Over the last couple of weeks I've been working on a electric fan conversion on my '97 Town Car. Thought I'd do a simple write-up on what I did.
For starters, I got a fan assembly from a '98 Ford Contour V6 (this is important, the i4 models use a single smaller fan). It cost me all of $25 at the junkyard. I rather like these fans, they are compact but very efficient and move more than enough air to keep these cars cool. Best part, they fit quite nicely on the Aero's radiator.
The fans:
The fit:
The wiring is quite simple, one fan got wired directly to the stock electric auxiliary fan wiring. Initially I'd wired both fans to that, but it was blowing the fuse (those who attended Motor City Madness this year know all about that). When they are both running, they actually draw roughly the same load as the big stock E-fan, but the amperage draw of spinning up both motors was blowing the fuse every 3rd or 4th time they would kick on.
For the other fan, I used a cheap controller from Autozone, a Compressor Works model 733653. This type has a probe that you put in the upper radiator hose, which actually seems to work quite well since it has direct contact with the coolant coming out of the engine. The controller gets wired up to trip a relay and power the fan, Here is a simple diagram of what I did:
The Fuse Box:
The 30 amp fuse away from the rest is for the new fan, as is the 1 relay that doesn't match the other 3. The relay and its wiring is borrowed from my Merc's fuse box, and its installed in the 1 unused relay slot in the Town Car's fuse box.
This setup yields me one fan that comes on at the set temp on the controller (which I refer to as the low temp fan). It is set to come on at roughly 195*F, which I'll reach sitting at a long light with the stock 190*F thermostat (Temps are guesstimates, don't have a "real" temp gage). It turns off once the temp reaches 10* BELOW the turn on temp, which usually takes 3/4 of a mile after I get moving again. The other fan runs when the stock E-fan would run, so it comes on with the AC or if the coolant reaches 220*F (or is it 212*F, can't remember), so I refer to it as the high-temp fan.
Look at all the extra space getting rid of that enormous fan freed up!!
Close up of the controller:
I made 2 simple brackets that utilize existing openings in the top of the radiator to "hang" the fans on the radiator:
And a couple of pieces of plastic cut from the stock shroud to attach to the hooks on the stock radiator to support and secure the bottom of the fans:
All loomed up and ready to go:
I like the dual fan setup, it is very simple to wire up, and very effective and rather efficient. These OEM Contour fans when both running, will supposedly pull more air than the stock whale panther fan.
This setup will work equally well on a Box Body, or '92-'94 Aero, but you will need 2 controllers or 1 controller capable of running 2 fans since they do not have an Auxiliary electric fan. Using the controller I used, it would be quite simple to wire an override to the AC high-pressure switch, which would run 1 of the fans with the AC.
Engine Bay is much neater now:
For starters, I got a fan assembly from a '98 Ford Contour V6 (this is important, the i4 models use a single smaller fan). It cost me all of $25 at the junkyard. I rather like these fans, they are compact but very efficient and move more than enough air to keep these cars cool. Best part, they fit quite nicely on the Aero's radiator.
The fans:
The fit:
The wiring is quite simple, one fan got wired directly to the stock electric auxiliary fan wiring. Initially I'd wired both fans to that, but it was blowing the fuse (those who attended Motor City Madness this year know all about that). When they are both running, they actually draw roughly the same load as the big stock E-fan, but the amperage draw of spinning up both motors was blowing the fuse every 3rd or 4th time they would kick on.
For the other fan, I used a cheap controller from Autozone, a Compressor Works model 733653. This type has a probe that you put in the upper radiator hose, which actually seems to work quite well since it has direct contact with the coolant coming out of the engine. The controller gets wired up to trip a relay and power the fan, Here is a simple diagram of what I did:
The Fuse Box:
The 30 amp fuse away from the rest is for the new fan, as is the 1 relay that doesn't match the other 3. The relay and its wiring is borrowed from my Merc's fuse box, and its installed in the 1 unused relay slot in the Town Car's fuse box.
This setup yields me one fan that comes on at the set temp on the controller (which I refer to as the low temp fan). It is set to come on at roughly 195*F, which I'll reach sitting at a long light with the stock 190*F thermostat (Temps are guesstimates, don't have a "real" temp gage). It turns off once the temp reaches 10* BELOW the turn on temp, which usually takes 3/4 of a mile after I get moving again. The other fan runs when the stock E-fan would run, so it comes on with the AC or if the coolant reaches 220*F (or is it 212*F, can't remember), so I refer to it as the high-temp fan.
Look at all the extra space getting rid of that enormous fan freed up!!
Close up of the controller:
I made 2 simple brackets that utilize existing openings in the top of the radiator to "hang" the fans on the radiator:
And a couple of pieces of plastic cut from the stock shroud to attach to the hooks on the stock radiator to support and secure the bottom of the fans:
All loomed up and ready to go:
I like the dual fan setup, it is very simple to wire up, and very effective and rather efficient. These OEM Contour fans when both running, will supposedly pull more air than the stock whale panther fan.
This setup will work equally well on a Box Body, or '92-'94 Aero, but you will need 2 controllers or 1 controller capable of running 2 fans since they do not have an Auxiliary electric fan. Using the controller I used, it would be quite simple to wire an override to the AC high-pressure switch, which would run 1 of the fans with the AC.
Engine Bay is much neater now:
Now I wonder if the svt contours use the same setup since I have access to one.
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