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Today I took out my electric fans (LS1) and put back the stock clutch fan because they kept turning on and off and my headlights would dim at idle. I had them setup to run one fan normally and with the A/C on at temp they would both come on.
Do I need a bigger alternator?
What are your on/off temp settings?
What temp thermostat are you using?
Russ Kemp
What size alternator do you have currently? There are fan airflow offsets in the Idle section that need to be filled in if you have E-fans as well.
Running a 105amp right now on a 190 thermostat.
What would you recommend I set those idle values to? If they are the ones I think you're talking about they are both at 0 g/sec right now.
I'm running 99 Z28 electric fans if that matters...
Only settings I have so far are:
Fan 1 On: 196
Fan 1 Off: 190
Fan 1 Enable: 0
Fan 1 Disable: 0
Fan 2 On: 189
Fan 2 Off: 182
To my understanding, the Fan 2 settings don't do anything. The relay I have does the following:
1. Fan one on at temp set point.
2. Fan two on at temp set point with A/C on.
UPDATE:
I have a 130A alternator on the way, now I just need to fine tune this baby.
Any more info on tuning this?
Fan 1: .10
Fan 2: .20
Stock values from a 99 F-body.
If you have some "extra" electronics onboard as well, you will probably want to upgrade to the 05-07 trucks higher output alternator. I think it's 140 Amp IIRC.
Thank you, I'll give that a shot... I have a 130A alternator on the way, the e-fans are my only added electronics other than a couple gauges.
If you still have problems get the yellow top optima.
Theres also different size pulleys for the alt.
I lost a few batterys then upgraded to a huge alt and yellow top
with heavy gauge wires.
Never heard of a 190* stat, But you want the off temp to be slightly higher than the coolant temp while cruising, or the fans will never turn off. Fan 1 means the fans are in series (low speed), and fan 2 means the fans are in parallel (high speed). The fans run at low speed with the AC on, unless the high side pressure gets to high, or the coolant gets too hot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky13MN
Russ Kemp
I guess they run 'em a little warmer up here lol.
I'll try a little different setting and see what happens.
Update:
I added the .1 and .2 as well as upped the temp to 200(on) and 195(off) and it's working like a charm, lights don't dim anymore and they don't cycle on and off constantly. Still glad to have the 130amp alternator coming, but I'm glad I didn't 'need' it.
Update 2:
Alternator installed last night, didn't really notice much but the volts only drop from 14.1 to 13.8 when the AC and both fans kick on at the same time :)
have you notice any power increases or MPG change? I just installed e-fans on my 99 5.3 and havn't noticed anything yet. Snow is on the ground so I don't hook up well.
Thanks
I didn't notice much, but my numbers changed...
Clutch Fan:
1/4 15.2
0-60 7.27
Electric Fan:
1/4 14.92
0-60 6.92
I see you shaved off some time. I've never ran my truck with the origianl clutch fan. So I'm hoping it will be worth my time once I get it out on the track. Thanks for putting that up.
Here's my little story on it...
I got the e-fan bug last spring and found a good deal on some LS1 (Z28) fans and had a buddy of mine make up a harness for it so I could control them through HP Tuners. Install went fine, got them working and all and went for a drive. I must have had high hopes, because I didn't really notice anything, maybe a little less lag when kicking it down. The fans were always turning on and off and my lights would dim with the AC on.
So... I decided heck with this and swapped back to the clutch fan, didn't notice a change but had to get the numbers which you see above. Well, long story short, I worked too damn hard to get into the 14's so that was not acceptable (keep in mind it's a Z71 pickup).
I did some digging here and found a couple settings to try for the fans, and it worked... they no longer constantly kick off and on and the light problem is better (upgraded from a 105A to 130A alternator as well).
Other than that, the thing I really like is how it opens up the front of the engine, it's so much easier to replace the belts, remove the intake, etc.
Definitely a worthwhile mod.
I have 99 z71 RCSB so I know what you mean on the 14's range. Plans are to get it into the 12's or really low 13's.
So, I guess this answers my question. You can, with the proper wiring harness, install factory e-fans on a vehicle that is not factory equiped? Example: 2003 Silverado SS, would like to put 2005 e-fans and have it controlled through the PCM.
Yes you can... the main thing is running the wire to the e-fan hole in the PCM, which of course I don't recall off hand what number it is.
It's pin 42. I bought my relay from nelsonperformance.com, I think it was right under $100.
Can anyone send me a tune file for these settings and are they on full blast or low speed when individual fans are running? And when both are on they are on high?