Is it bad to have your E-fans wired direct

[BigHairyMonkey]

Somethings wrong with my E-fan setup. It keeps destroying the fuses from the battery to the relay, and if i put bigger ones in it just melts through them (dont know if anyone remembers 'teh fire'). I replaced the relay, still killing the fuses. A buddy of mine (that knows a hella lot more about this kind things than me) says that the motor on the fan itself is grounding out somewhere and that i need a new fan He direct wired the fan without the relay, so basically its ALWAYS on. Is there a downside to this? Also, the person who did the E-fans (previous owner aka dumb ****) had the power pulling off the coil, is that bad?

 

[bill302]

get a new fan if you know a short in the fan is killing the fuses...running it straight wired could do alot of damage to your battery,alternator and/or wiring and also will start a fire....

 

[white99gt]

Bad idea.If it keeps melting stuff you are using the wrong size wiring.

I personally use a DCC controller and it has worked great for almost 2 years now.

 

[turbo_stang_93]

don't run power from your coil will cause coil do burn up quicker using a separate fuse and relay is the proper way of wiring a fan also use a volt meter to see how much draw the fan is pulling on your electrical system.

 

[Aryan15]

I had the same problem with the fan on my bike. I pulled it apart, and there was brush material all over the commutator segments. I cleaned it with contact cleaner and it fixed it. Maybe your fan is maintenance free and you can't do that

 

[HISSIN50]

Loose connections at the fuse will cause it to have all sorts of issues.

The guys are right. If you insist on using a switch, use it with a HD 70+ amp relay. This style of relay will have screw-on terminal connections instead of male spades. It should also handle the spool-up draw.

You gave no info about the wiring gauge used, fuse size or type of fan so it's hard to say anything else.
If you have access to a lab, you can measure the motor's draw. A clamp-on meter might work as well.

Good luck.

 

[BigHairyMonkey]

i think it was like 80 amp spike on the intial and settles to like a 42a draw

 

[BigHairyMonkey]

the way i had it wired before was w/ a 40a fuse in a little plastic fuseholder and it caught on fire. I replaced with a bigger audio sized inline 50a see through holder and that melted away as well. They take a while to go (id say maybe 1-2 months) but they always end up burning away. The relay looked like this View attachment 376052
and the fan was set up on a temp switch.

 

[jimdrechsler]

i bought a proform electric fan and it did it right after it was installed.. blew fuses every time he turned it on! my mechanic couldtn figure out what was going on and why it kept blowing fuses. he finally figured out that the circuit board was cracked. once he fixed that, it works like a champ! i should have returned it, but it works fine now!

 

[white99gt]

Using a 50amp fuse on a 80amp draw can be a issue..Thats why there are controllers for this.The dcc is one of the best to stop voltage "spikes" when the fan comes on.

 

[Mustang5L5]

What size wiring are you using for the power wires and ground/?

 

[BigHairyMonkey]

really ****ty thin ass wires. id say like 18 gauge. I'm gonna get another relay, and redo all the wiring with thicker wire and another inline fuse holder w/ a 60-70amp fuse. We'll see what happens

 

[HISSIN50]

really ****ty thin ass wires. id say like 18 gauge. I'm gonna get another relay, and redo all the wiring with thicker wire and another inline fuse holder w/ a 60-70amp fuse. We'll see what happens

Houston (location pun intended), we have a problem.

I'd go with 10 AWG (you cannot overkill fan wiring) on the load side. 18 AWG would likely suffice for the control side wiring.

Good luck.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I second that.


10G for your workload wiring, 18g for control wiring.

 

[Daggar]

I'll 3rd the wire size and also suggest installing a capacitor pack for the initial startup if you don't wish to run a controller.

On a side note: I also don't recommend a manual activiation switch. Too many horror stories about folks who have forgotten to turn their fans on. If you insist on a manual switch, make it a manual back-up.