mud muppet
New Member
does it give any more power and save any fuel?do some offroading so thinking wireing on a toggle switch.instead of thermostat type.
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
not that youll notice but a good idea if your going wading as saves blades been driven into rad
UKAirborne
New Member
sorry to jump in on this thread but I'm interested in this subject, as my viscous fan is in need of replacement, I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to get an electric fan instead, how easy is it to fit them/ also curious as to how one wires it up correctly?
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
unless your going wading viscous fan in good order is better
electric fan is more versatile. **** easy to fit. do yu have aircon?
UKAirborne
New Member
Indeed I do, does this make a difference? - Apparently it needs replacing so I don't mind spending a bit to Upgrade things, I prefer to upgrade than replace (if it needs doing).
Sounds like some like them and some don't.. any pro's and cons to electric (apart from the noise, which to be honest doesn't really bother me a lot as the engine isn't exactly super quiet)
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
this is a fairly unbiased read and explains pretty well both http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...sg=AFQjCNEN_MoHb0JNxK1lncVSdMDrdJaISQ&cad=rja
if yu didnt have aircon - or was thinking of ditching it - yu could use the aircon fans. If yu want to keep them, then there is very little space left to fit another - but yu could use them as cooling fans s well.
UKAirborne
New Member
Ahh I see, tbh I don't use the air con if I can help it (I pop it on now and again to keep it running), but i only tend to use it if I'm standing still and it's roasting which isn't often that happens, but since it's on the vehicle and (touch wood) it still works, I'm going to leave it be.
Thanks for the link, shall do some reading!
Paulmitchell1984
Well-Known Member
i had them on my old v8 (ok wasnt a disco but was a disco engine)
cons - noisier, need to make sure thermo stat is set up correctly so there not on all time and gooff when cool enough. (keep an eye on thermostat when 1st installed)
pros - can turn them off for wading, easy to set up,
i didnt see an mpg difference but didnt run it for that long before i got rid.
cons - noisier, need to make sure thermo stat is set up correctly so there not on all time and gooff when cool enough. (keep an eye on thermostat when 1st installed)
pros - can turn them off for wading, easy to set up,
i didnt see an mpg difference but didnt run it for that long before i got rid.
UKAirborne
New Member
Umm.. the info in the link would suggest that the viscous fan is a better option, there is a lot of good info there, you learn something new every day! cheers.. I may just stay with the viscous setup.
i fitted one recently absolute doodle all connections are in the fuse box so next to rad anyway mine is a single 17" fan that looks like it could suck small children thru it one thing tho make sure when fitting that you centralise it or your cowlings and rad cover wont line up
well i read a couple of paras and gave up when i read that a big fan wont cool the engine below the termostat opening temp.... that is wrong.... i had a renault 19 diesel which we used to low a 4 berth caravan...temp would rise towards the red on long hills, . leccy fan on the rad only cuts in when the temp gauge hits the red... so fitted a switch to turn the fan on manually.... hitting some of them long hills on the a30 in devon with the gauge at approx half , turn the fan on at the start of the hill the gauge was well lower at the tops of the hills.... if hes made a basic mistake like that you cant trust anything else in the article.
as i understand the disco 1 aircon theres a thermo switch top front of the head that turns the aircon fans on when its too late... a switch accross that (so the two are in parallel) will turn the aircon fans into manually oporated cooling fans with the thermo switch as back up if you miss turning them on manually. you then can fit another switch in series ( cut any of the existing wires ) to turn the system off for wadind
A Kenlowe electric fan is fitted to my 200TDI, but I can not remember it coming on for some years. Indeed I have to run it from time to time to make sure it still works. In ordinary use they just don't seem need a fan, unless you get caught for a long time in a traffic jam in hot weather. In my view they are worth fitting, as it seems worth while to remove the mechanical fan, and perhaps a bit risky to have nothing. You only need to boil it once and you could spend more than the price of an electric fan.
if yer thermostacic fan drives at low engine revs then slips and dont drive at high revs cos the airflow from forward motion is enough....thats fine in theory on a road car but aint going to be much use on an offroader using high revs in low box with a low forward speed........seems to me a leccy fan on a thermostat with a manual override has to be technically the best solution..... and you can easily test the manual operation to check its actually working.
I think yu missed the important bit............
" I get a lot of angry email from various automotive forums where this article is posted saying how wrong I am, yet every one of those people seem to miss the fact that this article is specific to the 2nd gen ('86-'92) RX-7. "
This article states quite clearly that different engines, different cooling parameters and different driving arenas will change the cooling requirements from a fan.
I think it is generally accepted knowledge that 200TDi's and to a lesser extent 300TDi's are overcooled and a fan is superfluous in most circumstances, therefore an electric fan will, when required, be more than adequate, because most of the time it will be off.
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
how can you cool below thermostat opening temp ,thermostat only opens to allow coolant through rad when engine has reached operating temperature ,why would you want to cool below thermostat temp ,thermostat is there to ensure engine reaches operating temp as soon as possible ,your problem with your fan wasnt anything to do with thermostat but to higher temp setting on fan switch
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jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
tdis arent overcooled ,air speed is normally enough as with most vehicles ,50mph is a lot of air shifting through rad ,but you sit in traffic on a hot day and see if it is ,i thought quite balanced article,both leccy and viscous work ,viscous imo has less tendency to thermal shock
jamesmartin
Well-Known Member
leccy fan for wading ,viscous for non wading
