Clutch Fan Delete/ Add Electric fan Controller

[Vetruck]

My next project is eliminating the mechanical clutch fan assembly off the front of the motor. This modification has several benefits that I will share with anyone interested:
1) It increases useable HP to the wheels by freeing up robbed HP needed to turn the conventional fan.
2) It improves gas mileage via allowing the motor to not have to turn the fan
3) it allows for quicker warm ups to operating temperature
4) it prolongs life of the waterpump by removing the heavy fan clutch/fan assembly off of the water pump snout
5) It frees up a lot of space in the engine bay and makes for easier maintenance and a cleaner appearance of the motor.

The electric puller fan I chose to purchase is a high end SPAL 16" fan. This fan draws a maximum 19amps @ aprox 2024 cfm. It is a high efficiency and sealed/waterproof electric motor. The fan blade design is a curved blade unit which makes for a much QUIETER operation. As we all know, those two little pesky OEM pusher fans up front of the radiator used for auxiliary extra cooling are quite noisy- this one will not be since it has to run most of the time as a primary cooling unit.
These fans sell normally for over $200. This company is by far the best price on the internet@ $109- you can shop around and check the quality and normally very high prices of SPAL
http://www.a1electric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AEOS&Product_Code=30102049

I will next mount this fan directly onto the face of the engine side of the radiator. HOWEVER, SPAL offers a very nice 16" fan gasket seal that will go between this fan and the radiator fins. This gasket does two things, 1) it protects the radiator from constant vibration of the fan and will prevent loosening of the assembly over time, and 2) the gasket seals the fan against the radiator so as to make the air pulling efficiency best possible so 100% of air is pulled through the radiator core by this fans draw- Yes we no longer need that bulky OEM fan shroud in the engine bay.

The next very nice thing I have researched and opted for is a programmable fan controller unit. New technology has presented itself in the last several years and the development of "Pulse wave" fan controllers is here. What these do is vary the speed of the electric fan that it needs to spin rpm wise based on coolant temperature and demand. THis makes for low as possible amperage draw off the charging system. THese controllers are easily self programmed to make a low speed turn on point (50% fan speed), and then also set a high temp full speed point where the fans go to 100%. Everything in between is varied speed ramping up and down automatically to MAINTAIN a constant temp of engine coolant without having to turn the fans on and off cycling and spiking the amperage draw (which changes engine rpm even- you will notice at idle at a stoplight a spike in voltage and engine stumble on earlier controller designs that do not have PWM technology)

Now the beauty of these controllers is they constantly change the fan speed based on demand- thus when the AC cycle on and off they will automatically change the fan speed to 100% with AC clutch engagement, and then back to lets say aprox 75% speed (if that is the current demand speed based on operating temp) when the AC is still on but the AC clutch cycles off. The fan will NOT go on full 100% then off 0% and back and forth.

The next beauty about this controller is it has an integrated feature that you can tap into the high side of the VSS wire coming off the car computer which can be manually set to disengage or shut off the fan at a disired cruising speed (lets say 60 mph- Its what I will set mine at) When the car is moving you have air flow going over the radiator so the fan no longer becomes needed. This saves amperage and fan life. Since freeways speeds are posted 65mph, Most surface street driving remains under 60mph so I would not want auto deactivation of the fan if I am going stop light to stop light generally keeping under 60mph.

here is the controller that generally retails for about $260. I found a best internet price through these guys @ THMotorSports of $224, no tax, and free shipping.
http://thmotorsports.com/painless_performance/painless_performance_f5_electric_fan_controllers/30143/i-1928506.aspx

[Vetruck]

Now as for the installation, I have the unit ordered and will wait until I have parts in hand to fully inspect things- but my idea right now is to drill and tap the temp sensor into the same Thermostat manifold housing that my current other coolant temps sensors are mount into on my M111 4 cylinder motor. I have over to the left a plug nut thatwill remove and drill & tap 12mmx1.5 threads to insert the metric temp sensor supplied with the kit I purchased.

HOWEVER, the temp sensor looks very much identical to the OEM ones we use. I may be able to simply splice into the existing OEM wires and use the temp signal already going into the cars computer off that same manifold block.

Battery power (Live 12 volt source) will come from the power block on the left inside fender just in front of the motor bay fuse panel.

Switched battery source (so the fans go off when the key goes off) will come from a switched (active when ignition key is turned on) fuse circuit inside that same described fuse box in the engine bay.

Here is a picture of a thermostat housing manifold part # 111 202 04 73 that I took off the internet and is pretty much identical to the one on my car. On mine the green arrow points to a hole where I currently have a bolt in position as a plug. I will remove that bolt and simply drill and tap this port into 12mmx1.5 threads for the temp sensor install.
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[Vetruck]

I probably should have posted this into "Performance upgrades"

[Dearlove]

Nice, I've been running with just the fan removed after the pulley failure. Bad, I know, I'll probable end up copying this

[AtomicVette]

I did this on my car, haven't had a lot of time to test it in the Oklahoma heat, but it seems to do fine for now. Not sure on the 4 cylindar, but on my 6 you can actually delete the fan pulley all together and just run a shorter belt.

[edwonger]

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[Vetruck]

I did this on my car, haven't had a lot of time to test it in the Oklahoma heat, but it seems to do fine for now. Not sure on the 4 cylindar, but on my 6 you can actually delete the fan pulley all together and just run a shorter belt.

Dearlove and Atomic- I just took a peek at your build thread Atomic and see that the waterpumps on both your guys C280's are positioned to the drivers side of the motor and are not supported by the waterppump like the smaller C220's. I can see where you guys can use a shorter belt and eliminate some hardware. Nice fan assembly Atomic, I was actually debating that very fan with shroud from Flex-a-lite, but then discovered Spal's gasket and decided I wanted to go just a 16" un- shrouded to fit and get more potential cfm's the the shrouded 14"-why?- because I am running the variable speed controller and will have overkill on only those exceptionally hot days and can run it a lower speed most of the time to get about the same cfm you have.

You guys really have the motors squeezed against the radiator and no room. Mine Ill practically be able to stand in there between the engine and radiator it will have decent room to work. I hate motors that are tough to get stiff and limited visibilty and things like potential leaks etc. This should really free up some power for my little mtor having to turn that big OEM fan assembly. Here's a shot of a C220 engine I took off EBAY. You can see our C220water pumps are behind the fan assembly like a SBC waterpump.
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[Vetruck]

A1Electric called me today and informed me this fan is backordered probably a few weeks with Spal. I told him to keep the order active since I am not in any rush/immediate need. I do not want to change to a different fan because I want this high efficiency 19amp motor. going larger in amps my cause a need to go to a larger altenator or a smaller alt pulley.

Project on hold... stay tuned, updates will come once parts are available.

[Dearlove]

once parts are available.

if i had a dollar for every time i heard that at work....

[AtomicVette]

that sucks. I've been waiting almost a year for backordered wheels for my truck!

[KrumB]

Please excuse me for interrupting but the following are not true:
"1) It increases useable HP to the wheels by freeing up robbed HP needed to turn the conventional fan.
2) It improves gas mileage via allowing the motor to not have to turn the fan"
The fan uses no more than 1-3 hp at full load which happens no more than 10% of the time given you have a normally functioning clutch.

"3) it allows for quicker warm ups to operating temperature" - This is not true also because untill warm up the engine uses the small water cirquit and the radiator is not involved given you have a normally operating thermostat.

[Vetruck]

You're wrong.

As for #1) the revving engine pulling a fan to max rpms of aprox 6000 rpms will rob 8-10 hp when the clutch engages and rotation mass as well as air pressure from the blades is being exerted. The clutch slips, if it didnt then this figure is about 25-30 hp base on fan size at those rpms. Its why hotrodders go to flex fans because as rpms build the air restriction increases hp rob when a fan does not flex or slip.

#2) it will use about 2hp just to maintain rotation as you are at constant cruising rpm lets say 35mph @ 2100 fpms. It will use more as speed fluctuaes through gear shifts. This uses fuel because a fan will not draw air on its own. Try and spin you home fan and see how fast it stops when you spin it by hand as fast sd you can. It saves about .5 miles per gallon extra when compared to a car getting aprox 20 mpg with clutch fan. 20.5 with electric.

#3) even with a thermostat, cooling systems have a bypass hose to prevent restriction. Thr air flow over the motor on a cold morning also cools the engine. No fan running? Radiator warms quicker and engine warms quicker. Especially if you do as I do and drill the 186* therm and allow flow to burp system as well as drop running temp about 5-7*. There is constant flow , restricted yes, but it's still flowing.

So now you know. Its not my first rodeo. Every car I own ive done this to and have proven results for 3 decades.

[Vetruck]

Now that I am home on a computer and not on my phone, Ill add some more vital info so you better understand how a clutch fan works. We have a typical temp contolled viscous fan clutch assdembly on these cars. What that means is at about 200* operating temp the temp valve opens and the viscous fluid spins the fan at 90-95% waterpump shaft speed. When the valve disengages, the fan speed is cut 45% of shaft speed (in other words it still spins at about 55% shaft speed).

When the car is hot and you are in a lot of stop light traffic, this temp valve will remain open and thus when you hit the gas the fan is turning at 90-95% shaft speed as you are trying to pull 6000 rpms. You are robbing quite a bit of HP on a hot temp/vicous fan clutch assembly when redlining the car. I guarantee 8-10HP easy.

[Vetruck]

Factual HP numbers- I found the article, it was May 2000 Car Craft Magazine.

As you will see gains in HP with an electric fan over the thermal and non-thermal clutch fans, keep in mind that this test was done on a motor dyno, not a chassis dyno. What that means is the Viscous fluid which is silicone based fluid will seep into the outer area of the fan engaging it at cold temp on startup just for a few seconds and then the spinning motion of the assembly pumps the fuild back into the center of it disengaging it until it reaches somewhere between about 17-* and 200* operating temp (this temp varies based on manufacturer, but the temp is lower on OEM units than aftermarket and will rob power more often obviosluy when they come on at a lower temp.

These motor dynos are NOT real world situations and thus the Viscous fans tested do NOT get up to operating temp and restrict like they do when engaged. The nonthermal units are very light duty clutches and only spin between 30-60% shaft speed unlike the thermal units that spin 55-95 shaft speed. Hence the cold difference between the therm and non-therm units.

The difference from the electric to Thermal is 7 hp "cold" or "not engaged", and 9 hp "cold" with non-thermal. When these get hot the HP numbers drop significantly when doing max rpm dyno runs while hot and "engaged"

http://www.network54.com/Forum/215655/message/1066184641/Car+Craft+Cooling+Fan+Dyno+Test

Note: the HD thermal clutch fan is 18 hp draw when cold or disengaged. This is where yous ee the dyno charts of cars on chassis dynos like the WindsorV8 (Ford engine mr 3rd world, not farm equipment) pulling 25+ draw when the fans engage.

[Vetruck]

Just adding some dyno chart and documented info.:
http://phystutor.tripod.com/stang/fans.html

[Vetruck]

Painless Fan Controller arrived today. here is the schematics 2329

Controller weights about a pound with wiring. Very heavy gauge wire- everything is top quality comapred to a lot of stuff I've bought over the years. Main wires are 10gauge. 2330

[Vetruck]

Does anyone have or can you point me to a link showing the wiring schematics of my 1994 C220? What I am after is the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) HIGH side wire. I need to tap into this to utilize the speed cutoff option. Actually another question is where is the VSS on these cars? Is it on the side of the trans or is it behind the gauge cluster?

[Vetruck]

When I search the internet for a "Vehicle Speed Sensor", all I am getting is wheel ABS speed sensors. I read something about someone saying the VSS is on the rear diff so I will have to take a look at that. Would be great if someone could help with a w202 wiring schematic?

[Vetruck]

I am amazed nobdy here has a service manual and can share?

I am getting closer tonight on finding info. Seems I located the speed sensor on the diff and plugs up into the truck area. I will have to find the wire codes so I know what to look for up in the front engine bay. It's always fun being first, especially when no one is helping with info. Seems that is typical for me when I ask for help on boards. I guess my questions are too tough (sarcasm)

[Dearlove]

http://www.autolib.diakom.ru/CAR/Mercedes-Benz/1997/C230/SYSTEM%20WIRING%20DIAGRAMS/

[Vetruck]

Thank you, Thank you Thank you. That is extremely helpful!!!!

I think the first Ill try to tap is the rearABS axle speed sensor since obviously the rear wheels are easy to jack off the ground, remove, and simulate motion in drive. Trying anything with a front sensor will not work because I would have no way to tell other than having to rig up a test light to see if the fan goes off at speed while driving.

It appears this F5 fan control can read the output signal itself and decode it. All I do it reach the speed I need and then press a remote wired control button frm the F5 box to tell what speed to have the fan shut down if over, and then turn back on when under. In other words, these things from what I know read in ohms like an O2 sensor. Doesn;t matter if the ABS computer and/or the ECU read lets say 1.27 ohms to be 40 mphs, I could press the button for the fan to turn off at what ever OHM reading it is at @ lets say my desired 60mph whether its 2.34 ohms or its 1.87 ohms. The manual talks about a "high side vss signal and a low side VSS signal- I am suppose to attach to the highside which I would assume to just simply be the positive side (positive/negative wires)? I am open for imput and opinions? I am NOT good at vehicle computer stuff and do not claim to be so I am always open for criticism and learning in this field.

[Vetruck]

Ill be trying the Antilock brake circuit 1 of 2 diagram. Over on the left is the ABS Module pinout. I am looking at the 2nd row #12 and #13 Black/ and BlkYel wires. I will mock up a simulated drive with the wheel off and someone else inside as I touch a multimeter to these two circuits and see what ohms it is producing. If it is negative, then I will reverse the terminals so I can see which is positive.


Since I do not know much about this stuff, yet I do know an O2 sensor has one basic wire (non-heated/non wideband o2) I know the signal sent from it is one wire and the other side of the multimeter is ground to the chassis. I will try both these #12 and #13 individually with positive and the ground to the chassis and see what readings I get. If that is not working then I will touch them both with the pos and neg multimeter leads on both at the same time to see if it reads that way. I do not want to do this first because if both transmit I could possibly fry something (which I doubt, but safety first) I have a feeling the half yellow wires are the positive ones.

[Vetruck]

A few helpful videos I found. I am used to cars with a VSS on the transmission and connecting straight into the ECM/ECU. This is the first vehicle I've owned with wheel sensors VSS(fronts and Diff sensor(rear). I may have to look for an ABS module outsource signal from the ABS to the ECU-however, I think I am on the right track using just the rear diff signal since it should be a basic hall trigger pulse wave. I need to just find which wire varies with speed coming off that and try to tie into it at the ABS module (ie- Row 2 #12 and #13 options)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Z_uDLcCoA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBqZ6lQ3IVQ

[Vetruck]

After studying throught he diagrams Trent (Dearlove) posted for me, I found what appears to be the exact match of wires I am looking for off the VSS listed here in the Painless F5 controller wiring diagram. This shows the VSS signal giving off a "high" signal and a "Low" reference.
2340

Now here is the "Computer Data Line" folder from the car schematics link Dearlove listed. It shows two wires coming out of the ABS module that go directly to the speedometer gauge, AND they are listed H (I assume for high), and L (I assume for Low). I will try and tap into the High wire like the wiring diagram asks for.
2341

[Vetruck]

Next step closer, I've located the ABS control Module on my car. Says it's located "on floor under glove box" and should look like this. As soon as the wifey is home I will go out and pull some interior panels so I can start accessing this panel AND the firewall under the drivers compartment. I need to install a 3way switch and a supplied signal button both somewhere under the dash so I can manually activate the fan controller if needed (with the switch), and activate the mph speed I want the fan to shut off at (by depressing the button at that speed for memory into the F5 controller.

Not fun to crawl under a dash of a tiny little car when you're 6'4 and 230lbs- Oh joy I can hardly wait.

[Vetruck]

1994 abs control module. I need to look for the Green/white wire coming off of this unit under the passenger side seat- this where I will try to tie into the VSS signal reference wire.2342


Or- maybe I should just quickly pop out the gauges and check the wires going into the back of the speedo. These would be easier for me to access since the Green/White wire is suppose to go to the speedo cluster. I think Ill try that first to see the wire color combos in those looms first that clip intot he back of the gauge cluster.

[vaspen]

Would a electric temp sensor from a car that has a electronic fan work ? ( Like the older house coil thermostats gets so cold turns on ..so hot turns off ) sorry for my ignorance not too informed on how to wire one up I'm looking to do this on my c230 eventually
I just wondered if you tap a temp sensor" EDIT"into the cooling system"" that opens the current to kick the fan on at a set degree and shuts off at another
would that work too ? or am I looking at this wrong

[Vetruck]

Sorry, Ive been gone for a few days and not around a computer,

yes basically you can wire a fan to come on and go off via a temp sensor. THat is a traditional methods of wiring them. They are either full on or full off.

[Vetruck]

Cleaned my shop garage today and pulled the Merc over there to work on it finally today (been on a 3 month hiatas sitting in the other garage half that time waiting on the accident repair.) Time to get going on this project where I left off when the car got hit.

I drilled and tapped the coolant manifold today and fit it with the new secondary temp sensor supplied with the "Painless Wiring" fan controller kit. The directions said its a 3/8"-18 NPT threads but when I measured it the tap required is only a 1/4"-18 NPT threads for the sensor supplied. Damn good thing I checked the sensor into my die set then used the reciprocating tap. This will be a clean installation and look like factory stuff when I am finished.

Car in home shop and ready to begin on the Brabus build again
2446

Close up on the manifold sensor fitment.
2447

[action]

well?

2 year old thread i know but i've been thinking about doing this for a while..

[Vetruck]

well?

2 year old thread i know but i've been thinking about doing this for a while..

Car was hit a 2nd time- was down for awhile awaiting 2nd repair. Those parts went onto another vehicle and work great.

Alot has changed since this old thread. That was the wife's daily driver. It is now regulated to a 5th vehicle and is on jack stands with the engine and trans out of it being completely modified for another one of my personal play toys. I am slowly still working on this project every once in a while but am in no hurry in life. Many other things I do as well dealing with real race cars and professionally managing race car teams. Wife now has a new CooperS (2016) that she drives. I am putting a 6speed manual into this car, custom headers, some motor work, more chassis work, touching up a few other details. Will probably be down another 6 months so don;t bother asking for updates. I will post them once my schedule fits and I finished this one of many projects. As I stated earlier in this post, I have done this to every vehicle I have pretty much ever owned so yes it is very beneficial. I am a 50yr old person with years of experience with modifying cars. every car I have is more reliable and better fuel millage due to this very same modification of the cooling system.

[w202_c220]

Car was hit a 2nd time- was down for awhile awaiting 2nd repair. Those parts went onto another vehicle and work great.

Alot has changed since this old thread. That was the wife's daily driver. It is now regulated to a 5th vehicle and is on jack stands with the engine and trans out of it being completely modified for another one of my personal play toys. I am slowly still working on this project every once in a while but am in no hurry in life. Many other things I do as well dealing with real race cars and professionally managing race car teams. Wife now has a new CooperS (2016) that she drives. I am putting a 6speed manual into this car, custom headers, some motor work, more chassis work, touching up a few other details. Will probably be down another 6 months so don;t bother asking for updates. I will post them once my schedule fits and I finished this one of many projects. As I stated earlier in this post, I have done this to every vehicle I have pretty much ever owned so yes it is very beneficial. I am a 50yr old person with years of experience with modifying cars. every car I have is more reliable and better fuel millage due to this very same modification of the cooling system.

what a shame what happened to your car, i cant wait to see how this turns out though. once you get a full writeup down id love to do this to my c43/55