okie dokie, so i installed a new black magic flex a lite electric fan in my 90 5.0. the installation started out very well, everything was straight forward. looks great and the fan came with a complete set of hardware. i bought a new toggle switch, only to find out the hard way that the switch was faulty. it was stuck kinda between on and off so apparently it caused a short. long story short, new toggle switch fried like an egg along with the igniton feed wire. i found the bad wire ( after many many posts on stangnet and MUCH profanity ) and i fixed it. now, the car is running fine and the fan is working like a charm. i can tell a definite difference in the pick up when i hit the gas. there is a bit more of that sotp feel, and i can tell it pulls a little harder on top end. most noticably, the engine revs a bit quicker, which i expected. makes me wonder how fast it will rev when i install my new ported e7te's with 1.7 fms roller rockers. can you say tiresmoke?? the fan is easy to adjust and unclutters the engine compartment. monday i am ordering a higher output alternator from summit and a new battery - mine is almost four years old. the fan does not create as much of a draw on the charging system as i had anticipated, but i like to install things to last so i am going to upgrade my charging system a bit. in a couple of weeks i will be installing a new welded all aluminum radiator. let's see what happens then. ( that means let's see if i break anything else )
first impressions after electric fan install
- Thread starter 90lxfoxbody
- Start date
timewarped1972
Member
glad you got it fixed.......electrical problems suck, especially that "fried wire" smell......
was that the regular base model fan or one of those newer "extreme" black magic fans??
was that the regular base model fan or one of those newer "extreme" black magic fans??
it was the regular black magic model #175. overall it was well worth the $215 i spent. it's a heavy duty setup. and i agree with you about the aroma de la fired wire. i love working on my car untul it comes to electronics. i hate chasing electrical gremlins. i am going to buy another switch - different brand - and run a manual switch also for when i run laughing gas. i am studying up on installing roller rockers since i have never messed with installing rockers, and once the new heads and rockers are installed and broken in, i am hitting the juice and seeing how the fan cools then.
Glad you got it. I didnt catch if your fan has a controller. If not, check out www.DcControl.com for the best of the best (you said you like to do things right. 
).
Good luck.
).Good luck.
it comes with a built in thermostatic controller and a sensor probe that slides between the radiator fins. i just got back from flogging the car for a few miles. it left a smile on my face. acceleration feels much smoother and linear, and it tachs up quicker. makes me wonder if my manual fan wasn't out of whack somehow.
If you have a controller with its own power and control side (some sort of relay), then how did that big meltdown occur? Your manual switch should have been controlling well under one amp worth of current to energize the controller/relay.
I only ask to see if something can be improved upon.
Good luck.
I only ask to see if something can be improved upon.
Good luck.
the manual switch installs to a seperate lead on the controller box. it is entirely optional. i installed it for when i run n2o. the only thing i can figure is that with the switch being faulty that caused it to be overheated. the wire from the fusebox to the switch melted, but not the wire from the switch to the controller box on the fan. i have an inline fuse from the 'on' side of the switch to the fan, and that fuse did not blow.
good
I hate my black magic.... First thing I had to do was buy a new alternator to keep up with it, thing still doesn't pull air worth a damn. Car runs way hotter now... Maybe freed up a couple hp but i doubt, if i did its prolly just lost to heat.. I'm going back to clutch fan soon as summer comes around. I do live in texas, and its an auto if that makes a diff. Glad yours is working out though.
I hate my black magic.... First thing I had to do was buy a new alternator to keep up with it, thing still doesn't pull air worth a damn. Car runs way hotter now... Maybe freed up a couple hp but i doubt, if i did its prolly just lost to heat.. I'm going back to clutch fan soon as summer comes around. I do live in texas, and its an auto if that makes a diff. Glad yours is working out though.
i am also not super happy with the black magic fan on my car. In the summer in stop and go traffic the temp tends to climb. however that being said if you switch the fan on and leave it on with the switch it usally keeps things cool. It just has a hard time once my car is at a higher temp to bring it down unless your cruising.
i believe in overkill when it comes to cooling, especially since i have put so many miles on the car. i run a setrab 6 row oil cooler with 512 degree oil resistant hoses and the sandwich adapter. the hoses plus the cooler itself allow me to run almost a full extra quart of oil. plus the electric fan plus the upcoming aluminum rad. if it runs hot then - will i ever be pissed.
