Like many people, I have had cooling problems with my 1987 iroc. I have been living with it for 15 years, trying this and that with little success. I decided to buy the 4 core champion radiator with dual fans, and was hoping that I would be able to use the existing fan wire set up to run the fans. The configuration is different. Has anybody tried this? I know you can buy relay wiring kits, and I may have no choice but to go that route, but I have not seen a kit that takes the A/C into consideration. Perhaps that is not even necessary?

 

I'd say yes you can. The only unknown would be the amp/current draw on the new fan motors compared to the old factory ones. It's possible that you could prematurely wear our relays and maybe even heat up wires too much if the new fans pull a lot more current than the originals.

 

the stock relay trigger wires will work, but an upgrade of the relays themselves and the power wires from the battery on a 25+ year old car is never a bad idea..

 

I appreciate the information. The bad news for me is I am a bit of a simpleton and far from an expert on IROCs. Considering that the male to female adapter from the car to these new fans is different, do you have any suggestions (aside from cutting the wire and using wire nuts) for connecting the old relay wires to the new fans? I cannot imagine there being any adapters available.

 

I doubt you'd find a stock wiring to aftermarket fan connector. Do the champion fans come with some sort of wiring connectors that attach to their fans? Or do they just have wires directly connected to the fans? And just out of curiosity, which champion rad/fan setup are you using. I don't see a Camaro dual fan/rad setup on their website.

You should really understand the purpose of a relay and how it works before taking on this job. It's really not that complicated. In any car, not just an IROC they work the same way. It's just a means of a low voltage fan switch/sensor to trigger a tiny magnetic switch inside the relay to pass higher voltage from the battery through to a device that requires higher current/amps like a fan motor.

 

The fans do have wiring connectors. This is what I bought on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151694221170?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITand it looks like a pretty common fan set up, at least from sellers on Ebay. And I noticed the Champion site does say that their fan relay kits work with single or dual fans. But these relay kits don't say anything about the A/C. I have this memory that one of these stock fans is connected to the A/C in some way. Which is another reason I want to stick with the wiring on the car.

Thankfully I have a human resource who is very good with electronics. I just don't want to do anything that will catch my car on fire. This IROC is my daily driver and has been since I bought it.

 

If you mimic the factory wiring, even if you use the champion supplied relays, then your fans will work just like the stock ones with the a/c.

I would guess that that you'd probably be fine just making the connections on the new fans and reuse the factory wiring (if it's in good shape and doesn't appear to be crispy and corroded). Also, If the new fan wires appear to be of a thicker gauge than the factory fan wires, then it's a good bet that the new fans need a heavier duty relay and new power wires run.

I'd be interested to know myself how the champion fans spec out. At some point I can see myself upgrading like you are doing. Personally I'd really like to have the fans shrouded though.

 

It is a big radiator. I have not put it back in, but compared to the factory radiator, everything lines up okay as far as the tranny cooler lines and other hoses go. I hope it fits in okay. There is no way that I can see to use the GM fans with this size of radiator. I thought about getting one with less cores, but I saw the dimensions were the same for all of them.

And, the plastic piece that holds the radiator in place (on top)...I do not think that thing will fit over this radiator. I am not sure what I will do there yet. I would love to hear what others might have done to get it to work.

 

Those look like Spal fans which come on probably 95% of internet kits like that one. Expect about a 3000 CFM total pull @ 25A I'd guess.

As for AC use, we'd have to see how Champions' wiring diagram is configured. Personally, I would run the fans in series (using a 3-gang relay bank) for low/high speed and use a trinary switch with NO contacts and run that off the trigger side of the high speed relay....you could even parallel that trigger with a manual override feature if you wanted to. There are simple ways to control the fans and there are more all-encompassing methods to control it-depends on how thorough you want to be. And, if you need 630 series fan motor male adapter to universal fan leads, I have those too.

 

Even if it would work I suggest a wiring upgrade. There is a 5 or 6 position connector right by the battery that gave me fits with poor connections. I replaced everything from the battery to the fans and am running dual 4th gen fans. Don't forget to upgrade the grounds and even your wire running from the alternator to the battery is a good idea. I just had my alternator go out and it must have been getting weak or something because after replacing it my car is running a lot cooler. Voltage and current to those fans makes a world of difference!

I'm running the stock radiator on my 414 with dual fans and it keeps up with ac and 90+ days. Of course I'm not trying to keep it at 160' or anything either. It runs 190-205 typically and peaks at 215 or so in stop and go traffic but pulls right back down at speed. I also extended my air dam under the radiator to catch more air and keep it from short circuiting at low speeds.

 

This is a basic relay powering a single fan giving you an idea as to how a relay works.
When the key is in the "on" position it allows low amperage power to flow from the 85 to 86 prong then to ground and that triggers High Amperage Power that is allowed to run from 30 to 87 and to the fan. Then ground.
Low amperage (ignition source)controls the High Amperage.(Battery, through the battery's junction block)
Low amperage can use a 18 gage wire but High amperage requires a heaver 10 to 12 gage wire.

 

I created an extension with heavy plastic stock. It mounts on the existing holes in front and also to the existing holes on the Radiator cover plate. This allows the stock cover to hold the radiator in place and the top hose in its stock location .
By the way you can see the new relays powering one fan each on the fire wall on the drivers side. Each is Adjustable temperature controlled on their own custom circuit. The colored tape on the wires is for marking purposes only.

 

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post, this has been very helpful. And Ron U.S.M.C.'s extension was a great idea. I will do that.

 

Forumla1LE, you say you have 630 series fan motor male adapter to universal fan leads? How can I get those?

 

PM sent!

 

formula1LE, not seeing the PM. I just sent you one, hopefully you get it.

 

When it comes to fans or anything related to fans formula1LE is the man.
Nothing but very high quality and has helped many here.

 

Thanks for the comments Ron! The way I try to be different from other builders is to simply be available for questions and offer multi level solutions to problems-I use all of the harnesses I build for my own projects so I am 100% familiar with everything I offer. I follow a strict design-critique-modify-test-redesign-test strategy with everything I do.

 

Ron U.S.M.C., Where did you get your plastic piece for the shroud extension? I have tools I can use to cut what I need down to size, but I am not sure where to look for some good, black plastic.
thanks!