Wiring a Crown Vic To Spal PWM

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

One of my 12" fans shaft bearings let go and thought I'd make thing simpler and switch to a Crown Vic Fan since it fits my radiator better than the Mark VIII and I can get one for about $65. The Crown Vic fan I'm looking at is from a 2001-02 and it comes with a small harness. I want to re-use the SPAL pwm Fan controller with this fan. I've heard that the Crown Vic fans have 3 terminals; one ground and a low and high positive terminal. Is this correct? From what I've read, I just need to wire one of the positive terminals and let the SPAL control the fan speed and the A/C circuit kicks it into high. Another question, Which terminal is which? Any schematic or tips would be great.

[H2Ogbodies]

The middle terminal is ground. You will have to jumper each other terminal to see which one is low/high. Be carefull though-the inrush current on the Ford fans can trip the overcurrent protection in the Spal pwm's which is why I don't use their controllers for the Ford fans in general anymore-they can't handle them. I have new fan harnesses if you need one. Let me know.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

Thanks for the heads up and the info. The Current set up I'm running is Has 2-12" SPAL fans pulling about 40 amps. I thought the Crown Vic fan would work with the spal controller. The fan i was looking at had some small harness on it. What harness or controller were you talking about.

[H2Ogbodies]

Oh, ok if you have a harness with your fan then you have what you need. I thought you had a fan but no plug-in pigtail. That Crown Vic fan will blow away (literally) the Spal fans. You'll be happy with it I think!

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

I'll see how the SPAL pwm Controller Handles the fan. If I run into issues I'll pick up either the Dakota Pac-2700 (through work) or pick up a DC Controller. Thanks again for the info. The 99 and earlier Crown Vic Fans didn't come with a pigtail, but the 2000-up (after 4/8/00). have a pigtail/harness.

[SoCal Cruzer]

I picked up one of these fans and see that the motor sits at and angle so the shroud is wider at the top than the bottom. I have plenty of room to install it this way(preferred) or should you trim the shroud, and if so do you benefit anything from trimming other than space. After all it's the way the unit is mounted on the original application.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

The Fan Arrived today. It's made by Dorman and it looks really nice. Now to just get the Wiring figured out. I have the Spal pwm that was controlling 2 fans. It will probably smoke under the demand of the Crown Vic. I thought I could have the variable part handle the low speed and then have the second fan relay to handle the high curcuit, but that's only a thought and probably wouldn't work. Suggestions: Dakota makes a nice looking unit, but it must be mounted in the cabin. The DCC looks great, but is there a simpler/better way. I've had a Spal fail me once, fortunately it was warranted. Just a simple system without all the bells and whistles that can do the 2-speed function. DC has a simple 2-speed kit that sells for $80, but everyone seems to go for the variable units.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

After doing a search it seams some people are running the Spal Successfully with the crown vic fan. They mention using a relay for the high speed circuit. Does anyone have a schematic that shows how this is done. Or do you just hook up to the low speed terminal?

[CarlC]

Mike,

Can you please post the dim's of the shroud and the overall depth? It will make it easier for others to decide if this option will work for them.

[H2Ogbodies]

fwiw, the RF64 Mark VIII fans are 22"W/19"H/5.75"Depth. The shear size of the motor an its windings are what gives the RF64 superior CFM ratings over any other fan-it's an area that NO pancake fan motor can come close to such as Flex-a-lite, Spal, Derale, etc. More windings result in greater power which means more airflow-simple as that.
Now, keep in mind that these fans can be trimmed by as much as 3/4" which means in the case of the Mark VIII at least 5" of clearance is desired. In custom applications, I trim 1" off because I make a special fin to shroud seal to keep the radiator protected from vibrations wearing through over time. Quality control in terms of fan motor quality may be suspect in fans from companies like Dorman which is a subsidiary of HELP Motormite Grp. so I would suspect these fans are Chinese, not Motorcraft. Ford owns the rights to the shroud designs and motor patents so buyer beware...time will tell how well they work.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

The Crown Vic fan will be ideal for larger radiators. The shroud measures: 26-3/4" wide and 18-3/4" tall and 19-5/8" tall through the center and the bulges. The shroud is tapered from top to bottom with the fan sitting at an angle. The shroud is 6-5/8" deep at the top and tapers down to 3-1/4" at the bottom. I'm running a small block with a long WP and should have plenty of clearance. Here's some more pics to explain the measurements.

[H2Ogbodies]

Looks like a nice fit! The upper taper is what I like...are you going serpentine? The taper may interfere with the tensioner.....but not sure.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

Not planning on a serpentine and if I do it will probably be the Vintage Air Front Runner. Now I just need to figure out how to control this thing.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

Does anyone know the High and Low fan speeds and Amp draw on a crown vic fan, or how to tell with an amp meter. I had this thing facedown on a cardboard box running on high and I could hardly lift it off with out picking up the box too.

[SoCal Cruzer]

You will need a multimeter that can handle allot of amps for this one, most only handle about 10. An amp gauge wired inline with the power lead will give you an idea of the amp draw.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

Well I'll have to work on a plan "B" the shroud fits awesome, but the motor housing sticks too far beyond the shroud by about 2". I can't trim the shroud without making it look like a hack job since it's tapered. Damn and it looked so good on the rad. Maybe try a Taurus fan, or something else that fits a 28" wide core and only 6 inches deep.

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

Well the Crown Vic Fan Wont work. The fan is 8 inches deep at the motor and since the shroud covers the entire core so I can't shift the fan to the side or trim it down without hacking it up. So I'm going to pick up an 18" Mark VIII/T-Bird fan, Dump the spal and use a reliable relay system.Luckily I'm able to return the fan for a full refund, so I haven't lost any $$ on the set up.

[H2Ogbodies]

I pm'd you!

[Pro-Tour Heavy Chevy]

Well here's the new set-up. The Radiator is a BeCool Aluminator Series #10008. Save your money on these instead of there direct-fit series. Retail for about $299. The fan that I settled on was from a 96 T-Bird, It looks just like the Mark VIII fan, but I hear the 2-speed motor is not as powerful. Pick-your-part was having a 50% off sale so I scored 2 of them for $35. Anyway, I fabbed up a mounting kit and hooked it up to my Spal pwm to the LOW speed wire for now, since the HI would probably blow the spal and so far the car stays at about 190. The low set is 180 and high is 200. Even with the air on and idling for an hour. Plus the Voltmeter shows 13-14 volts at idle, with everything on, including the headlights. The Dual 12" spals would pull it down to 12 and sometimes lower. And even with just the low wire hooked up it seems to keep the car cool. I plan On upgrading the controller soon. Check it out. I'll post some more pics of the final install in a couple.

[SoCal Cruzer]

Lookin good. Glad you got your fan sorted out and at deal too. Looks just like a Mark VIII fan. Wonder what CFM its rated at?