Spal electric fan wiring DIY

[LockDots]

Two things.

1 - Contact cleaner. My front pusher wasn't working when I got the car and was intermittent when I reseated my relay. I cleaned the contacts as well as the female contacts (relay socket in fuse box) and it's been fine ever since.

2 - I gave you bad info. Pulling the low speed relay prevents the front aux from working at low but since the spal still comes on its still cooling down the coolant preventing it from getting into the "high range". You'll have to disconnect (cut) the low output from the fan switch so low doesn't trigger either fan at all.

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[DocWyte]

Cleaned the poles on that relay with fine sandpaper and reseated it. Temps were still in the "high" threshold, gauge was showing 200F. Both fans came on. Hit the AC, front pusher was on at the same speed as before, so it is hitting "high".

I'm calling this good, not messing with it again, only bad can come of it...

[LockDots]

Awesome, glad you got it working.

[verobeach97]

Not sure if I should start a separate thread on this but figured there is enough brain power here: a victim to mechanical fan failure I had the shop install entire cooling replacement kit from ECS: silicone hoses new radiator water pump thermostat new engine mounts AND the 16" 1850cfm aluminum shrouded electric fan. Everything runs fine except that the threaded crank shaft that used to hold the mechanical fan is millimeters away from the shroud. In fact the fan has to sit off center to avoid touching the engine. Hopefully the attached picture shows it clearly. Has anyone got a clue why fan is so dangerously close to the crankshaft? Everything was installed correctly

[LockDots]

Must be the way the shroud is designed. I have a non-slim 16" spal puller and I've got plenty of space, even with the fan delete nut.



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[verobeach97]

Thanks for the picture man. Yes yours sits much further and it also doesn't look as wide in circumference as mine. , I couldn't even get the delete cap on there. I feel like once engine mounts settle in they could come in contact causing a repeat of me getting stranded somewhere... I'll contact ECS

[DocWyte]

Had to order a new low speed fan relay. Kept cleaning mine, front fan would work, then wouldn't. Finally noticed that the relay was really, really hot. Hopefully pick up the new relay today or tomorrow....

[Foda420]

Had to order a new low speed fan relay. Kept cleaning mine, front fan would work, then wouldn't. Finally noticed that the relay was really, really hot. Hopefully pick up the new relay today or tomorrow....

Long post incoming.

I've also been having some cooling issues lately and reading through your posts on this I decided to do a little testing myself. A little background on my issues/setup:

Since I re-did my cooling system the 1st time 4 years ago I've had my puller fan hooked up to both the low and high speed settings so that it came on both settings and when I use the A/C. For a long time this worked perfectly, keeping the car right at 88*C, even running the A/C in traffic on a 100* day. Last year I did a HG job, built the head and installed a PWR 4 row radiator. Other things happened as well but nothing relevant to this discussion. Although I can't profess to paying super close attention after I got it running, temps always seemed like they were as they should be.

A couple weeks ago I was sitting in dead stopped traffic and it was hot out. As usual (but for the 1st time since the rebuild), I put the A/C on and expected to keep myself and the car cool. After about 15 minutes the A/C gets hot and I look down and my temp gauge is up! Not at the red but past the 1st hashmark, I turn off the car and check the temp on Torque and I was up to 262*F, obviously no bueno. After that I replaced both the AUX fan and the puller fan I had inside the radiator just in case, but even now I cannot run the A/C at a stop without the temp rising consistently. This makes summer socal traffic even more frustrating.

Since then the car will run between 89-94*C, fluctuating between. Before the cams, headwork, and shorter diff, it was a pretty consistent 88-90*C while driving 80 on the hwy. This weekend at the track I could not keep temps down and had to pull off to save her a bit. Trackside temps were around 115*F and the highest I saw coming off track was 105*C. I know from past experience the needle starts moving at 107*C.

Reading the posts about the relays gave me the idea to check. Turns out the way I have it wired, my puller fan will run with both relays pulled out, but my aux fan will NOT run unless the high speed relay is plugged in. The low speed relay does absolutely nothing. This includes with A/C on, the aux fan will only run with the high speed relay in.

This leaves me stumped as to why I can no longer run a/c when stopped and why my temps are hotter in general. I was positive that by putting in a bigger radiator and the MM underpanel & baffle I would make what was already a good system bulletproof but I seem to have done the opposite. At this point my only guesses are some issue with the A/C system causing it to run hotter than normal, the tighter spacing between the bigger radiator and condenser means it traps more heat, the water pump is starting to go and can't flow enough now with the increased capacity, or I might've actually done some damage to the HG in that little excursion to 262. The last possibility is interesting because I did a compression test last week and was solid between 195-205 on all cylinders but small drops of oil have been showing up in my expansion tank lately.

[DocWyte]

Bet you compromised your head gasket. The relay thing is weird though, my pusher fan won't work without the low speed fan relay in, even if you turn the AC on.

My setup is Stewart water pump, CSF Racing radiator, Spal puller, new Aux pusher fan, 75/25 water/coolant mixture, MM splitter and under panel with custom block off to route all air through the radiator, AC installed.

At the track this past weekend it was 95F out and 5000ft above sea level. My temps never went over 215F on my aux temp gauge, measured at the tstat housing. I was very pleased with that, feel that the car won't overheat on track at all. I do need to get that low speed fan relay in and make sure that pusher fan is working though...

[Foda420]

Bet you compromised your head gasket. The relay thing is weird though, my pusher fan won't work without the low speed fan relay in, even if you turn the AC on.

My setup is Stewart water pump, CSF Racing radiator, Spal puller, new Aux pusher fan, 75/25 water/coolant mixture, MM splitter and under panel with custom block off to route all air through the radiator, AC installed.

At the track this past weekend it was 95F out and 5000ft above sea level. My temps never went over 215F on my aux temp gauge, measured at the tstat housing. I was very pleased with that, feel that the car won't overheat on track at all. I do need to get that low speed fan relay in and make sure that pusher fan is working though...

Ok so we have nearly identical setups bar your custom block off. The CSF is the same size as the PWR, seen them side by side. 215*F is just about 102*C so I wasn't too far beyond you and it was 20* hotter out for me although I was only at about 1000ft above sea level. The oil spots concern me though, not going to lie, even with good compression numbers. I'll most likely wait until it's cooler out before I go back to any track just to be safe.

[DocWyte]

Gotta point out my stock water temp gauge didn't move off center at all, even with my aux gauge reading 215-220....

[Foda420]

Gotta point out my stock water temp gauge didn't move off center at all, even with my aux gauge reading 215-220....

Neither did mine. From experience, the stock gauge doesn't move until 107*C, or about 225*F. I witnessed this multiple times on my car before the headgasket change last year.

I will say that I'm pulling this data from wherever the stock location is. I'm using the torque app to read live data from the DME.

[DocWyte]

Not sure where the stock location is, the head? My aux temp gauge sensor is in the tstat housing, not sure if that's a hotter spot than the head or not...

[LockDots]

Not sure where the stock location is, the head? My aux temp gauge sensor is in the tstat housing, not sure if that's a hotter spot than the head or not...

Hottest is right out of the head ON the head. The stock sensor is towards the front under the intake manifold. I believe it's a 4 wire sensor.

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[R00K]

Installed Mishimoto electric fan setup today using the Spal Relay Kit. Ran in to an issue that others had in the past and never addressed after asking for help.

After install I started the car and got it up to temp. Aux fan came on but new puller fan did not. I traced the problem to a faulty ground at the ring terminal for the fan. I attached my fan ground to the AC bracket bolt but It didn't pass the continuity check with the strut tower bolt. I had to sandwich the ring terminal for the ground between the sheet metal and bracket instead of the sheet metal and bolt. I assume if I had filed away the paint it would have worked as well.

Hope this helps someone else out.

[DocWyte]

Still fighting old german car disease. Noticed last night, while stuck in stop n go traffic (of course!) that the water temps were continuing to rise. I hit the AC to see if I could force the pusher fan on. Nope. Ok then. Turned the car off while sitting at the light, then all was fine once I started moving again.

This morning I checked all fuses and pulled both the low and high speed relays. Contact cleaner in both relay slots of the fuse box. Low speed relay is new, so no need to clean it. I used some sand paper to clean up the spades on the high speed fan relay.

Reseated both, then started the car. Both fans off, then I hit the AC to see if I could force both fans on. Yes, success! Cycled the key and did that a few times to make sure they still came on, so far, so good...

[RRSperry]

I've found that Deoxit contact cleaner works very well. Also some Dielectric grease to keep moisture out of the connection is a good idea.

You can test relays with 12V plus a DDM.

And lastly, damn you guys have issues...lol I've been running my supercharged car for at least 10 years with no mechanincal fan and only the aux fan and only once have I seen the water temp get over 215F. A stick, (a twig really) got stuck in the mesh in the bumper cover and was preventing the fan from turning, that caused a blown fuse. Removed twig, replaced fuse, and it's fine.

A couple of useful tools to have are a jumper for electrical testing. I use a remote starter cable. (basically a long with with a momentary contact switch in line, and two alligator clips on the ends of the wires. Makes testing the fan switch really easy.

You all might also want to check the AC charge. There are two switches in the AC system that also make the fan work.

[DocWyte]

These cars are getting old and the electrical systems are getting cranky. At least mine is. When I pulled that low speed fan relay the first time, that's when all this started happening. I disturbed the oxidation/connections and it never really connected right since then. Hopefully this last round of cleaning did it.

Also, my higher temps are track temps, not street temps. On the street my car rarely gets over 180F. If it goes up to 190F, then both fans come on (hopefully!) and they drop back down.

[Guillen]

im thinking on doing a radiator fan with an e90 radiator fan on my e46 325i 2002, keeping the auxiliary fan working together... i will conet the wires directly so if somebody can help...thanks...

[RRSperry]

Why do you think you need two electric fans?

[pbonsalb]

The stock wiring for the aux fan probably cannot support the aux fan plus another powerful electric fan. Also, the factory temperature trigger is on the hot end of the range to be used for primary cooling. There is a lower temperature switch that can be substituted.

[h82crash]

He could use the aux fan power to trigger a relay for the new fan and get his desired functionality.

[graphikg]

I have to post this diagram of how I set up my fan. I dont know what it is, but the fan ONLY comes on under Acc Mode WITH the switch. Otherwise, it does not come on, even way past the low or high temp zones.

I have rewired this fan in 4 or 5 different ways, but the last way I have wired it is as follows.

Reference 1:



I have tried different things and can't get what I want. I would like the e-fan to come on EITHER under my manual control with the switch, OR come on once it hits the low temp setting. I do not want the aux fan to come on with the e-fan, I would like them to run independently (different relays). I want the Aux fan to operate as normal (i.e. low speed at the low temp zone, high speed at high temp, and turns on at AC switched on). And I want the 3-fan to be on whenever I turn on the switch or whenever the temp is a low all the way to as high as the engine gets.

What do I need to do to wire this correctly?

I also tried this as a further reference. Can't get the functionality I am looking for. Any Help?

Reference 2:



Assistance would be great.

[RRSperry]

Not for nothing but it sure looks like your switch is a double throw double pole switch. (meaning it has one in and two outs, depending on how the switch is positioned. It shouldn't have three connections) Meaning that it looks like when the switch is in the off position, you are grounding the 12V side. Make sure that you use a single pole switch. (simple on off.. and use a fuse on that too...) You want to interrupt the current, not ground it.

[pbonsalb]

Why do you have power going to your temperature switch? The switch is a ground loop. It gets hot, the wax inside melts, the wires on and out are allowed to connect, and connecting those two (or three) wires grounds the factory relay and allows it to turn on. You may be shorting the wiring, causing the problems you are experiencing.

And hopefully not damaging any other wiring that is interconnected. I once shorted a fuel pump and messed up a bunch of wiring in the cowl tray. Beware of plugging and standard bosch relays in place of the bmw colored relays. Some of those colored relays are wired differently even though they have the standard prong orientation.