Electric Fan VERY ANGRY

[Ninety3Coupe]

I started a new thread to cut to the chase.

Short recap, I did the 3G swap and bought the best fan I could find, the Flex-A-Lite FLX-185 so I could do this car (my high school dream car) right and not mess around.

I swear this fan is going to be the death of me.

I wired it up and it worked fine. I wanted to add the switch inside to have control over it's turning on and that is when everything went to Hell.

2 weeks ago I made 4 different switch plates until I got it just right for the ash tray area. Looked great. I had it wired and everything was wonderful. I took it apart and painted it and let it dry over night (good boy Roy! Nice patience!)

The next morning in my haste (so much for patience) I swapped wires and shorted the switch and melted all the wiring from the switch to the battery and ground. There went all my time doing everything great.

So I re-ran all the wiring last weekend, bought a new switch and got the switch to work, but the auto-control wouldn't work. Due to nice weather I did not try the A/C.

Today I tried the A/C and the compressor would not kick on. A simple check found a 30A fuse blown. I put in the only other one I had and the A/C worked again.

I got everything wired up again, tried the controller and it didn't work yet again. Then I tried the A/C again and the fuse is blown. Again.

I have checked and re-checked a thousand times and everything is per the fan's diagram. Some will remember that the switch kit and the fan have conflicting info, I wrote to FAL and they said to use the fan's diagram. It is 100% per the diagram.

I am about to drive the damn car into a brick wall. This has been a terrible week and I wanted to play with this car as a hobby after wanting it for 20-ish years. Now I want a for sale sign. Any thoughts? I've had it.

:fm::cuss::mj::fm::cuss::mj::fm::cuss::mj::fm::cuss::mj::fm::cuss::mj:

 

[NC Mystic]

you'll get it buddy. i don't mess with electrical stuff because i just know i would set something on fire haha

i will say this though. i'm not as old and knowledgeable as you at 22 i'm sure but since before i had a drivers permit i wanted a 96 cobra mystic. long story short, after years of looking and many car trades and sales later i got one. after a 8 month full exterior resto i get it back on the road and it was just great, then it started overheating. a while of this and a couple tries to fix it it's good to go. . . .then it gets a valve train tick. i decided to do what i really wanted and forge the bottom end, and a full on eaton build. i've got the blower and heads now and a few other nicknacks but still have a way to go on parts and then there's the build and tune expense.

the mystic has been off the road for about a year now, sometimes it gets really frustrating having to take your time to get it right, but i know with my build if i ever want a whipple or a kenne bell all i will have to do it swap out the eaton and tune it.

anyways, don't sell or abuse your car because your fan has wiring gremlins. you'll figure it out, and after you do it'll be better than before :beer:

that coupe looks sharp by the way

 

[Ninety3Coupe]

Thanks for the compliment. Wanna buy it?

I kid. Kinda.

I appreciate the encouragement. I just need an idea on how to diagnose this issue. I suppose remove the fan and everything to get the controller off to see if anything looks burned up...

Anyone else have any testing ideas?

 

[Ninety3Coupe]

I have the controller out and on the bench. Nothing looks fried or messed up. I took it apart and it looks new, as it should.

Testing tips anyone?

 

[NC Mystic]

my best tip for you is join southeasternfoxbodies.com and i bet someone would know exactly why this is happening to you

 

[Mach&Roll]

When you get it going let me know if it is worth it as far as power and mpgs go. I want to do it but have heard some serious horror stories about it.

 

[Ninety3Coupe]

What are the odds you would write today? I just finally got everything screwed together yesterday and you know what? It was worth it. I went through hell, but it was worth it for sure.

The controller issue was not my fault it turns out. The unit was shipped with a popped diode and is why I was having a million issues. Flex-A-Lite was awesome and they sent me their digital controller as a replacement. This is the ONLY way to go. I also bought a new water outlet and used the actual fluid temp sensor unit to activate the fans instead of the probe.

This controller rocks. It delays the fans for 6 seconds on start up to allow the starter to fire without too much draw. Then it kicks on at 60% at initial temp and then ramps up to 100% until the temps go down.

It will also run the fan for 30 seconds after shut-down, which I really like. Nice to know things are getting chilly after the pump stops.

As far as power and gas savings, well, the car is more enjoyable to drive and feels as though it revs a little faster. I haven't put enough gas through it to tell, but I would imagine it is negligible in that regard.

I love this kit. However if I had to buy the controller (about $110 at Amazon) I would have skipped the kit and gotten this fan and the controller separate. The mounting kit that comes with it is a little odd, but I suppose it does do the job, and there was no guess-work.

I was torn with this or doing the Mark VII route and now I am very glad I ponied up the money to do it right. Flex-A-Light is fricking awesome and I cannot recommend them enough.

Good luck, I would go for it. The lack of noise from the mechanical fan alone is worth it!