5 Liter Eater

A few years ago my fans stopped working and it was due to the connector melting and the negative wire not making contact anymore. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...d-working.html

I bypassed the negative wire outside the harness and it worked since then. The other day it stopped working again. This time it was the fan controller AND the positive connection in the melted connector. This is probably due to me commanding 100% fan over 180 degrees (my 2 bar OS extends the fan tables out). I totally got rid of the connector and have temporarily disabled the controller with a relay. I'm certainly not going to drive it like this long term. It's toothless Joe shade tree stuff at best. Just until I source a controller or decide to do a real version of this bastardized hack job. I think the PWM just makes things more complicated and in the Texas heat I need all the fan I can get. At first I thought I could use the small wire as a trigger for the relay but not so. So I had to use the fuel pump relay as a trigger for the new fan relay.

Enjoy.

blue devil R1

Guess I could be reading it wrong, but the reason you are using the fuel pump is because the trigger wire is a consistant +12v where as the fan trigger is actually PWM (+0-12v). If this is true a regular car relay is not fast enough and will burn up over time.

Ever consider a solid state relay spec'd to your requirements? Like a PNP Transistor from the trigger wire? Also if your keeping the fittings from the plug id use some dielectric grease.

5 Liter Eater

It wasn't intended to simulate the PWM. This is just supposed to serve as an "engine on=fan on" solution. I just thought that there would be enough voltage coming through it to serve as the trigger for the relay but there was no voltage coming from it even when I commanded 90% fan in HPTuners so I used the fuel pump relay as the trigger.

5 Liter Eater

I didn't think you could get the controller by itself. From GM it only ships with the fan assembly, but I found it with the google "Delco 15-80803" for ~$130 shipped.

user_name

BluV

Correct me if I am wrong - but 95%+ == 100% (as far as GM is concerned)? I was told anything higher does not actually speed up the fans or increase flow - but will burn out the controller?

5 Liter Eater

Thats quite possible.

5 Liter Eater

FYI I'm not rolling around like this anymore although it ran quite cool with the PWM bypassed (~175). I completely removed the connector that burned up and put new spade connectors on each end. I tried the old controller just for fun afer doing that but no go so the new one wen in and it worked again. I also lowered my fan settings to 80% at 180 and 90% from there on and temps are similar to when I was commanding 100% which is probably what burned up the controller. I'm just glad I found that PWM controller ny itself because the research I had done seemed to indicate it was only available with a new set of fans.

RLSebring

Bill, How is the spade clip holding up? I've had to rig my plug a couple of times now and today lost fan again. When I unplugged the sockets looked pretty burnt (I wonder if this has caused a fire yet?). Not as bad as yours but bad enough that I will not be able to continue with this factory setup.

My first thought was to solder using a butt connector but I figured as sure as I did the fan motor would go and I'd have to start cutting into the wires. The spade clip was the next thought but I don't think I've ever seen any clip larger than about 12ga.

I may use a copper split nut wire nut so I know I'm getting good connection and I can take it apart if ever necessary. I know I am getting tired of having to deal with this on a spontaneous occurrence.

5 Liter Eater

Just taking the middle wire out of the connector and re-connecting it outside of the connector lasted over a year. This latest post the positive wire was loose and the controller burnt up. I've now put all new male and female spades on both sides of all three wires and intalled a new fan controller. The spades I used were just what I had in my parts bin that were large enough to insert the wire into. HTH

RLSebring

I would not have guessed a 12/14 spade would have been heavy duty enough but as long as the connection is and remains tight maybe so apparently.

I used a 14 ga jumper when I originally had the problem and jumped the circuit as a test. The casing burnt off the wire and glowed like a light bulb. Scared the hell out of me. It's a wonder I didn't burn the car down.

With the heat of summer on now, here 103 today, and the A/C going full blast the fan has to be running at 80% non stop. Sounds cool at the red light though.

5 Liter Eater

The spades I used were about the same size as the ones that came out of the melted connector. They are the same ones I used in the pics above to connect to the relay. The wire I used to bypass the controller (temporarily) are pretty hefty, not sure what gauge it was. The small wires shown were just to trigger the relay.

With the fan running at 100% with the controller bypassed I was seeing 175 degree coolant temps. :O I think a vendor who came out with a plug and play relay and a probe that sticks in the radiator fins could stand to make some money.

LEAVINU

I understand you live in TX but having the fans set at 100%(90%) at 180deg means the fans are on all the time once the car is warm. Thats what is burning up your switch I would think.

5 Liter Eater

I was commanding 80 at 180 and 100 at 190+ and thats what I think burned out the controller. Now I command 80 1t 180 and 90 at 190+. It's said that exceeding 90% is what will do it in. It doesn't really matter if I command 90% at 180 or 225. In the summer it will get there in a hurry. I rarely see over 200 degrees even in the heat of summer. If I take out another controller or fan then I will hard wire in a relay and temp probe proper.

LEAVINU

I see your point. I see 190+ in the city only and 174ish while on the hwy. So once on the hwy I rarely use the fan due to it being programmed to come on at 192 at only 30%. Once it hits 198deg mine is at full speed(90%).

RLSebring

I'm going to readjust my fans temps. We are already having 100+ days here. May not hold up but for now it's HOT! If my temps reach 220 and fans are running full tilt then I see no reason they can't run full (90%) at 190 or 200.

I found a 10ga spade at Lowe's yesterday and will semi hardwire the 8ga power wire outside of the disconnect. The other 2 wires and the connector is fine so I'll leave those alone at least for now.

After dealing with the lack of fans and the heat I start getting a little anxious when the temps hit 220 now. I want to hear my fan.

5 Liter Eater

Exactly.

carlrx7

latest victim here. point me in the right direction bill!

5 Liter Eater

After I got a new controller I just put some spade connectors on each wire and put heat shrink tubing over each. I think its the connector not making solid contact that burns it up, not the current per-say, so I think it'll be good to go now.

RLSebring

Same here. The other two wires and the connector are OK so I just pulled the pos+ wire out of the connector, cleaned up and adjusted the spade connection to get a good bite then just left that wire out of the connector and put heat shrink on it. So far So good.