Windstar Relay Info

[fireplug]

So in my attempt to find appropriate relays for the fans, I went to a Ford dealer. Their electrical guy there was SUPER helpful, pulling out diagrams and the whole bit, knowing all along I wasn't spending any money.

So with the fans, some years used a control module. Not even he could tell me what effective amp relay they would utilize, but other years did in fact use a relay (three in fact) and they were 60 amps.

I know many here are getting by with 30 amp without difficulty, but if you are interested it's straight from the horses mouth.

 

[dyeager535]

I could see two ways to interpret your posting, but I assume you mean that some setups (IE one Windstar) had 3 60 amp relays to control it's fans?

I believe it though, they are known to draw a lot, the OEM's will typically over-wire things, (except the Japanese and Volkswagen lol) and only two at one time would be utilized, since you had two fans, and one was dual speed, so a high and low speed relay. Still, 120 amps in fans alone is a lot! lol.

 

[newyorkin]

Yikes, 120a??

 

[fireplug]

I could see two ways to interpret your posting, but I assume you mean that some setups (IE one Windstar) had 3 60 amp relays to control it's fans?

I believe it though, they are known to draw a lot, the OEM's will typically over-wire things, (except the Japanese and Volkswagen lol) and only two at one time would be utilized, since you had two fans, and one was dual speed, so a high and low speed relay. Still, 120 amps in fans alone is a lot! lol.

Sorry if I was unclear, you got it though. Some years used a control module.

Some years used 3 60A relays.

 

[fireplug]

Yikes, 120a??

Well not really. 60 per circuit.

 

[88Silverado]

I ran 50A relays on my winstar setup in my ElCamino for years and never had a problem.
Will run 50A or 60A when I put the fans in the Blazer too. I had a friend try and run 20A relays and would melt them over time. 30A are the absolute minimum. They pull some current on startup. Make sure the Alt is up to snuff to run the fans and accessories when your sitting at idle or you will start to drain the battery.
Never saw a reason to run the two fans independent or at different speeds. When the thermal switch kicked in, or Air was on, both fans went on at high speed. Each fan was run through its own relay but the inputs were tied together.

 

[dyeager535]

Less load on the charging system, less engine drag, less fan wear and tear, less fan cycling. Those are the potential reasons.

I'm only running an 87 Amp alternator, and while not Windstar fans, (which I suspect are much more powerful) the single primary fan that keeps my truck cool no problem, but I DO have the other wired on a 240* temp switch just in case. In any case, that alternator keeps up fine, which it wouldn't if I were cycling both fans all the time.

These fans are a big draw, try hooking them up to switched ignition power and start your rig.

 

[ryoken]

These fans are a big draw, try hooking them up to switched ignition power and start your rig.

Amen...

I really need to take the time and check start up/continuous amp draw on these things...

I am running 30's btw, just out of convenience... But this thread is a reminder that upgrading to 50's at some point would be good..

On a similar note, I just had a 30 Bosch take a dump on my hi-beams after about 10 months service... I keep a couple in the console for just such an occasion...

btw Dorian, what would you think of a 225 on the thermal switch as opposed to your 240? With the new robust cooling system I haven't gone over 210 yet with the single fan...

 

[88Silverado]

Less load on the charging system, less engine drag, less fan wear and tear, less fan cycling. Those are the potential reasons........

My temp switch wouldnt kick the fans in until 215. When they both came on it only took a very short time to pull the temps back down to 195 and shut off so actually they cycled less and ran for shorter time periods. The fans never ran while on the highway

I guess the down side was during the summer, sitting at a signal light, with the A/C and both fans running I could make ice cubes due to the airflow over the condenser

I have a 130A alt in the Camino so power isnt an issue. I currently have the 97A alt in the Blazer but figure im going to have to upgrade it for the fans and winch. With a lower amperage alt, it would make more sense to only run one fan at a time as required.

 

[dyeager535]

As a backup, I'd think 225* to be a better choice than the 240*, I just got the one that was originally used with my TPI setup, instead of what I now think would work better. Have not had an experience yet where I needed both fans, but I'm not in Arizona either. I would certainly expect that a 454 in one of these trucks, crawling in Arizona, would need both at some point. I don't have AC either, I might feel differently if I needed it. I'm not that hard on my truck, but the single fan has never allowed engine temp to climb past it's turn on point.

As to fan cycling, the faster you cool, the more the fans will cycle since the stop cooling point is the same, and the time it takes the motor to hit the start cooling point is also a constant. If you drop the amount of cooling "power" by half, you increase the time required to drop the temperature by the same amount.

Don't get me wrong, fan cycling isn't really a big deal, since you are expending the same amount of total energy either way (well, except fan startup draw will be doubled) it's more a personal preference thing.

I did forget however, about noise, and that's probably another reason OEM's typically don't run things at max if they don't have to. Never tried both of mine while the truck is running, I doubt it is noticeable. Of course, compared to a stock Windstar or Camaro, our vehicle noise is typically much greater overall.