Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with coolin

[Qualitywires.com]

Does anyone run the radiator fan all the time to help cooling off with their car? If so, is there any negatives about it?

I figure with high horsepower cars you need all the cooling you can get.

thanks

 

[STUGOTS]

i run the Roe fan kit which lets the fan runwhen its needed at any time even after the car is shut down

 

[CHAD]

Running it all the time may be a drain on the battery and may not let the car warm up quite as quickly when cold or run too cold in cold climates. Just a thought. I know ALL the car companies don't spend all the resources on fan management for nothing.

There is such a thing as too cold, although not sure that applies to Viper.

Chad

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

I agree with Chad.....just note, though, that the Roe kit allows you to install a switch, so you can run it whenever you want. Also, it would not do anything to the battery while the car is running....correct? I do agree that it could affect the battery after shutdown, but I have seen mine run for well over 20 minutes (once or twice) with no ill-affects.

(is that the proper use of effect vs. affect???)

 

[BruceW]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

You could also swap out the Roe temp. sensor for one with a lower trigger temp.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Fix your real issue, get a bigger radiator.

Running the fan constnatly will lead to a SHORTLY life span for the fan motor, it also robs power, by forcing the alternator to stay on longer to produce the electricty to run it.

Fix the real problem, increase cooling capacity of the system by upgrading the components (as you did your motor to get MORE power), not extending the duty cycle of stock ones. (This of how well that works with Injectors).

Jon

 

[Qualitywires.com]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Gimme the money for a larger radiator Jon!

Yes, Tony, the fan would shut off after the car shuts down. I never did understand the fan being on after the car shuts down since there is no water circulation.

But I'm not sure if I buy the wearing out the alternator thing. I just wanted to make sure if the fan runs all the time it doesn't overload wires or fuses.

 

[Viperguynick]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

The fan can be set to run after the vehicle is shut down so that the Motor does not "heat soak". If an engine is allowed to sit and allow the heat to continue to build up after being parked due to no cooling at all, this can lead to cylinder washing as well as a dry start condition which can be harmful to the motor.

-Nick-

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Ab your a dip$hit.

It only takes 1/2 a brain to validate these two items:

Electric fan need ELECTRICITY to run, there for, your alternator will cycle on MORE to keep it running constantly, then if the fan only turned on when needed. (And I'm sure this is a COMPLETE shock to you, but accessories like the Alternator take power to operate, but if you dont believe me, run your AC, Stereo, and Fan all while doing a Dyno pull.)

Most objects that perform tasks have MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), and when you run/operate/use an object you are "counting down" that time, to its eventual failure. So if a Fan has 20,000 hours MTBF, then every HOUR its on takes another hour off the clock. So if its used for 10 hours over a 10 hour drive, vs 1 hour over 10 hour drive (high way use), you just took off an ADDITIONAL 9 hours from its MTBF that it necessaryly didnt need. (BTW, I am not sayin MTBF changes (not sure It clear to eveyone), only that you are counting down the "allotted" hours more so, with constant on trick, getting you to that failure to occure sooner)

Now go piss off. You can buy that for a dollar if you like.

Jon

PS. AB's a friend of mine, he usually calls me with these, so I figured I'd give him $hit here.. no offense.

 

[2001 Sapphire Blue]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

My fan never runs after I shut the engine down..even after a spirited run and/or in hot weather. Should it? I usually just pop the front of the hood up for about an hour after I park it in the garage.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Stock fans do NOT run, after the car is shut off. People are talking about the AFTER Market mod of Shawn Roe Fan controller, that does that.

Jon

 

[Matt M PA]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

An alternator works ALL THE TIME..it does not cycle on and off. There's no clutch. It's not like an A/C compressor that cycles. An alternator is designed to put out a steady flow of current at a given voltage. (Incidentally, alternators are a Chrysler first. Generators make different amounts of power over the RPM range.)

I suppose you could argue that having the fan on alot could cause it to wear out early, but I think that's a long shot.

As far as a dyno pull and losing power...I can't see any reason why an alternator would "use" more power because more accessories are on. More likely, the alternator can't keep up with demand, and overall voltage drops which could cause a myriad of driveability and power issues.

When driving my Viper, if I am stuck in traffic or at a long series of lights, I often turn the A/C on to get the fan going. Helps cool me down too.

 

[RobHook]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

In general there are only a few accessories that draw enough power to overload a running alternator if left on. They're cooling fans and a rear window defroster. If you hadn't noticed, most cars have a switch on the rear window defroster that shuts it off automatically after a certain amount of time. Otherwise it could drain your battery even while the alternator is trying to charge it. I would bet the cooling fans on the Viper can do the same thing. You'd take a trip around town, turn the car off, and then not have enough power left in the battery to start it when you came back to the car in 5 minutes.

Increasing the duty cycle by decreasing the temperature at which the fans come on is probably a good idea but having them on 100% of the time isn't.

The only times I've ever had problems with my cooling system, even while in Florida, was when there was an air pocket in the cooling system. I even noticed the car start to overheat once while sitting nose-down on a very steep hill. I'm not sure why it would do that but it did. Maybe the hill caused the air pocket to migrate to the area around the water pump impeller. Anyway, the most likely solution is to get an air bleed system installed.

By the way, does anyone make an automatic air bleed system? We used to do that on DeLoreans and it completely eliminated the overheat problems.

--Rob

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

An alternator works ALL THE TIME..it does not cycle on and off. There's no clutch. It's not like an A/C compressor that cycles. An alternator is designed to put out a steady flow of current at a given voltage. (Incidentally, alternators are a Chrysler first. Generators make different amounts of power over the RPM range.)

I suppose you could argue that having the fan on alot could cause it to wear out early, but I think that's a long shot.

As far as a dyno pull and losing power...I can't see any reason why an alternator would "use" more power because more accessories are on. More likely, the alternator can't keep up with demand, and overall voltage drops which could cause a myriad of driveability and power issues.

When driving my Viper, if I am stuck in traffic or at a long series of lights, I often turn the A/C on to get the fan going. Helps cool me down too.

I beg to differ, as a Battery is a store of energy, if you KEEP charging it PAST its needed/capacity of stored enegry (by constantly providing current, WHERE DOES IT GO ? sorry, I dont agree with you on this. I know the alternators ENERGIZE the fields when it needs power (creating load, when the wire wound spindle rotates against the magnetic field(case) of the altinator)

You do NOT have to have a clutch (as an A/C) to have an ON/OFF relationship of a device. (magnetic fields work just fine for this)


As far as the dyno thing ?? TRY IT, I did... Not worth arguing if you dont have a real world example like I do. Lost about 15 rwhp off the deal. Anything taking power from the engine (in the form of needing work from the engine to rotate/operate) will take power away from final output to the wheels.

good Luck. I still think AB is SLOOOOOWWWWWWWW...

jON

Jon

 

[CHAD]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

The more power you draw, the more power an alternator puts out (up to its max) and the more draw it puts on the engine to turn it correct? Isn't that why there is a controller on the alternator, to tell it how much power to make? I think so but don't know so.

Chad

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Thanks BAD VPR, you said it in less words, but same point.

Jon

 

[pullshard]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Where's the Roe temp sensor? I can't find it on his site. I've been looking for a sensor that will turn the fans on at a lower temp, but not all the time.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Here is the link to the vendor and the part (Go to Engine Cooling):
http://www.roeracing.com/index.html?token=1580797726-450347326-1853281886&A=2&B=Viper%20Parts%20%2F%20Upgrades


Here is the desription:

"Dodge Viper Fan Control Kit
Runs fan after engine shutdown to help eliminate overheating and cool engine faster. "

 

[Matt M PA]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

2002...I stand corrected. After some thought, I realize that my alternator thinking is leaning towards my older Mopars and not the current stuff.

On modern cars, the alternator has a built in regulator that varies output, when in older cars the alternator simply pumped out a voltage and a seperate regulator did that job. Geez, old school thinking is hard to change.

 

[BruceW]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

The other nice feature I like about the Roe controller is that it is wired independent, or parallel, to the Viper fan controller. If, while driving, your thermostat (or the ECU controls, relay, etc.) should fail to run the fan the Roe controller will still kick the fan on.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

2002...I stand corrected. After some thought, I realize that my alternator thinking is leaning towards my older Mopars and not the current stuff.

On modern cars, the alternator has a built in regulator that varies output, when in older cars the alternator simply pumped out a voltage and a seperate regulator did that job. Geez, old school thinking is hard to change.

No Prob, just glad we cleared it up, so Poor old AB didnt get even more confused.

Jon

 

[pullshard]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

I have the roe fan control unit already. It came with the car. With this kit, can I make it so the fans come on at a lower temp while the car is driving and not just shut off.
Thanks

 

[BruceW]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Pullshard,
Replace the temp. sensor provided in the kit with one with a lower trigger temp. Stancor makes these and Mouser carries them. They come in a variety of trigger temps. Make sure your replacement unit has the same function. If memory serves me right the one in the Roe kit closes the circuit when it hits the temp. (but you can confirm that on your car with an ohm meter).

 

[Big Medicine]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

What is the component on the alternator that is variable or "regulated" by the modern set up? Obviously the belt turns relative to rpm, the coils maintain wind, and the internals don't change size. I don't see how it could affect engine loading.

2002...I stand corrected. After some thought, I realize that my alternator thinking is leaning towards my older Mopars and not the current stuff.

On modern cars, the alternator has a built in regulator that varies output, when in older cars the alternator simply pumped out a voltage and a seperate regulator did that job. Geez, old school thinking is hard to change.

No Prob, just glad we cleared it up, so Poor old AB didnt get even more confused.

Jon

 

[Cop Magnet]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

The confusion here is that although the alternator spins all the time, it only produces significantly more resistance when it is making power. The air conditioning compressor may spin or not, depending on whether it has a clutch, and when actual compression is occuring there is power loss. Also, the energy used to run the fan is really insignificant as far as getting the alternator to cycle on more often. The fan will wear out if overused, as indicated above with the whole MTBF speech, but that's not as much of an issue as not controlling engine temperatures properly. I would not run the fan all the time--it is thermostat-controlled for a reason. Cars that do run the fan all the time (non-electric fans driven off the crank), rely on the water-neck thermostat to achieve the same results.

 

[AG98RT10]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

What is the component on the alternator that is variable or "regulated" by the modern set up?

Load on the alternator, short answer. Under low load, the alternator turns more freely than under high load. Imagine a magnetic field that rotates and picture the amount of current flow increasing, making the force required to rotate the coils higher.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

The Fan will wear out if over used, and so will the alternator. I dont claim to have stats on what the over all impact is. But the Fan is in fact one of the LARGEST current consuming devices in the car, probably only second to the Starter. I guess I will just stand alone in my understanding that drawing that much current constantly is not good for the Alternator or the Fan.

Jon

 

[Qualitywires.com]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

Mods can we ban Jon for a couple of weeks for bad behavior? He needs to take some time out and think of all those hurtful words he said to me. Jon, no more favors from my dog anymore...go get your own dog and can of peanut butter!

 

[pullshard]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

I know I'm about to talk apples to oranges but the the hay. I have a 88 turbo saab spg that is putting out over 300 hp-big deal right! It is when I can walk away from alot of cars on the freeway (freeway only). In an attempt to lower detonation and keep the car cool, I run a temp sensor that lowers the temp so the fan(s) come on much earlier. Before the car would ave. about half way, now it averages 1\4. Car starts fine, runs fine. I have had this setup for 5 years. I have had the battery for 4 years and the alt for 8 years. The fans are from 1988 and my car has close to 200,000 miles on it. So I guess what I'm saying is that yes, more draw on the electrical system, shorter battery life, shorter alt life and in the case of fans, most likeley shorter life as well. But I would rather spend money on an alt, a batt. or fans any day of the week inturn for an engine that will last much longer. Would I have the fans run all the time? No way.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

Re: Does anyone in here run their radiator fan all the time to help with co

$hit, your dog ? Looked a lot like an Asian Guy with a Ricer Car, if I remember correctly. And I sure dont remember you askin for Peanut Butter.

Jon