engine and drivetrain Ireland Electric Fan Kit. Reviews?

[ray_]

Does your temp gauge jump when you turn your lights on? Bad grounds can cause jumpy and high reading also.

Your voltage regulator is grounded by the bolt to the firewall. Be sure that has good contact (as well as other grounds everywhere).

I don't really think this is your issue but...

GL,

Ray

[pilotnbr1]

Thanks for the replies! Even though some of you say the gauge position is normal today while in stop and go traffic with the outside air temp being in the 80s it really started to approach the red being above the 2 o'clock position.

To answer other questions- Temp sensor for the gauge is new. Temp gauge does not jump or move in time with the blinkers. I have no reason to believe the temp gauge is inaccurate.

[R1190]

I think there is nothing to worry about. Classic temp. gauges display actual temperature withing a range from cold (blue zone) to hot (red zone). Everything between blue and red (white) is ok.

Many customers used to pay to much attention to the temperature indication and they used to complain about driving the car at high temperature. Car brands have solved this problem by two ways. First, modern cars govern the temp gauge trough the body controller and it does not display actual temperature of the engine. The gauge rises from blue zone to the middle displaying actual temperatures. Once in the middle of its stroke, it remains at that level no matter the actual temperature. If the engine temp rises to certain level, the the body controller moves the temp gauge to the red zone. Have you ever wondered why modern car gauges point to three no matter the external temperature?

Second way they have solved the problem, the temp gauge has been deleted in many modern car. What a pitty.

For the good or the bad, our 02s are not governed by chips.

Regards from Spain, Pepe de la Parte.

Heres a picture of where it settles out at stops. Once I get going it cools right off. Is that normal? It seems a little high, but if everyones car does that I will stop whining

[OriginalOwner]

Apparently another example of the apparently wild "mood swings" the 2002 cooling system can and does experience during it's lifetime. I gotta laugh, it's like the designers "designed in" inconsistency, rather than "consistency and repeatability."

In my opinion: your idle temp is way too hot.

At idle, my '74 2002tii never goes to 2 o'clock, ever. 3 o'clock and no more.

When pulling up a hill, the temp goes up. When going downhill, it cools down. Seemingly responsive to the slightest changes in load.

On a cold morning the temp needle will be at 3 o'clock. Later in the day when it is 85, the temp needle is at 4:30. The colder the outside temp, the hotter the engine runs, and vice versa. Strange to me. For all I know after driving the car for over 37 years, that is "normal" and I just refuse to accept it.

The Achilles heel of my car has always been the cooling system, because there has been lots of inconsistency, the temp isn't consistently hot or cold or just right. Sometimes "too hot" .... sometimes "just right" .... another day quite "cool." One day it can be fine, the very next day it's like it is plugged up and running "hot." One day pulling up The Grapevine with temp needle at 1:30, next month at 3:30. Weird and disconcerting.

Got all the "right" stuff: 3-row radiator, block flush, 75-deg thermostat, good hoses, good radiator cap.

Only last year I discovered an effective (for me) "fix" of sorts: I keep the water/antifreeze around 85/15. My experience in my car: less antifreeze = cooler running. Cross my fingers: for the past year the engine has been running "just right."

Cheers,

Carl

[pilotnbr1]

Thats interesting about the coolant mix Carl. I might have to try playing with the mix. My car seems to hold temperature very predictably. Cool while cruising and hot when idle.

Anyone have experience fitting a 14 inch fan? I poked around on the forum search and it sounds like people do run 14. I just remember putting the 12 inch on and thinking there wasn't much room to play with.

[bruno615]

I know my grounds aren't great (temp gauge jumps when I turn the lights on), but it is steady. With the lights on, it doesn't sway far from the picture above. With the lights off, its closer to a 2:30 position. Other than that, the temps are pretty steady.

[OriginalOwner]

pilot,

I got the coolant mix idea from (I think) the label on a bottle of Water Wetter. It showed temp reductions for lower percentages of antifreeze.

I never gave a thought that more antifreeze might make the engine run hotter, or vice versa.

So I gave less antifreeze a try ..... working OK so far. And I toss in some Water Wetter just because I can.

Cheers,

Carl

[pilotnbr1]

I measured the area of the radiator and decided I could fit the Ireland 14 inch fan. It is only $33 so I ordered it. I know I might be just treating a symptom of an underlying problem but this can't hurt. When I went out to measure the front area of the radiator it struck me how little of the radiator actually benefits from the electric fan pushing air. The center of the fan has the electric motor which blocks airflow and there is a good 2 inches on either side of the fan blades where those cooling rows in the radiator will not benefit. Ireland says the 12 inch fan puts out about 1200 cfm and the 14 inch 2000 cfm which is quite a difference.

I did check belt tension on the water pump and also pulled the spark plugs to see how the mixture was. The plugs looked good to me-- Pic below.

I will keep you all posted on how the 14 inch fan works out and diluting the water coolant ratio.

Luke

[ray_]

Them plugs are purty!

You can buy a $40 IR temp gun at Harbor Freight if you want to open a bigger can of worms ;-)

Cheers,

Ray

[wegweiser]

The F Bomb suffered higher than comfortable temps at high speed highway runs. Cooled right off going down hill or below 65 mph.

Took me FOUR ***thorough*** and ***complete*** block coolant flushes to finally get the most out of my new thermostat and re-cored stock radiator. Now she's dead center and a bit low on occasion.

Running 50/50 coolant mix with DISTILLED WATER.

Try draining the coolant via the block drain under the exhaust manifold. Get a new copper/aluminum crush ring each time. Fill with distilled water (no antifreeze) get up to temp. Allow to cool off and drain. Repeat Repeat. Repeat.

'Hope this fixes 'er!

[ShakeyC]

The electric fan switch/sender should be in the top hose, top of radiator.

Where you have it on bottom is wrong because until thermostat opens its reading mostly static cooler water whilst your over heating hence your higher temp gauge readings because its taking the temp from water block by cylinder no.1 which is the same top hose to radiator is where the electric fan switch should be.

Think about it once coolant gone through the radiator and your off the gass not generating heat above its preset temp the fan should switch off, then switch back on as the switch should be first thing hot coolant reaches to turn fan back on making it standalone self regulating system.

Also worth checking earths behind dash clocks, horn and fuel level sender in the boot iirc all on same earth line.

Fan switch on the radiator top hose would cause the fan to run constantly and defeat the purpose of the switch. I cant help but thinking the airflow is insufficient because the car runs so much cooler when moving...I am racking my brain for ideas--

Maybe the engine itself is generating more heat than normal-

a)timing? it is set at 8 degrees at a 1000 rpm idle

b)could hot plugs do it? I run plugs in the 7 heat range

c)engine friction? has only about 500 miles on fresh oil

d)engine too lean?

Inability of the coolant to move through system-

a)thermostat? its new and tested

b)waterpump? its new...maybe the belt is slipping at idle?

c)blockages or deposits? when changing the pump the passages I could see were totally clear and extremely clean

d)headgasket problem? very trace oil in coolant, no white smoke, compression is even across

Inability of the new high density radiator to cool the coolant at idle-

a)fin pattern on radiator too tight and restrictive for air?

b)fan not moving adequate air?

c)fan is blowing air wrong way? confirmed blowing front to back

d)fan not coming on or coming on late? it comes on just over half on the temp gauge

Any other ideas?

I am going to double check timing.. The dizzy appears to be older but the timing mark is rock solid when shooting it. I might try and see if the springs are getting worn. If the springs are overly worn though I would imagine the timing would just advance too early. I understand that it is overly retarded timing that causes the engine to run hot.

Check to see if the belt is slipping at idle.

Check the mixture at idle.

[pilotnbr1]

Thermostat location for a fan has been hashed through quite a few times on this forum. It is a true statement that the top hose will be warmer than the bottom and be the hose at which to measure engine temp. This is why your water temp gauge is off the top hose. Think about the purpose of the fan- it is to supplement or supply airflow through the radiator to maintain constant COOLANT output temp NOT control engine temp. Thus fan thermostat needs to be on the radiator output (bottom) hose. Engine temp is modulated and controlled by your coolant thermostat...

IF that still doesn't convince you then look at any of the BMWs that followed the 2002 and had an electric fan. The electric fan thermostat is on the output (bottom) hose or in a bung on the bottom of the radiator.

[Colin]

What does Ireland say?

[Kidasters]

Your car is running hot.

Listen to Paul W. He does this for a living. He's a better wrench than most of us dream to be.

With a 3 core rad, and the normal fan - I get up to the 3 o'clock position and never leave it - in the summer - in Houston.

In the winter, I rarely get over 4 o'clock.

Your car is hot.

[M3M3]

folks....the cooling system is a closed loop. it MAKES NO DIFFERENCE whether the elec fan switch is in the input or output of the radiator. AS LONG AS THE SWITCH HAS THE CORRECT "ON" POINT FOR THE LOCATION IT IS IN!!!!!!

if the switch is too high and it is on the bottom of the rad, it will never come on. if top low and is in the input of the rad, it will never trun off.