electric fan?

[88wrangler]

What do y'all think about the electric fan instead of the stock one? I want an electric fan so that i can turn it off when fording water but i don't want to have to turn it on every time i start my jeep and every time i turn it off. I'd like to hear opinions of anyone that has an electric fan in there jeep?

Is it possible to wire the fan to the fuse box on a circut that is only hot when the ignition is on, and make a cutoff switch in between the power and the fan?



edited by: 88wrangler, Jun 01, 2003 - 09:59 AM[addsig]

[hi_c]

Yes, that is possible. I believe the Flex-a-lite fan comes with a thermostat and switch so that it automatically cuts off and on when it reaches the temperature boundaries. Such that you don't need it so much when going fast (air blowing over the coils by your speed) versus when sitting still (engine running but air not moving, therefore fan turns on.) The switch would be mounted in the cab and can be cut off when going over water.

I've been researching it, too. Flex-a-lite has one to fit the YJ for $199 with the switch and t-stat.

C[addsig]

[Tug-n-pull]

Any good electrial shop could fix you up a thermostat switch with a manual over ride for a few bucks. I herd some one on hear sy that they got one out of a BMW that worked out real well. just a thought. tug[addsig]

[Snitty]

I recently just converted to an electric fan... it worked well.. and i freed up a bunch of ponies as well.. I had it so it always ran when the key was turned to "on"... REALLY easy to wire up, and would be even easier to put in a switch[addsig]

[USMPK9]

Is it possible to wire the fan to the fuse box on a circut that is only hot when the ignition is on, and make a cutoff switch in between the power and the fan?

Yes Sir, that's the way to do it.[addsig]

[JE420EP]

The fan comes with everything you will need but the relay switch. It gives you a spot to hook one up on and it even tells you how. All you need is a switch from you local hardware store and some wire and your good to go. My relay switch is not hooked up yet but it will be soon. You can set your fan to turn on anywhere from 160 degrees to 210 or more i forget. It's a realy good mod i would say to do it if you can. [addsig]

[jay89]

Does it really give you more power to switch to an electric fan? And do you have to re route the belts or do you just remove the fan and leave the pulley?[addsig]

[JE420EP]

It only gives you about 5 to 10 hp. Not much. My fan clutch went out so i just upgraded. The only thing you have to remove is the fan and the fan shrould. It toke about half an hour to install.

edited by: JE420EP, Jun 01, 2003 - 12:49 PM[addsig]

[Snitty]

it gives you back all of the power that the clutch fan was robbing from you... think about it... to push all that air, there's a lot of resistance there.... no rerouting... the pulley stays on there, its the same pulley that drives the water pump[addsig]

[MORGSTER]

If you go to search (Electric fans) you will find very long discussions about this subject.
Here is an excerpt from my post after installation.


PAST POST:
After all of the information provided by my fellow Jeepers I installed the Flex-a-Lite #150 Black Magic fan. (1989 YJ 4.2) The extra airflow and heavier duty motor looked like the ticket. I also called Flex-a-Lite and picked up the nice aluminum mounting brackets that usually come with the #475 Wrangler 2 which made the install secure and sanitary. The only problem with the #150 is the extra ½ inch depth over the #475 Wrangler 2 that was caused by the larger fan motor. A little customizing was needed where the radiator mounts to the body, which gained ¾ inch forward movement of the radiator, giving me the clearance I need. I installed a 160-degree motor thermostat in addition to the adjustable fan thermostat; rock crawl cooling no longer is a problem. The nice part is one simple turn of the adjustment knob and I can select the temperature I want. This weekend the desert rock crawl testing with air temperature up to 100 degrees went off with out a hitch and I’m happy. There was also a noticeable increase in throttle response and hill climbing power on road.

UPDATE:
Four or so months later and now it the start of the summer heat waves.
The Flex-a-Lite #150 has been installed for several months of street and off road driving. The outside air temperatures have climbed and it's summer testing time. So far the installation of the electric fan has been worth the effort. Power increase has been tested well (I live on a very long/steep hill that, because of gearing, creates the need to run in second gear/max speed (Automatic trans) while climbing to the top. The removal of the clutch fan and installation of the electric fan added an additional 9mph on that climb) During off road, freeway traffic and highway motoring, temperatures run at a cool 165 degrees without fluctuation. (160 is where I have the automatic fan start) I have reset the unit to run with the key switch because the noise at 2am (Coming home late) of the fan running after shut off is annoying. The addition of a under dash on/ off switch for river crossings works, but has not been needed. (The fan unit is designed for water abuse although my concern was the wire terminal block on the fan shroud shorting out)

All in all, this upgrade for me rates an A+ 8-) [addsig]

[newjeeper]

im all about more power i have a pace setter cold air intake,poweraid thodal body spacer, and a flow mast ss delta flow on my 98 sport and i am also looking for a electric fan . flexolight makes one made for a jeep all the hardwear and wire you need you can hook it up to you fuse box to only be on when i jeep is on or staight to the batt. so it stays on after you shut it down to cool the motor ,you can also run a switch so you can shut it off . it should add about 17-20 hp not bad summit has them for about $200 with everthing you will need go to summitraceing.com and look for flexolight and it is a wrangler 2 this is what you need [addsig]