Spal electric fan wiring DIY

[m2pc]

It's just annoying. I like to know when my coolant temp dictates the fan operation, but with it being summer in SoCal, I use my A/C almost constantly, thus the SPAL is always running.

[hoki06]

I just completed my electric fan swap tonight and I've got a question. I did my wiring exactly as the OP showed. I filled it with water/water wetter and ran it with the heat on until it reached temp. Once it reached temp for a little bit I gave it some gas and held the RPM around 1700 for 10-15 seconds. When I got back out, the water was what looked like boiling out of the expansion tank so I cut the car off. The new electric fan never came on during the whole bleeding process. According to the OP, he says his fan rarely comes on because the AUX fan in front of the condenser is usually enough to keep it cool. But with the boiling I saw, what the car overheating? The temp gauge stayed in the normal position and never showed that it was too hot.

[NHmfree]

I just completed my electric fan swap tonight and I've got a question. I did my wiring exactly as the OP showed. I filled it with water/water wetter and ran it with the heat on until it reached temp. Once it reached temp for a little bit I gave it some gas and held the RPM around 1700 for 10-15 seconds. When I got back out, the water was what looked like boiling out of the expansion tank so I cut the car off. The new electric fan never came on during the whole bleeding process. According to the OP, he says his fan rarely comes on because the AUX fan in front of the condenser is usually enough to keep it cool. But with the boiling I saw, what the car overheating? The temp gauge stayed in the normal position and never showed that it was too hot.

I had a similar issue tonight after finishing my install. The temp just started to creep up so I shut the car off. I did find however, that the fan would come on with the AC, but only with the AC...regardless of temp.

[Meat Evo]

Finally installed mine today. Didn't want to pull the rad, so I installed the fan without the rubber guard.

I followed the instructions to a T and since my OEM electric fan that mounts un front of the ac was blown, I used the gray/black wire going to my temp switch so it turns on with ac and without. I'm now running a high flow water pump, 88* thermostat, a lot of OEM bimmer coolant. Maybe to much.1 bottle of wetter, and the fan kit is the kit from bimmerworld. So, a lower thwrmostat switch as well. My car runs at TDC all the time.

I did a Damn good job running the wires and making everything look OEM.

Next on my list, m50 manifold and alky injection.

Finally installed mine today. Didn't want to pull the rad, so I installed the fan without the rubber guard.

I followed the instructions to a T and since my OEM electric fan that mounts un front of the ac was blown, I used the gray/black wire going to my temp switch so it turns on with ac and without. I'm now running a high flow water pump, 88* thermostat, a lot of OEM bimmer coolant. Maybe to much.1 bottle of wetter, and the fan kit is the kit from bimmerworld. So, a lower thwrmostat switch as well. My car runs at TDC all the time.

I did a Damn good job running the wires and making everything look OEM.

Next on my list, m50 manifold and alky injection.

[NHmfree]

So are you saying that if I wire into the black/gray wire instead of the black/green wire that my fan will come on with or without AC?

[Brent]

Subscribed thanks

[theconverted]

I just did this using your write up, and it worked great. Thanks for taking the time to put it all out there!

[Eddie916]

Bump for a quick question, on the Fan Man, is the relay and wires the "FRH"?

http://www.the-fan-man.com/shop/frh-...47ed2b7f01c6ad

[purduinaM3]

Bump for a quick question, on the Fan Man, is the relay and wires the "FRH"?

http://www.the-fan-man.com/shop/frh-...47ed2b7f01c6ad

Not sure, but wiring the power for the Spal directly into both the low speed and high speed power wires worked great for me, no relay or extra wiring needed.

[M3daytonaviolet]

i lost a hose to a broken fan once.. lucky it didn't come thru my hood

[Brian 328is]

Thanks for the initial post.

I picked up a aluminum radiator & electric fan for $80 total. Score!

Took one day to do wiring, another day to do radiator

From pin 16 in the diagnostic port (ignition switched power) to the high temp side of the radiator thermo switch. From the ground of the thermo switch to the low amp side of the relay, while the other side of the low amp side on the relay goes to ground.
From the positive battery terminal under the hood, to an in-line 30 amp fuse to the high amp side of the relay. The other remaining pin of the relay goes to the positive side of the fan. The negative side of the fan goes to ground, anywhere on the car.
Wrap all wiring in electrical tape.

Everything worked the first try, with no leaks.

Brian

[pbonsalb]

The thermo switch wiring seems strange to me. The thermoswitch had a ground going in and two grounds going out. The two grounds going out are for the high and low temperature sides of the switch. When the switch reaches the required temperature, the ground path opens to the low and then to the high. These grounds then trigger the relays back in the fusebox for high and low (there is a relay for each).

I would think you would want to continue with the ground circuit and tap into it to ground your new fan relay to trigger your new fan.

I am not an electrical engineer, however. Obviously what you are doing somehow works because you have tested it. I just can't quickly figure out why it works.

[mgoods50]

Just food for thought-

When I bought my SPAL, I also bought the PWM. I can program activation for both low speed and high speed.

The cool thing about the PWM is that it is electronic- and does all the thinking for me. I don't have to do a thing but tell it when to come on, and it will infinitely vary the fan speed accordingly.

I ran my relay (slow throw, self-resetting- instead of fuse) to the factory fuse box on a dedicated circuit. Wiring installed along right fenderwell to fan itself- everything is wrapped and looks factory- I'm very particular that way.

I do have a manual switch installed for the hell of it, along with a remote status light indicating fan operation.

From experience- I suggest HIGH current wiring connections ONLY- or just make darn sure you DON'T cut wires and have to splice later. Full speed operation WILL cook regular butt connectors, and 10AWG wire.

Regarding fan clutches and factory fans . . .they equal shrapnel in the engine bay- period. Hoods, radiators, hoses- all will be casualties and leave you stranded wherever you may be, when that factory fan decides to give up.

I have the SPAL 2120- not the highest CFM, nor the loudest- but I believe the middle. Its the biggest you can mount without seriously fiddling with the radiator. I have about an inch of clearance, and I mounted mine offset- it will NOT clear the thermostat housing / WP pulley centered.

I hacked up the stock shroud to keep the factory reservoir, and a place to run the reservoir hose- other than that it's useless since I have the fan gasketed and mounted flush to the radiator. It pulls plenty of air across those 16" to cool with no problem whatsoever.

Hope this helps someone!

[pbonsalb]

I like the variable speed controllers with head mounted temperature switch, like the Spal. I have a Dakota that I will be installing and DC Controls makes one also.

[E39SD]

Is anyone using the Spal gasket
http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30130074

with the 30102049 or is it too thick?

Thanks.

[mgoods50]

Is anyone using the Spal gasket
http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30130074

with the 30102049 or is it too thick?

Thanks.

That fan is about 3.5" thick. http://www.spalusa.com/pdf/30102049_SPEC.PDF#view=FitH (rounded 87.6mm up to 88mm , converted mm to inches, then rounded 3.46" to 3.5")

I wouldn't consider mounting flush to radiator without the gasket- otherwise it's just vibrating / rubbing etc the fins- against the plastic housing of the fan. Not good for the fan, or the radiator fins.

Regarding fitment- if you intend to install that thing- plan on spending some time massaging things into place, and maybe even doing some light / medium fabrication. I would have selected that one myself, but at the time, I could not find any reference material for DIY (and I did not want another project at the time-- too much already going on.)

If memory serves me, I believe the gasket will add at least 3/8" to the thickness. If you like, I'll take a GOOD close up of my installation- showing how much clearance is involved with a flush mounted, gasketed fan-- relative to the thermostat housing, and how mine is offset.

I have the 2120 unit... And, I just checked the spec sheets for both-- and it appears the 2120 also has the same thickness. Is the 2049 the "big boy" monster fan for the e36? I didn't search and can't remember offhand. I just remember at the time (about a year ago) there was a monster, a little monster, then some I did not consider. I bought the little monster- 2120.

If the thicknesses are the same- you'll have no problems. Let me know about the pics=

Hope this helps!

[E36M3E]

Is anyone using the Spal gasket
http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...&item=30130074

with the 30102049 or is it too thick?

Thanks.

I don't think you're going to get that fan in with that gasket on there. I just did an install with that fan and that seal on an MRoady and there was no way I could've used the seal. You would need to mount the fan completely offset left...and with the seal installed the fan shroud would need to be completely removed from that side. without the seal the fan still needs to be mounted far left but the shroud still works fine. I don't think even cutting off the OE fan drive shaft would give you enough room.

I have mounted many of the straight blade 1600cfm fans and always used the seal. When the Mroady customer showed up with a 2049 fan I thought it would be fine but turns out that fan is a whole inch or more thicker than the 1600cfm straight bade fans.

FYI - I called spal and they said that the seal I was using (the one you want to use) is specifically made for a fan that has blades that stick out in front of the fan frame...the blades would contact the radiator if the seal was not used. they went on to tell me that the seal is not needed and fans routinely get mounted directly to radiators.

If the fan is mounted tight to the radiator using the fan brackets bolted to the radiator perimeter AND THE DARTS at 4 points thru the radiator holding it tightly to the radiator I guess it's probably ok without the seal.

that being said I have also used tubular insulation made of neoprene rubber to cushion the fan against radiator...instead of the seal.

-E

[E39SD]

Thanks for the info and the pic's offer. BW includes the gasket with their kit, which appears to use the thinner straight blade fan. Sounds like it would be a better idea to make a thinner gasket with the 3.5" 2049 fan.

[purduinaM3]

I have the 2049 Spal and run it with the gasket and it clears. I'm not running any shroud though, and it's offset.

Here's a picture before I finished the wiring and tucked it all away:

[mgoods50]

...If the fan is mounted tight to the radiator using the fan brackets bolted to the radiator perimeter AND THE DARTS at 4 points thru the radiator holding it tightly to the radiator . . .

Just playing devils advocate, but I've always heard it is a bad idea to mount through the radiator. Potential problems seem realistic enough- why not just use SPAL bracketing or fab something up?

I have the 2049 Spal and run it with the gasket and it clears. I'm not running any shroud though, and it's offset . . .

Thanks for posting that pic. Clearly, it is not that big of an issue. Mine is offset similarly to yours, only positioned to the drivers side instead. I was wondering how that 2049 would have worked out. If my little brother fan ever gives out, I'll upgrade with that beast.

BTW- 'took me a minute before I realized why the install looked so clean from that angle-- then I was like-- where the heck is the overflow tank? Then I saw the hose on the driver side-- and was like-- where's it going? Why did you choose to run it through there instead of along the bottom of the radiator? Just curious, it seems like a lot of extra hose with extra areas potentially chaffing.

See above on my concerns about mounting through the radiator. (don't get me wrong- I don't intend to seem as If I'm some supreme authority-- just looking for points of view).

[purduinaM3]

Just playing devils advocate, but I've always heard it is a bad idea to mount through the radiator. Potential problems seem realistic enough- why not just use SPAL bracketing or fab something up?



Thanks for posting that pic. Clearly, it is not that big of an issue. Mine is offset similarly to yours, only positioned to the drivers side instead. I was wondering how that 2049 would have worked out. If my little brother fan ever gives out, I'll upgrade with that beast.

BTW- 'took me a minute before I realized why the install looked so clean from that angle-- then I was like-- where the heck is the overflow tank? Then I saw the hose on the driver side-- and was like-- where's it going? Why did you choose to run it through there instead of along the bottom of the radiator? Just curious, it seems like a lot of extra hose with extra areas potentially chaffing.

See above on my concerns about mounting through the radiator. (don't get me wrong- I don't intend to seem as If I'm some supreme authority-- just looking for points of view).

The hose you're seeing on the drivers side frame rail isn't a cooling hose, it's for my catch can. I've completely converted my setup to a Euro reservoir, so the hose you're thinking about comes off the euro hardpipe behind the head and stretches only 6 inches to the reservoir. You can see the other OEM line from the top of the radiator that I've tucked away nicely that also runs up to the reservoir.

As far as mounting through the radiator, it hasn't caused any problems for me yet. I've seen it done on many cars and it wasn't an issue for them either.

[mgoods50]

After looking at mine again, ours fit nearly the same. I have about the same amount of clearance as you. I should have simply looked at the spec sheets instead of believing something I read somewhere about issues. Hands down- the thru-radiator method is much cleaner- Kudos again

(sorry- a bit OT) On your catch can: Obviously you're OBDII, and I'm OBDI; I know there are some differences- but I've been contemplating simply attaching a cheap wire/ gauze breather on the crankcase vent fitting. I'm currently running a $2 fuel filter on the end of emission hose- atmosphere vented. I wish I had learned all that extra hose business really does is pour oil into the intake a long time ago.

So what's the passenger side hose, just beneath the AUX fan switch?

[Regamaster]

Great write-up, helped me out alot with my recent install.

Everything is running good, only thing that I'm unsure about is where I mounted the spal fan ground. Instead of mounting it on the chassis I've mounted it to the engine head because it seemed to have a more solid and reliable connection.

Anyone think this is a bad idea? If this could cause problems down the road I'm unaware of then I will relocate it.

[Advan06]

I've had my ground on the head for 2 months now and not a single problem

[pbonsalb]

The engine block is fine, but it just grounds to the frame rail, so there is no need to ground to the block. Whatever is more convenient.