What happened with my ram charger fan install?

88GTtom · Aug 27, 2004

So i arived back home to NJ yesterday, and this morning i got up early to install my underdrive pullies and ram chargers dual fan with harness. pullies went on easy, engine bay looks good to now that the fan is in. i turn the fan on to try it out and one of the speeds works (not to sure what one it was) and i go to try the second speed and nothing, next thing i see is smoke from the toggle switch harness. so only one speed works, i pull the harness out and 2 of the 4 wires are melted and all jacked up. I was like DAMMM. so i called ramchargers up and they told me to send it back and they would send me a new one (the whole harness kit) Does this sound like a faulty kit or does it sound like something on my end. install was pritty simple, plug in the harness, red wire to + on the battery, black to - one the battery, toggle switch harness plugs into the main harness. i wonder what happened??? Inputs please.

cardudeusa · Aug 27, 2004

I don't see how you could have messed up the install. It was probubly a mistake on their end.

88GTtom · Aug 27, 2004

i hope so, im not to happy about having to send the whole harness back and wait for a new one. Friggn thing looks good installed tho. cleans up the engine bay nicely. I hope it was just a shot harness.

88GTtom · Aug 27, 2004

keep the replys comming, i want to hear all sides of this.

HISSIN50 · Aug 27, 2004

the fan comes with the controller/relays and all that, it sounds like..??

which wires burned? was there a fuse on the wire to the battery?

good luck, Tom.

88GTtom · Aug 27, 2004

no fuse on the wires to the battery, the harness has 2 relays for high speed and low. the wires that were burnt were on another harness that plugs into the main. that harness was the toggle switch harness. the toggle switch has a high and low speed setting.

HISSIN50 · Aug 28, 2004

im sorry, but i dont follow what wires burned up. it sounds like they were on the harness for the SPDT switch.

on your next attempt, i might suggest putting a fuse on the wire off the battery positive (a good idea always).
if the wires from the toggle switch melted, that is funky. they should be passing low current to the relay coil(s).

so im not much help at all, Tom. LOL. give more info on what the schematic looked like, if you wanna try to figure out why it burned (i was just lookin at the schematic for a controller im gonna put in the camaro, and it seems to leave a lot to be desired).

oh yeah, i would fuse ANY 12 volt wire you use on the fan - even for coil triggers. it cant hurt and can save your OEM harness in the event of a meltdown (there have been a few lately).

good luck, Tom.

UMDSmith · Aug 28, 2004

I second Hissin, Always fuse any 12v source coming from the battery. It can help prevent some very costly meltdowns, and even fires/battery explosions.

Not bad for something that costs no more then 2 bucks at a home improvement store.

Michael Yount · Aug 28, 2004

Well - something had a ground short in it somewhere, or was miswired; either way the melted wire set tried to pull way more current through it than the wire could handle - that's the only way to start melting things.

Have you tried jumpering some large gauge wire directly from the battery to the fan to see if the fan is working properly? Simply putting in the new wiring harness without tracing down the source of the short seems to me to be a sure way to simply melt the replacement wiring also. Fuse, fuse, fuse - if you don't put a fuse in-line, overcurrent will 'fuse' your wires.

04sleeper · Aug 28, 2004

Michael Yount said:
Fuse, fuse, fuse - if you don't put a fuse in-line, overcurrent will 'fuse' your wires.

LoL.

Thats a good one.
Try jumping it like Michael said. It could be a problem with the fan itself and melt another harness.

88GTtom · Aug 28, 2004

ok, ill will try something today. What size fuxe do you think i should put on the wire comming off the battery?

HISSIN50 · Aug 28, 2004

88GTtom said:
ok, ill will try something today. What size fuxe do you think i should put on the wire comming off the battery?

good plan. im pretty surprised that the instructions did not show to install a fuse (like i said i put a fuse on all the 12 volt feeds when i add something - it protects that circuit [smaller fuse capacity than the stock fuse circuit i tapped off of], and protects the main fuse should my added item go 'haywire').

i could be wrong, but the fuse should be around the capacity of the fan. i.e. 15 amp draw fan, 15 amp fuse. start up voltage can spike, but i also think most fuses have a 'melt down' period (they dont blow instantaneously, and can take a lot of overload before actually blowing, to accomodate start up spike). i sometimes go with a fuse that is perhaps 10% more than the actual draw - it still should blow plenty quick in the event of a short. ill defer that to Michael.

oh yeah, ill beat Michael to it again - www.dcControl.com has some nice controllers for you, should you choose another route.

Michael, you are quite the punner, especially when dealing with smoking wires - 'dont let the smoke out' and now this.

L8 MUSL · Aug 28, 2004

My Ramchargers fan came with a fuse holder and a 30amp fuse
These things draw allot of amps on start up. You must have a fuse.

HISSIN50 · Aug 28, 2004

L8 MUSL said:
My Ramchargers fan came with a fuse holder and a 30amp fuse
These things draw allot of amps on start up. You must have a fuse.

thanks for the info - should be perfect for him. i forgot it was a dual set up - so disregard my 15 amp fuse suggestion (or say 15 * two fans).

good luck.

Michael Yount · Aug 28, 2004

If you can find a 'slow melt' fuse, they're great for big motors. Big motors can pull up to 2 to 3 times the rated amperage for a fraction of a second on startup. So if the continuous pull is 20A, it might hit 40A-60A for a moment when you first hit the switch. That's usually long enough to blow a fuse rated just above the fan's current draw.

Hissin's right - most fan control systems based on switches/relays/temp switches are pretty antiquated. Go to the site he posted - I use one and it's MUCH better than anything else out there. It varies the current to the fans so that they only turn as fast as they need to in order to keep the engine at the controller set point. It totally eliminates the start up current spikes which saves wear and tear on the battery, alternator, fan motors and the wiring. Just a better mousetrap.

If you decide to stick with what you've got, I'd start with a 20A fuse and see what happens. If it blows it, move up in 5A increments till you get one that lasts. Don't go any higher than you have to or you're back in a situation where you put the wiring at risk of becoming the fuse. Use large gauge wire on any power or grounding circuits (8 or 10 gauge); use 16 or 18 gauge wire for the 'signal' circuits that trip the relay.

88GTtom · Aug 28, 2004

ok, if the ramchargers fan came with a fuze, it must be hidden because i did not see it. does anyone know where it is? Second, when i tested the fans, the car was not running. im not to sure if that has anything to do with it. like i said before, the fan did come on but only on one speed which seems to me that it does work and would not have a problem working when the other speed is selected. Oh, another thing, my battery when started puts out close to 15 volts. 15 exact on the auto meter gauge, a little over 14 on the stock gauge. Is this to high of a voltage? according to the autometer gauge the battery puts out 13 volts when not started. so i dont think high voltage had anything to do with it because the car was not running when i flipped the switch. I just dont know anymore. Another question, on the stock gauge when im driving most of the time it will be showing 14 then go down to 13, but when i test the battery it will still be in the 14 volt range on the multi meter. could this just be a shot gauge or is their some electrical bug in my car not to sure if that has anything to do with the wires melting. Dammm

HISSIN50 · Aug 28, 2004

88GTtom said:
Oh, another thing, my battery when started puts out close to 15 volts. 15 exact on the auto meter gauge, a little over 14 on the stock gauge. Is this to high of a voltage? according to the autometer gauge the battery puts out 13 volts when not started. so i dont think high voltage had anything to do with it because the car was not running when i flipped the switch. I just dont know anymore. Another question, on the stock gauge when im driving most of the time it will be showing 14 then go down to 13, but when i test the battery it will still be in the 14 volt range on the multi meter. could this just be a shot gauge or is their some electrical bug in my car not to sure if that has anything to do with the wires melting. Dammm

i would not sweat the charging stuff. decent system should flow ~14.7 volts.

i think you are seeing a voltage drop. the source (battery) should read the highest (other than the alt - there is voltage drop in the alt wire to the solenoid, then the battery). now if your gauge is hooked up to the battery with a short run of decent AWG wire, the gauge might be a little off. i think it is moot in any case. you are doing fine. with voltmeters, i prefer to wire them from a key on source inside the cockpit - if it reads low, fine by me. i want to know the worst case what it is doing.

so i think you are fine with regard to the charging system and your voltmeter(s).
good luck.

L8 MUSL · Aug 29, 2004

The Ramchargers fan/wiring harness is actually a pretty nice setup and for $159.00 for a light, compact two speed twin fan, it's easy to see why they are so often on back order.
It should have come with the fan(s), a 3 position eluminated switch (low/off/high), 2 relay's, and a fuse holder for a 30 amp fuse. And all with water tight connections.
As I said, mine does have a good voltage spike at start up and I did blow a fuse one time, but I think the fan maybe needed to just be broken in because it has not happened since.
Also, my voltage spike could be due to my wiring job, battery in the trunk, remote disconnect switch, big stereo amp etc.

I will say that it, along with a Summit radiator, keeps my supercharged 306 totally cool all the time on the low speed setting.

cardudeusa · Aug 29, 2004

When I turn mine on it has a huge spike also, it jumps real low and then comes back up to normal.

the pony boy · Aug 29, 2004

mine came with a fuseable link on the hot side!and i also had to send back the harness cause it didnt work!i thought i screwed something up some how but when i got the new harness i plugged it in and it worked fine! good luck

What happened with my ram charger fan install?

88GTtom

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