only at certain temps, or one on and other temp controlled?

 

Probably going this kit as has everything in it including the best fans I can find so just curious as to wiring, especially as their twin speed.

 

http://www.burtonpower.com/kenlowe-twin-electric-fan-kit-14-dia-heavy-duty-kentwin14hd.html

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I have wired both off my stock fan wiring utilising a Relay.

 

I heard Lee (SRD) talking about staggering them by having one temperature controlled and another on stock wiring.

 

Its upto you really if you are running an aftermarket ECU then you can run them through that

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Yep shrouds are useless, they just block air getting through the radiator and IMO should be avoided.

 

Yeah that's what I keep hearing. So the kit from Burton I'm considering, any idea how I wire it up? Isn't there a temperature sensor on the radiator already, could I not just spliice off of that?

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Electric fans have a shroud around their blades so when the fans are spinning this forces the air to be sucked through the radiator. Yet the lack of a back plate means air car travel through the radiator freely when the car is moving, fans on a backing plate appear to restrict this air flow to me.

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Yep no shroud just 2 electric fans with enough power to move the air

 

Make sure they are wired separately so if you ever have one fail it doesn't take both out.

 

Separately relays and fuses

 

We do a kit which uses Kenlowe fans, have never had a failure and they are the only fans we found that move enough air.

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But if you don't have a shroud then the fan won't do much will it

 

The stock plastic shroud is designed to channel air through the large fan hole but also allow the fan to pull enough air through the rad when stationary.

 

Electric fans have a shroud around their blades so when the fans are spinning this forces the air to be sucked through the radiator. Yet the lack of a back plate means air car travel through the radiator freely when the car is moving, fans on a backing plate appear to restrict this air flow to me.

 

I can tell you having done a track day with one of them metal shrouds on my car quickly got up past 100 degrees before I had to pull in. Took the whole fan kit off and whilst out on the track the car stayed at 90 degrees.

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I use one of the ebay fan shrouds, but have modded it. Firstly, there imo is too much of a gap around the edges of the shroud and this needs to be sealed up, as does the gap between the fans (although small) themselves and the shroud. otherwise the fans simply suck most of the air through these gaps and not through the rad. Secondly, I made one of the fan holes larger and fitted a 16" fan in. I figure that now there is very little of the actual shroud left and most of the area is covered by the fans, allowing air to be pushed through.

 

I also use a kenlowe controller for the larger fan, and the oem fan switch at the bottom of the rad for the smaller fan. The controller is set to come on a couple of degrees lower than the thermostat in the rad. Even on the hottest day after a good thrashing the does second fan kick in, the only time it did was when I had pulled the wire off the Kenlowe controller whilst doing something else and hadn't realised it, thus confirming what Lee P has said about seperate supplies being a good idea.

 

I reckon jaguar had the right idea with this design: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JAGUAR-X-TYPE-2001-05-PETROL-2-1-V6-RADIATOR-FAN-COWLING-GENUINE-OEM-/131498554732?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1e9decb56c

 

On this shroud there are 3 flaps that remain closed when the car is stationary and the fans running but allow airflow through the shroud when moving.

Edited by Shane (see edit history)
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I work for jaguar Land Rover so was having a look at just such an item last week. I suppose if I got the dimensions of all the JLR units and the supra radiator I could see if any were a close fit, but not the easiest info to find, plus I've got several jobs I need to get done before the Wroxall Abbey meet so need to crack on with this as soon as back in the UK.

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Stock setup is the best IMO fella. Thats what I would run from now on with a good condition fan and a brand new clutch from Toyota.

 

Possibly, but for many owning a Supra is all about putting your own stamp on it. The fact that there are so few totally stock cars illustrates this. So for me I'm liking the idea and look of twin electric fans.

Edited by Big Mark (see edit history)
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But, fan choice aside, my post was about how to wire twin electric fans up. Can't seem to find a diagram or a supra specific kit except this one http://powerhouseracing.com/p-4603-phr-pnp-harness-for-is300-fan-kit.aspx

 

It's for the IS300 fans but guess other than he connector to the fans it'll be about as neat and simples solution as possible.

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I work for jaguar Land Rover so was having a look at just such an item last week. I suppose if I got the dimensions of all the JLR units and the supra radiator I could see if any were a close fit, but not the easiest info to find, plus I've got several jobs I need to get done before the Wroxall Abbey meet so need to crack on with this as soon as back in the UK.

 

Ok, so I now use one of these on the larger fan:

 

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-KLM2150?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&gclid=CJ2Gx83p88UCFScHwwodOkoAWg

 

Then the OEM switch that sits in the bottom of the radiator to control the secondary smaller fan. Its worth mentioning that this is a normally closed thermal switch that pulls a relay in if you rely on the stock wiring. I guess they chose normally closed to offer a bit more protection in terms of a fail safe.

 

I did play with one of these, but didn't like it as I could never get a really good seal around the thermocouple tube, it sits inside the top hose and there is a silly little seal with a groove in.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thermal-Switch-Thermostat-Dial-Controller-Electric-Fan-/231009390414?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35c93b8f4e

Edited by Shane (see edit history)
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Possibly, but for many owning a Supra is all about putting your own stamp on it. The fact that there are so few totally stock cars illustrates this. So for me I'm liking the idea and look of twin electric fans.

 

 

Sadly this often translates into:

 

"For many owning a s Supra is all about &*@#~ing it up with ill conceived modifications that look shiny, silly or make a lot of noise"

 

 

:)

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