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09-21-2020 #1
Electric fans, hi/lo or on together?
Hey all, I'm finally putting a few miles on my Cutlass and the other day it was running a bit warm for my liking (220 IIRC). Granted it was 100 degrees out and I had the AC cranked. I knew the cooling system was something I'd probably have to tweak and one thing that crossed my mind are the fans. I'm running 4th gen f-body fans along with a Dakota Digital fan controller and the fans are wired so that both are turned on/off at the same time. The car has a 175amp Powermaster alternator and even at idle there is barely any voltage drop when they kick on. The controller has the ability to do hi/lo so each fan can be controlled independently though it's not a pwm style so when the fans kick on, they are on full blast. Just curious about everyone's thoughts on fan setup, whether to leave as is or go the hi/lo route since I have that ability. Thanks, James
'72 Cutlass - 370" LS2 topped w/a LSA blower
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09-21-2020 #2Registered User
- Join Date
- Mar 2020
- Posts
- 199
The F-body fans were originally designed to run in series/parallel configuration so both ran at half speed on low.
This is the ideal configuration as 1 on & 1 off may cause the air to short circuit from 1 fan to the other or also may allow a portion of the radiator to not receive any air flow.
What temps are you turning them on at? You can effectively turn them off below the engine thermostat temp & enable low at about 10 deg above & high at 15 above.
Also they should run anytime the AC is on to ensure flow through the condenser.
If you were at 220, I would assume you already have both running at full speed... this would suggest you need more cooling than is available.
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09-21-2020 #3
Thanks for the reply! Currently the fans come on at 205, off at 200 and I'm running a factory LS1 thermostat (195 I believe). Once the fans come on they don't shut off lol At least not until I turn the car off, highs here will be close to 100 degrees til the first week or so of October. Also, rad is a factory LT1 4th gen F-bod unit. Since I have a power steering cooler, big trans cooler and a condenser all in front of that rad, the high ambient temps may be too much for it.
'72 Cutlass - 370" LS2 topped w/a LSA blower
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09-21-2020 #4