engine and drivetrain Ireland Engineering Electric Fan Install...

[theoschapp]

I know this has been discussed before but I could not find an answer to my question in any previous threads. 

 

I have a 74 2002. I just go the Ireland Engineering electric fan kit with the inline temperature sensor. 

 

I wanted to wire it so that I could have a manual switch to run the fan, just incase I wanted the fan on when the sensor was not switched or if it were to go bad. I have it all wired up, everything works great besides the temperature sensor. With my manual override in the off position and the car nearly overheating, at the edge of "the red", the fan will not come on.

 

I think I wired everything up right because when I bypass the temperature switch the fan comes on, again with the override in the off position. 

 

Is it possible that the temperature switch is bad although it is new? Or is it set to a temperature that is much to high? (its and 83 deg switch, sounds close enough to me) 

 

In my experience with E30's and E36's this type of sensor/switch rarely goes bad.

 

My last idea was that the sensor is not wetted, meaning it is reading air or steam rather than hot water. I burped the system when I poured coolant back in the system by getting to engine to a temperature where I knew the thermostat was open, and filling the remainder of the radiator as the level dropped. With this I should have all the air out of the system. Anyways I am going to try calling IE tomorrow and see what they say, any help here is greatly appreciated. 

 

Cheers

[Simeon]

Which hose have you got the sensor cut into? You could always try loosening the sensor to release any trapped air. If it is the type that I have seen (cut into the lower hose) then it would be hard to see how it would be trapped air.

[theoschapp]

I tapped into the top hose right near the valve cover and the actual temp sensor for the car, the upper hose. I will unthread the sensor slowly and see if there is any air. There is also space for a small hole on the aluminum housing I could drill and tap for a M5 or smaller to bleed that sensor itself. I will try that in the morning. 

[Simeon]

Rereading your post, an 83 degree temperature switch will almost certainly need to go in the lower hose returning from the radiator. If you put it in the top hose there is a chance, as you have noted, that the switch is not in the water. It is also, if your thermostat temperature is 82 degrees then it's likely that it would be on all the time. By having the switch just above the stat temperature in the return it turns on when the water being returned is at a higher temp coming out of the radiator than the engine needs to run correctly.

[bazju]

Can you explain how you wired it? I have the IE electric fan kit and it works flawlessly. It turns on a bit under half on the temp gauge and keeps the engine temperature steady. I have it in the upper radiator hose. 

 

Are you sure that your manual switch isn't cutting off the circuit for the temp switch? Meaning if your manual switch is off, then the fan will never turn on even if the temp switch tries.

 

You should have switched 12v power that goes to the temp sender, and your manual switch. From there they both go to your relay. This is low amp stuff so a fuse isn't really needed. When the temp switch sees the correct temperature it will send power to the relay and activate the fan. Or if you activate your manual switch it will send power to the relay and turn on the fan. 

 

Then you should have constant 12v power from the battery/starter (fused) that also goes to the relay, then from the relay to the fan, and finally to ground. 

Edited July 7, 2014 by bazju

[FunkyLaneO]

Get out your multimeter and test the switch, it's probably not the problem but it is possible.  The override should be a parallel circuit to the sensor so the simplest way to wire it is to run both wires from the switch to the same two wires that go to the sensor.  if you turn you switch off and touch the two wires that go to the sensor together, does the fan start spinning? if not then you have something wired incorrectly, if you turn the switch on and do the same does is start to spin? if so then your override switch is also acting as a kill switch and has to be rethought.

 

Draw out your wiring diagram for this circuit and post it here and we can take a look at it and give you specific tests to run in order to narrow down your problem.

[rover1]

are you sure you have a good ground for the thermal fan switch ideally you would want the manual and temp switch to use the same ground?  

[jrhone]

So here is what I did...mine works GREAT....I have the Tii water neck with 2 temp sensor mounts in it.  The standard water neck has just one sensor for the temp gauge.  There is so much debate as to WHERE to put the sensor.  Mine works.  Here is a pic....

 

 

I used an e21 thermostat switch, it comes in 3 temps 81c, 86c and 91c.  I chose the 86c and it works great.  The cool thing about this setup is that if it fails, you can just get an e21 temp switch.  There are also 3 different temps available so you can choose the one that works best for you and its using all BMW parts (except the wiring), so its pretty bulletproof.  Also here is the wiring diagram I used for wiring the electric fan.  I too used a manual override switch.  Mine is lighted so the light goes on whenever the fan kicks in.  

 

[theoschapp]

Wow I got a ton of support here. Perhaps 2002 owners just "get it" where e30 owners are just looking for something to complain about.... 

 

Anyways, I figured it out. There was a small bubble in the system due to the thermo switch being recessed in the aluminum in-line housing it came with. I rotated the switch to a position where I knew it was wetted and it worked fine. Thanks for the diagram, I think I will add a light to know when the fan is on. I really like what you did with your car and running standard BMW parts. I will see if I can track something similar down. 

 

Nice paint on the valve cover. And to everyone else thanks again.

 

Cheers

 

So here is what I did...mine works GREAT....I have the Tii water neck with 2 temp sensor mounts in it.  The standard water neck has just one sensor for the temp gauge.  There is so much debate as to WHERE to put the sensor.  Mine works.  Here is a pic....

 

 

I used an e21 thermostat switch, it comes in 3 temps 81c, 86c and 91c.  I chose the 86c and it works great.  The cool thing about this setup is that if it fails, you can just get an e21 temp switch.  There are also 3 different temps available so you can choose the one that works best for you and its using all BMW parts (except the wiring), so its pretty bulletproof.  Also here is the wiring diagram I used for wiring the electric fan.  I too used a manual override switch.  Mine is lighted so the light goes on whenever the fan kicks in.  

 

[FunkyLaneO]

(nt)

Edited July 8, 2014 by FunkyLaneO

[Abeatron]

Thank you all

Edited February 3, 2022 by Abeatron
figured it out

[zane71]

Not to revive a dead thread but I would like to add a review of the current Ireland electric fan kit (the thread about reviews on the kit is archived). The temp switch supplied is a 102*C switch, even though the install instructions online say it is an 82*C switch. This means it should go at the top of the radiator, not the bottom, where I cut my hose. They say the fan is reversible, it is not. The blades are made to pull air through the radiator, and are not made to push air through. They will push air through, but not well, and you'll overheat (ask me how I know). I need it to push as there is not enough space between my water pump and the radiator. The wiring kit is missing connectors. Only thing of value is the inline hose adapter for a temp sensor, which you can buy on its own. If you are looking at it just get a Spal fan and wire it up your self with a relay and a temp switch. Pretty disappointed with the "kit" as I have replaced everything now other than the hose adapter and the relay.

[jgerock]

8 hours ago, zane71 said:

Not to revive a dead thread but I would like to add a review of the current Ireland electric fan kit (the thread about reviews on the kit is archived). The temp switch supplied is a 102*C switch, even though the install instructions online say it is an 82*C switch. This means it should go at the top of the radiator, not the bottom, where I cut my hose. They say the fan is reversible, it is not. The blades are made to pull air through the radiator, and are not made to push air through. They will push air through, but not well, and you'll overheat (ask me how I know). I need it to push as there is not enough space between my water pump and the radiator. The wiring kit is missing connectors. Only thing of value is the inline hose adapter for a temp sensor, which you can buy on its own. If you are looking at it just get a Spal fan and wire it up your self with a relay and a temp switch. Pretty disappointed with the "kit" as I have replaced everything now other than the hose adapter and the relay.

I added a 12” Spal fan, the Spal relay harness kit and the Ireland hose adaptor to my tii to replace the old Behr AC condenser fan.  The hose adaptor was mounted into the top radiator hose.  IIRC, when ordering the adaptor, IE has a few temp switch options (see picture).  I added a manual override toggle switch in parallel with the Behr AC trigger signal wire AND the IE temp switch. All 3 can be used as a separate turn on for the fan.

 

My original plan was to eliminate the stock mechanical fan, but the car tended to run too hot, so I added the stock fan back to the engine.  Evidently, when upgrading to a new parallel style AC condenser, it restricts airflow to the radiator more than the old condenser. My car already has a 71 degree C thermostat and a new Walloth Nesch 3 row radiator.  Also, my old and new radiators had a mounting bung in the lower left corner for a thermoswitch, but that area was less than optimal for temperature control.