Electrical fan options?

[elsabor67]

Now that I found out that my clutch fan is my main culprit for my overheating issues, what would you recommend for an electrical fan?

I now want to eliminate the clutch fan and go to something that I know might be easier to work with and also be slim enough and push enough air to keep the car around 1/2 on the temp scale. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Nick

[StereoInstaller1]

Nick, I don't know how hot in is in Germany, but I ran fro 3 years using my AUX fan off of a spare foglight switch.

I simply ran the wires from the fan switch into the cabin, then connected to a spare switch. Never really had an issue, only put a fan clutch on to hide some of the nasty ass rocker noise my car seems plagued with.

Luke

[nando]

Nick, I don't know how hot in is in Germany, but I ran fro 3 years using my AUX fan off of a spare foglight switch.

I simply ran the wires from the fan switch into the cabin, then connected to a spare switch. Never really had an issue, only put a fan clutch on to hide some of the nasty ass rocker noise my car seems plagued with.

Luke

I'll never figure out why people make it so complicated - all the wiring is already there, the relays are there, and a thermoswitch to automatically turn the fan on. all that really needs to be done is bypassing the low speed setting, and changing the thermoswitch for one that turns on at a lower temp - like the E36 M42 thermoswitch that happens to plug right in.

[golde30]

eh, i installed my fan to the low speed circuit which is also activated by pushing the A/C button.

[0000000000]

Buy a ebay 16" fan than buy some electrical connectors. Splice the AUX fan wires. Than hook up the brown and black wires to your fan and leave the red wire. than use your AC button.

this only works if you dont have AC.

[NC325iC]

i ran my car w/ the aux fan always on low for a while and it was always at the 1/4 mark as it is with the regular fan and as i expect it would be w/o a fan at all... i was sitting at idle and the temp started creeping up past 1/4 where it usually sits, it does this at idle sometimes, and i moved the car and pointed the nose into the wind (a constant 2-5 mph wind i would say) and it promptly dropped back to 1/4, i honestly dont understand how everyone has overheating problems

[0000000000]

BMW has terrible cooling systems. But mine never overheats but I've only had mine in the winter not in the summer yet though.

[digger]

BMW has terrible cooling systems. But mine never overheats but I've only had mine in the winter not in the summer yet though.

people having cooling issues only when things aren't maintained properly.

[elsabor67]

SI1, After October, it cools off pretty quick, and today it's at a decent 52 degrees. Now in the summer it gets in the 80's and sometimes up into the 90's. When you ran the wires from the Aux fan, did you also have the AC condenser in the front?

Nando, Sent you a PM. Let me know.

000000000, I'm gonna have to look at that option, but I do want to keep my AC 'cause it does get humid hot here.

Golde, Where is the low speed circuit at? I'm still trying to get the upper hand on the wiring....

NC, in the city here you have no choice but to go anywhere from 20-30 MPH at the mosta and it gets pretty congested so air circulation is somewhat of a problem. Even with the car temp at 3/4 I can stop and hold my fan with my pinkie. On the Autobahn it maintains around 1/2 but with air circulating.

Digger, the only thing that isn't maintained on this car is the paint since it's due for a new PJ as soon as the Dollar to Euro rate gets better($1=.65 Euro cents). To put it in somewhat of a perspective, my wife sometimes wished that she had told me to keep my old 92 Sentra SE-R turbo instead of selling it. In fact she calls my E30 "her competiton". She hated my previous E30 even more. She's getting over it now.

I really appreciate the responses, if anyone has any more suggestions please feel free to let me know. You can never stop learning.

Nick

[jlevie]

If the car will see +90F temperatures, I would not recommend anything less than a 16" fan rated for at least 2000CFM. If the aux fan and A/C will be deleted/disabled, you can use the existing relay and a 80-82C thermoswitch to control the electric fan. If A/C and thus the aux fan will be retained, the power draw of both fans is too much for the aux fan relays and you'll need a separate relay and thermoswitch just for the radiator fan.

A new fan clutch is the cheaper alternative...

[0000000000]

Right i do not have a Ac fan or anything AC. Just pm and i will tell you more.

[MR 325]

BMW cooling systems are not terrible at all, they work great.

Replace your fan clutch if it's bad and make sure you have a fan shroud on there. If you MUST go with an electric fan, go with something quality. I just recently replaced my ebay pile of shit fan on my S50 car with a Spal fan and it's fucking awesome. Worth every penny.

[elsabor67]

A little update........

Thanks for the responses. Today I finally was able to dig my hands in the car and troubleshoot the rest of the stuff.

Not only did my clutch fan not work, but also my thermo switch was shot and the low temp resistor on the aux fan was shot too. Good thing a partner of mine had a spare fan that he didn't need and I P/U the thermoswitch and resistor this week since the dealer didn't have them on stock. Tomorrow i'm doing a jumper to the fan so I can run it when needed and then plan to upgrade the proper way. Thanks again for the advice and help.