Those with the Windstar Fans....

[90blzr]

Do you actually use the 'high speed' on the big fan? Wondering if its worth the hassle of wiring it up. Curious if any of you went through the time to wire both speeds up and never even really use it. I havent wired it up yet at all, just fitting it to the radiator last night.

Once the temp. sender kicks them on...do both fans run at once? The small fan is only one speed, while the big fan is a two speed. I assume the big fan is normally on 'low speed'? Is there any reason to wire it up on 'high' all the time instead of 'low'?

 

[pvfjr]

I separated mine, so I could run one or two when I want. I never bothered hooking up the high speed, but the guy who wrote the tech article is looking at adding that aspect to it. I get by with only using one fan, I think I only ever turned on the 2nd one when I was towing up a 6% grade at high elevation on a hot day. Even then I could've done without it, but just wanted to see what difference it would make.

 

[dyeager535]

I think a lot of it would depend on how your vehicle cools.

With the windstar setup, is the two speed fan the "primary"? If it is, I'd look at running it on high only. *If* it doesn't cycle too often (which can happen if your cooling system is efficient enough) then just wire the secondary fan however you want, mainly as a "backup".

If it DOES cycle too often, I'd reverse that and try with the primary fan only on low.

Things to consider though are ambient temp, and driving conditions. You'll definitely need to see how the system reacts under the most adverse conditions you will see. Traffic, a lot of heat, etc. I doubt this time of year you are seeing the temps you will this summer, so it may not be an accurate test right now.

One of those things I wouldn't "hard wire" until you are sure it works as you like.

FWIW my Lx1 fan setup in *this* climate, so far has proven that one fan alone is enough to cool in any situation I've been in. Secondary fan hasn't come on at all. I expect that with a lot warmer weather, it might take a bit more to keep it cool, but that's just something I'm going to have to wait for, and see.

One thing to keep in mind if you are wiring dual fans, is that if you use identical relays, you can just swap the connector from one to the other, so in case you don't use both fans, you could just switch primary/secondary that way, so they both get "exercised". Only going to be important if you don't have manual control of the fans though.

If the Windstar setup is anything like the GM setups, the secondary fan and/or high speed primary (stock) only kick on under certain conditions like an AC request. The rest of the time, the only reason the "high" cooling would be needed is from an engine overheating situation. But at least with an AC request forcing both fans on, they likely get exercised fairly regularly.