Fan clutch upgrade...

ifrythings

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Haven’t had a chance to work on it much, hoping to get a plug for the clutch tomorrow so I can at least put it on the truck and try it out in manual control. I also have to drill the holes out for the bolts that attach the fan blade to the clutch, my awesome uncalibrate hand torque wrench ripped the threads out of a few holes. I also have drawn up a circuit for the fan controller and started the slow processes of writing a program for it, I’m not a programmer so this will be a super slow process for me.
 

ifrythings

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Figured I would post my idea of a fan controller and the circuit I have so far in case anyone here is a bit electronic tech savvy. The main goal of this controller is to use ford temperature sensors as you can get millions of them from the wreckers for nothing, they come in all different threads and some for liquids and others for air.

From what I can find out most of the ford sensors all use the same NTC resistor element which makes reading them all the same, this also allows tapping into exsisting sensor like the TOT-transmission oil temperature sensor or (ECT, EOT, IAT on powerstroke trucks) eliminating redundant sensors. I also added a circuit to read the fan speed which isn’t needed but would be nice to know.

I’m still on the fence about the AC high side sensor, I can get a simple switch off of most ford cars that will turn on the fan at a preset pressure (~250psi) or I can get a transducer off of anything 08 and newer and actually read the pressure of the high side which would allow more taylored fan control or just another gauge as we all love gauges :D

I also want to set it up so if you don’t want to use some sensors the controller will just skip over them like the IAT or MAT (intercooler monitoring) which I don’t have at the moment. Also added a manual override switch for user fun.

If anyone has any additions or ideas, I would be interested in hearing them.

Note: thick black line would be the case of the controller and everything outside of it would be sensors, battery, clutch coil and switch.

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no mufflers

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sounds good to me. the most important functions for me would be for engine temp, a/c and trans temp. in the rarer case i need it for the trans a manual switch would be fine.
 

franklin2

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I think you are getting too bogged down in the control system, but that is me, keep going.

I have a 09 f350 super duty at work, and I am assuming it has this setup on it from the factory. I do not know if it's just because I can't hear it when it's partially engaged, or it never partially engages. But when I pull a hill with it, I hear nothing or I hear the jet engine sound, nothing in between on it. It does cut on and off though, when it kicks in there is too much air and after a bit it cuts off, and then a little bit later it cuts on again and keeps cycling like that. Fairly crude operation for such a fancy setup.
 

G. Mann

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Good point. Millions of *** cars run with fan switches that go full on.. or not on... based on coolant temp sensors.. and they have been driven millions of miles with great success.... Why make it complicated?
 

ifrythings

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Well until I try out the clutch and see how it works, the controller is just a concept idea at the moment, if the clutch is just lock and unlock then there is absolutely no need for a fancy controller. Also I’m doing a controller mostly for a gauge read out too as aftermarket gauges are not very cheap.
 

laserjock

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One thing I had considered doing was using the trans cooler loop in the radiator. Fill it with fluid and put a sender in one of the ports and plug the other. Would tell you more about the heat in the radiator and if it is heatsoaked. Should be a better indicator than a clip on do-Dad. Of course if you have an auto trans, that’s not so useful.
 

franklin2

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One thing I had considered doing was using the trans cooler loop in the radiator. Fill it with fluid and put a sender in one of the ports and plug the other. Would tell you more about the heat in the radiator and if it is heatsoaked. Should be a better indicator than a clip on do-Dad. Of course if you have an auto trans, that’s not so useful.

Sensing the temp of the radiator up higher probably would be better than lower in the radiator. You probably could compensate for this by adjusting your setpoint, but the hottest coolant comes into the top of the radiator.
 

laserjock

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Sensing the temp of the radiator up higher probably would be better than lower in the radiator. You probably could compensate for this by adjusting your setpoint, but the hottest coolant comes into the top of the radiator.
True.
 

tjsea

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See to me I think it would be better to sense coolant temp at the bottom. That way if you are running down the highway and the radiator has plenty of airflow the fan will never kick on. At the top the fan will kick on anytime the thermostat opens. Just my veiw on things.
 

laserjock

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See to me I think it would be better to sense coolant temp at the bottom. That way if you are running down the highway and the radiator has plenty of airflow the fan will never kick on. At the top the fan will kick on anytime the thermostat opens. Just my veiw on things.
Also true. Might be a better indication of heat soak watching the bottom temp.
 

G. Mann

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Faulty thinking. I want the fan to come on when thermostat opens and dumps a load of hot coolant into the radiator. With the sensor on bottom hose, cooling system could be 3 gallons low and you still wouldn't have cooling fan on, and making steam.
 
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