Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Gday guys ive just bought a thermo fan for suzuki sierra 1994 model. ive got a general idea how to hook it up but just wandering if someone knows how to do a better way to do it or juts knows wat there doin cheers

I run mine off a Davies Craig switch, a bit tricky gettting the probe setup and sealed properly in top hose but has worked fine with no probs for last few years. The davies craig switch you can setup to turn the fans on at any temp you want and I have mine come on when the gauge gets just over a 1/4. The fan only comes on occassionally ( Good cooling system ) and the only time it has got up around the red line was during a comp with the rad full of mud, which was fixed by switching it to run fulltime.

yer cheers guys a just want a really simple set up. cause im not fully familar with electrics yet. cheers

plopper wrote:yer cheers guys a just want a really simple set up. cause im not fully familar with electrics yet. cheers

i tec screwed mine in and just wired it to the ignition so its on all the time haha took 5 mins. thats the simplest way

When I bought my thermo (think it was an ICE brand) it came with 2 wiring options on a sheet of paper. I also got a reconditioned radiator with a threaded position for a temp switch in the bottom (I think I use a Nissan Pulsar temp switch, with on/off at around 87deg).
I'm not really crash hot with electrics either, and sorry cannot remember the exact way I did it; but even for my electrical inability it wasn't very hard at all (only about 6 wires to hook up I think).
My first setup for my thermo caused numerous problems due to my garbage soldering. So I went back and redid the whole lot a few months ago, and since then has been perfect. Just suggesting you take your time and do a good job first time.

Also if you lose the shroud when fitting your thermo, put straps on the radiator to stop it vibrating the soldered joins apart. The shroud does actually add to the structural integrity of the radiator.

zookieboi wrote:i tec screwed mine in and just wired it to the ignition so its on all the time haha took 5 mins. thats the simplest way

You may as well not bother then and just keep the standard permanant drive fan , does the exact same thing.

Highway-Star wrote:When I bought my thermo (think it was an ICE brand) it came with 2 wiring options on a sheet of paper. I also got a reconditioned radiator with a threaded position for a temp switch in the bottom (I think I use a Nissan Pulsar temp switch, with on/off at around 87deg).
I'm not really crash hot with electrics either, and sorry cannot remember the exact way I did it; but even for my electrical inability it wasn't very hard at all (only about 6 wires to hook up I think).
My first setup for my thermo caused numerous problems due to my garbage soldering. So I went back and redid the whole lot a few months ago, and since then has been perfect. Just suggesting you take your time and do a good job first time.

Also if you lose the shroud when fitting your thermo, put straps on the radiator to stop it vibrating the soldered joins apart. The shroud does actually add to the structural integrity of the radiator.

zookieboi wrote:i tec screwed mine in and just wired it to the ignition so its on all the time haha took 5 mins. thats the simplest way

You may as well not bother then and just keep the standard permanant drive fan , does the exact same thing.

its got a gti engine. had a thermo fan and it broke

yer cheers guys yer ill think ill just do a simple switch with a fuse and that no worries

plopper wrote:yer cheers guys yer ill think ill just do a simple switch with a fuse and that no worries

Which is okay if you remember to switch it on before it cooks

plopper wrote:yer cheers guys yer ill think ill just do a simple switch with a fuse and that no worries

you will forget to turn it on and you will cook your motor. 100%. Guaranteed. Honest. Really. I promise. Cross my heart.

I can recommend the Jaycar temperature controlled switch kit assuming you can assemble a basic electronics kit. Mine works very well. I have JB welded the probe to the thermostat housing and it's set at about 85 deg.

If you can't assemble the Jaycar kit, there are a number of off the shelf controllers available. By all means wire an override for deep mud/water, but I'd actually recommend a really really bright light or even a buzzer that sounds when you have the fan OFF.

PS It's hard to get enough thermo on a sierra radiator to keep them as cool as an engine fan. Best of luck, but don't be surprised if it gets hot.

Steve.

yer ya gotta a good point ill chuck in the simple switch and if i forget to do it ill put in the other one, but i get bored easy while im stopped while a drive so at least it will give me something to do lol cheers mate

The simplest option is a thermal switch (plumbed into the water jacket) and relay. Cheap and reliable.

See that sticky in the electrical section.

I've had a bulb break of the Davis Craig thermoswitch, I suspect due to vibration. The bulb is quite long, perhaps not an issue on a road car but something to consider on a 4WD.

The factory thermoswitches may not be adjustable ( which I don't see as an issue ) but they are very robust so are my switch of choice.

The Silicon Chip ( Jaycar Kit ) thermo switch kit works very well although is a little short of cut in/cut out differential.

The voltage switch ( Silicon Chip / Jaycar ) on paper seems to be an option to monitor block temperature as seen by the ECU ( not the dashboard temp guage sender) but this voltage is often not particularly stable and lacks sensitivity at operating temperature.

For simple and robust, factory switches are good, for variable IMO the Silicon Chip temp kit is effective.

MightyMouse wrote: The voltage switch ( Silicon Chip / Jaycar ) on paper seems to be an option to monitor block temperature as seen by the ECU ( not the dashboard temp guage sender) but this voltage is often not particularly stable and lacks sensitivity at operating temperature.

Mine's working fine (using two of them to give a high and low speed.) You do need to ensure that the earth for the logic circuit is direct to the battery negative. The circuit can be easily modded to reduce the hysteresis to 0.030 V- so small ECU temp sensor voltage fluctuations aren't a problem.

Basically, mine works very well and has full adjustability (which was a must have for me.) But a simple solution it isn't.