[fasttracktobanned]

Spring is definitely here on the East coast, and that means air conditioning. In the Winter, your defroster uses the air conditioning, but it works very well because the air outside is cold. Well, now that's not the case.

This fix addresses the following symptom:
You have a clutch fan and when you first start up, or start up when warm, not hot, the air conditioning isn't cold and possibly makes bad sounds.

The problem:
During the conditions stated above, your clutch fan isn't turning. The clutch fan is a "dumb" system. It doesn't know what you want or when you want it.

The solution:
Add a helper electric fan.

Cost:
$70+

Time:
After noon or evening & next morning

Skill:
Advanced

Summary:

What you're going to do is add an extra fan on the front of the vehicle to push cool air in and over the A/C condenser to make it work better. There are a lot of different things you can do here, you can add two small fans, one big one, two big ones or one little one! I would suggest starting with one little fan and adding another if one is not enough.

Materials:
1 Electric fan
1 Appropriately sized relay
1 Inline fuse holder with fuse (fuse size in your fan's instructions)
2 Spools of appropriately sized wire
4 Spade sta-cons
2 Ring sta-cons
2 Screws
Garage full O' tools and a second driveable car in case you forgot something.

Steps:
1. Assess the space you have: take the grille off and make sure you have a nice unobstructed area to put the fan (the fan can go infront of or behind objects so long as they don't obstruct the flow. Put the fan on one side or the other, not in the center (so you can add a second if one isn't enough)

2. Measure diagonally at a 45* angle how much space you have. You need at least 10 inches diagonally.

3. Buy the fan - Hayden 10" fan ~$60. I picked mine up for 59.90 after tax. Open the box and throw away the included mounting hardware. That's right -- THROW IT AWAY. That stuff will fuckup your radiator.

4. Get either steel sheet metal or nice thick steel (1/8th is what I used) and construct a mounting bracket. I had to make a 1/2" tall X 1 1/2" long metal Z. I made it by welding long strips together (long enough to fit in the vise) and then cutting & grinding off the excess. Figure out where your holes are going to be, drill them then if desired, tap them to whatever thread you want.

5. Drill through your core support where you want the brackets to mount -- to avoid smashing into the condenser, put a block of wood behind what you're drilling.

6. Mount it up.

7. Using the appropriate wire, extend your wires to the inside fenderwell of the side WITHOUT your battery (you'll need the room for your wiring). Wire the coil of your appropriately sized weatherproof relay into the positive of your a/c compressor (this way the fan will come on with the compressor) and ground the coil to the chassis. On the switch, switch a fused line (25A fuse for the startup current) from the battery to the positive on the fan. Then ground the fan's negative again, to the chassis.

8. Re-assemble, have an ice-cold coca-cola. Start your engine and turn the A/C on. The fan should come on. Now, let the engine get hot, then let it cool for about an hour (so it's still plenty warm) and start up. The A/C should be nice and cold like you're crusing down the highway. If not, go get a second fan and repeat. Heavy up your wiring if need be. Total current draw must be less than the current rating of the wires and the relay. Startup current will be substantially higher but is only for a short amount of time.

Questions? Comments?

As usual, this information is offered with no guarantee, results may vary and I take no responsibility for what you do to your car.

Good luck and happy driving.

For more information, google "electric fan install" or "<your vehicle> electric fan install" for vehicle specific information.

Works great on SUV's and Trucks, recommended for motorhomes. Now when you car starts to get hot, you can turn on the A/C!

[The Ultimate Perv]

tl;dr......it's not hot enough here yet, but when it does start getting hot then i might actually take the time to read all of this shit.

[fasttracktobanned]

Originally Posted by Harry Ballsack

tl;dr......it's not hot enough here yet, but when it does start getting hot then i might actually take the time to read all of this shit.

It's not just about the A/C working, if you put a decent sized fan in there (800-1200CFM) then if your car ever starts to overheat, just turn the A/C on.

[fuss]

+1 OP

-1 derp

Good idea but like i said my truck is about as plain as plain gets / No AC

[fasttracktobanned]

Originally Posted by fuss

No AC

Aww... that's a shame, because that thing worked so well today. It was 72 outside, inside, I was shivering -- and that's only the 10"!!! Hmmm... I wonder what the 14" would do...

Hayden 10" Fan
40-amp relay
20-amp fuse
4 spade sta-cons, 1 ring and 1 horseshoe <- The horseshoe sta-con was for power, I tapped right off the line that goes into the fuse & relay center, like 1 foot away versus almost 6 to come right off the battery.

I gotta go back and work on cable management, the wire from the a/c compressor is just zip-tied to the main harness. I'm going to put it in a cable sheath at the next oil change when I'm in the neighborhood.
Whole lotta wire.