Is there any reason to not let the fan run constantly?........Single fan '86 T/A 305 TPI

 

Your car will run too cold, you'll get bad gas mileage. You may not go into closed loop. Try it and see what temp you run at. A toggle switch would be better.

 

I used to run mine all the time in the summer. Never hurt anything. I did install a toggle though. I've heard of too much wear and tear and the fan motors.

 

As long as you have a resonable t-stat in it I doubt it would make the engine run too cold. I have mine on a toggle switch too. It runs at about 155*. And yes, it does run great, noticibly different then at 180*.
Though your fan motor will burn up muck quicker.

Minion

 

The fan motor is about it. Your fan is good for X number of hours and you're consuming it at 3 times the normal rate if it only operates about 1/3 of the time.

 

mine is set up to run all the time. i thought about putting a toggle on it but i thought that may be a pain. always having to turn it on and off....i have owned my car for about one year and it was wired on all the time when i got it, no clue how long it was wired like that before i bought it, its the original motor too. even if it does burn out its 20 bucks every X years... it may take a little longer for it to get up to temp, other then that its fine (atleast for me)

i think id rather have it on all the time then having to mess with a toggle switch just my .02 cents

 

Why don't you just put a Jet (or other) fan switch (on 200-off 185) on it and forget about it ? They cost about $40- $45- and easy to install from underneath, plus you you get to have coolant run down your arm and into your shirt as you do it !
I did mine a year ago, works fine and no worries.

 

Get a fan switch.....20x every so often or 40 every 10 yrs and a fan that lasts.....humm geee...

 

i have mine running all the time to a re;ay that reduces the 12v to the fan and its been like this for 3 years just burnt out the curren relay but it was only 3 bucks to replace it lasted 2 years sooo thats my set up

 

Besides the obvious longevity problem (which btw shouldn't be so quickly dismissed. The day your fan turns up dead in rush hour traffic you'll be wishing you didn't over use it)

There's also the power issue. Electric fans draw a lot of current, IIRC on the order of 10 amps each while running (greater in start-up) That's 10 extra amps that your alternator has to supply all the time. Thus your gas mileage will be affected. Also WOT power will be down slightly. And you're contributing to wearing the alternator out faster as well. And the belt will wear more as well.

And there's the noise factor. There is something cool about not having a bunch of fan noise all the time.

Unless it was my last option i'd always switch my fans. Considering how little time they actually spend active i'm sure it's worth it in wear, power, gas and noise....

 

Ed, I think you just solved one of my problems. I have my fan wired to run all the time, and after a while I get huge power drains. I sometimes need a jump start after a short trip because there isn't enough power to spin that starter. I have a new alternator and optima battery and have had them checked to see if they were bad a few times. Heh, makes so much sense now that I think about it.

 

well....the fan isnt really going to help you ALL the time. Really the only place your fan is going to help you is when your car is just standing still idling, like in city driving.

If you're just cruising down the road....having the fan on isnt going to help you at all really. A toggle switch is the best idea i could recommend, whenever you see it getting a little hot turn on the fan, or crank the heater on high...

 

I have a thermastatic fan switch which can be set from anywere between 150*-220* I have the fans wired up as they came from the factory right now

 

never thought about it taking that much power away from the battery and making the alt, work more. i dont want a toggle switch... but how would i wire it up to kick on around 180*? whats the name of the switch called? i think ill get one next weekend if it is a reasonable price.

 

another reason is the motor will run strong and better the hotter the motor is

there is a limit though and that is caused by pre-det, or having hot spots that cause a bad flame front or **** like that

 

A friend gave it to me I will ask him were he got it tomorrow and try to post it up for you. Knowing him he got it at a local parts store.

 

thanks