Slim Fan Overheating issue

[prove_it]

I just got done installing a new aftermarket aluminum core radiator and while I did that I decided to put in a 14" hayden slim fan. I directly bolted the fan to the radiator in the same place as the stock fan. I also added some redline water wetter, flushed the cooling system and added all new 50/50 coolant mix. I bled the system and then went out and for a drive.

As I sat at a light waiting my coolant temp reached 225 degree mark and I promptly headed home. As I drove the temps dropped quickly. I thought maybe the fan wasn't kicking on. Well it was. I wired the resistor out so the fan only runs on high. I have a new thermostat too. Still have the same at idle overheat issue. To me 215 is too much. While it's overheating I can raise idle and the temp will still not lower. Water pump does only have 15k miles on it, so does the engine.

I still have A/C and a stock intercooler and piping. Prior to the radiator/fan swap I never saw over 205 at idle. I reused the same coolant switch.
Has anyone else had a similar issue?
Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[SouthCaliVR4]

Fan may not be pulling enough cfm to prevent overheat. slimlines never draw as much air, you will probably need to add another to get back to stock level flow.

 

[broxma]

I have a similar situation but my solution is not recommended and often frowned upon.

The slim fans are not very good at pulling air through a restriction. Aren't really good at pushing it either. I don't know anything about the Hayden fans, but there is a reason why some fans on Ebay are 18 bucks a pair and others are 200.00.

/brox

 

[Barnes]

I think Brox hits the nail on the head as far as cost/quality. I've never heard much good in regards to Hayden fans. If you wanna move some serious air you should look into a Spal fan. They make 3 motor sizes for each fan size. So as long as you have the room for the larger motor, you can get Spal fans that move crazy amounts of air.

 

[Gizmovr4]

My car after the installation of an aftermarket fan was doing the same thing.In my car the fans were installed inside the engine bay. Turns out that the fan was pushing the hot engine bay air thru the radiator instead of pulling cool air thru it. In essence the hot air from the turbo was being pushed thru the radiator and the hotter the turbo the hotter the coolant temp. The fan you bought may be Reversible. Please make sure that it’s wired correctly. The easiest way to check is by placing a sheet of paper in front of the radiator if the paper gets sucked to the radiator when the fans are on - you have it correct this is if you have the fans mounted inside the engine bay(air is being sucked thru the radiator). If the fans are between the intercooler and radiator you can place the sheet of paper in the engine bay if it does not get stuck to the radiator you have it wired correctly. If you reverse the wires going to the fan it will spin the opposite direction… ***note red wire does not necessarily go to the blue wire on the car harness and black doesnt necessarily go to black on a reversable fan***

Hope this helps… .

 

[boostedinaz]

Quoting broxma:
I have a similar situation but my solution is not recommended and often frowned upon.

The slim fans are not very good at pulling air through a restriction. Aren't really good at pushing it either. I don't know anything about the Hayden fans, but there is a reason why some fans on Ebay are 18 bucks a pair and others are 200.00.

/brox



Agreed. Most slim fans are junk and the ones that aren't tend to be expensive. I had the same issues with my Talon and ponied up for two Spal fans. Once I did that I never had a cooling issue.

 

[SouthCaliVR4]

Ahh, yes Gizmo is probably the one with the good call, I have seen a few wired backwards pushing hot air forward instead of cool air back /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/idea.gif I've even seen a few mech fans installed wrong do the same. Definetly check that first!!

 

[prove_it]

Serisouly, I'm not an idiot and can wire a fan properly. I'm an auto tech as a career.

The fan is pulling the air.

What about building a shroud to allow more radiator surface area?

 

[Gizmovr4]

^^^^^^^^^^^wow^^^^^^^^
Even super techs such as yourself have made mistakes in wiring… or have installed a pusher fan instead of a puller fan- that does not make you an idiot- mistakes happen… what does make you an idiot is the above statement… you post here looking for advice and when people offer it - you get insulted??? After all its just an overheating issue caused by something that you a career technician caused… sweet got to love it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif


Here is another post from a few months ago with someone else having overheating issues after new fan installation.
click,All_Forums,&Words=&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Main=890664&Search=true&where=&Name=10353&daterange=&newerval=&newertype=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post890973

 

[SouthCaliVR4]

^^ /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif^^

 

[alansupra94]

Quoting gizmovr4:
^^^^^^^^^^^wow^^^^^^^^
Even super techs such as yourself have made mistakes in wiring… or have installed a pusher fan instead of a puller fan- that does not make you an idiot- mistakes happen… what does make you an idiot is the above statement… you post here looking for advice and when people offer it - you get insulted??? After all its just an overheating issue caused by something that you a career technician caused… sweet got to love it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif



+1 Dude everyone makes mistakes....I one time spent about 2hrs trying to figure out why my other car was not starting....only to find out I forgot to plug the ECU in. It was on my kitchen counter. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

And I believe that shrouds are mainly designed for directing more air into the radiator at high speeds. The fan will pull its rated CFMs or at least I thought /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[prove_it]

Wouldn't a shroud allow more air to pass over the radiator?

 

[Barnes]

I think a shroud is a good idea. Especially if the radiator fan is small relative to the surface area. I still don't know if it would be enough though.

 

[dsmtalontsi95]

I had a simalar problem. Try another fan and a cooler t-stat. I have two slim fans and a 160* stat and I rarely ever go above 190. As soon as I added the second fan my temps droped. I cut the plugs off of my old fans and wired them onto the fans so everything looked nice and neat. Best of luck to you.

 

Quoting Alansupra94:

+1 Dude everyone makes mistakes....I one time spent about 2hrs trying to figure out why my other car was not starting....only to find out I forgot to plug the ECU in. It was on my kitchen counter.

HaHa I thought i was the only person to ever do that. I sat in my talon for an hour and a half before i started to call it a night and found the ECU in the back seat lol.

 

[iLLeffeKt vr-4]

What CFM is your fan rated at?

 

[prove_it]

It's rated at 1500 cfm.

Found a problem though, my low side switch is intermittently acting up. I'll be swapping that soon. I don't think the fan is really a big issue. I may have issues when the outside temp rises to 100 degrees or so, but most days it's fine now even with the bad switch.

 

[mitsuturbo]

I'm running a 14" straight blade, rated at 2200cfm, on a 1/2 width radiator.
When i first put it all in, i was in the blazing summer heat in utah.. the car BARELY ran cool enough.
Turns out, i had a 195° thermostat, and it may have been sticking. I swapped in a 165° thermostat and the car would barely maintain operating temperature at highway speeds.
When i got back home, i put a 185° thermostat in and it seems to work just fine.