pepsilover

I heard some pros and cons about this electrical fan. Now my question is since I live in Southern California and the weather is warm around here so I don't know without the stock fan, can the rig handle the hot temp? Thanks.

Victor

I regularly see 100F and above temps in the summer and that has persuaded me not to do this mod. If I move to a cooler climate I think it will be a good idea. Anyone in the southwest running one? I'm curious how it works for people in similar climates to me.

PY

I'm about to install a 165 on my 1994 ext. cab 4wd, and I'll be huffing it to south padre island for a few daze directly after, a 300 mile trip. My geuss is the fan isn't going to run hardly at all on the highway. I'll let yu know.

FYI, my dad used to remove the fan from his pontiac 383 V8 (I think) for summer trips to & from florida, 1000+ miles. Never overheated, not even a little, as long he was on the highway. Temps climed quickly as soon as he got into town and the speed slowed.

Victor

The clutch on the stock fan will not have the fan spinning on the highway. You need the fan at most when sitting in traffic during the summer - especially when the A/C is on.

pfdaxe

So Cal warm?? It must get up to at least 80 in the summer.

My FAL fans are holding up in 100+ temps so far so I think you'll be ok in So Cal.

midiwall

Just a side note here... When I pulled off my mechanical fan, the clutch was locked "engaged" with corrosion. I have no idea how long it was like that...

rimpainter.com

I'm with Pfdaxe on this one. No problems with high outside temps.

I ran mine on my old Tacoma for an entire Summer of 100+ degree temps. Never a problem.

PY

Side note to a side note... The clutch fan will always be engaged if it hasn't been spinning at least 500 RPM for at least a minute or two, even in the cold.

midiwall

Ahh! Okay, that could have been it, but it seemed that there was little hope of it ever freeing up.

Thanks PY!

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

I had a FAL fan and I removed it. Chances are you are going to have a problem with either your wiring, the thermoswitch (mine went bad) or some other component of the fan. My truck overheated twice for various reasons related to the fan. I put my stock one back on and haven't looked back.

The only difference in performance I noticed was when at idle in neutral, the engine was slightly more responsive with the FAL.

rimpainter.com

How do you figure "chances are you are going to have a problem" when the majority of FAL fan owners have never had a problem?

I think the "chances are you will not" have a problem, based on the solid data from this board.

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

The guy who started the thread wanted opinions. I am sorry you don't like my opinion, but I wouldn't recommend that fan to anyone. I am very anal when it comes to wiring and I did a very professional installation. It just so happens that one day on a wheeling trip (in the snow, no less) I just happened to look down and notice my temp gauge was completely in the red zone. One of the FAL-supplied blade-style connections to the fan rattled loose. On two separate occasions I was sitting in traffic and noticed my A/C wasn’t cold any more. I looked at the temp gauge and saw I was beginning to overheat and looked down at my green LED (that indicates the fan is on) was not illuminated. The thermosensor was faulty. Luckily I was able to flick on the in-cab switch and prevent overheating.

I didn’t have any problems getting FAL to replace the thermoswitch, but I lost all confidence in the fan after the above experiences.

So yes, I am saying that I believe the stock fan is much more reliable than the electric.
.

pepsilover

How about all the stop and go in local? My rig is for the street and the traffic is crowded in Southern Cal. Is FAL suitable for that driving condition?

Bumpin' Yota

Did you solder all connections? On something as critical to your engine as cooling, not to do that is asking for problems imo. I personally hate those damn blade connectors....

rimpainter.com

You are more than entitled to your opinion, as we all are. However, when you say "chances are" then I have an issue. Can you prove the chances one way or the other? No. That is my only beef with what you said. I would never detract from your experiences.

I feel it could be worded differently, that's all.

rimpainter.com

Yes. Just expect it to run all the time (which isnt bad) if you are in stop and go traffic.

If your cooling system is in good working order, you will never see an increase in engine temp. And I know your weather isnt as hot as PHX.

BTW: I always solder my electrical connections, so I recommend the same if you get the fans.

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

As others have said, if your cooling system is in good condition, you should have no problem in stop and go traffic. Originally I had my FAL wired so it would turn on when the A/C compressor was running. I unhooked that feature because I felt the fan wouldn't last long if it was turning on and off every 8 seconds with the compressor.

One critical thing I forgot to mention--I have never had overheating problems with my truck. I noticed on several occasions that my truck would heat up beyond the normal range when on long hill climbs in 4-Lo. The e-fan would be running and the temp would continue to climb. I only had this problem on probably three occasions, but it tells me the FAL isn't capable of moving as much air at probably 2000 RPMs as the stock fan.

As for whether or not my connections were soldered--yes, they were...only the blade-connections at the fan were not soldered. You could increase reliability by soldering them, but that sort-of defeats the purpose of having a connector.

If you do decide to get the FAL, I highly recommend installing an in-cab switch so you can manually turn the fan on, off (for water crossings) or thermostat mode. I also highly recommend you install a LED somewhere so you know when the fan is running. You can see my switch and LED just up and to the right of the parking brake handle. The second switch is my "safety switch" for my electric locker.