Troyer Efan trouble
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,031
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From: The Shenandoah Valley
OK .... a friend of all those here resent me the information to post to you .... below is the gist of that post to me to you!
I agree ..... it may help you.
What he is suggesting is not only the diodes I described across the control side of the relays (if you are unsure whether they are or aren't already are protected) ...
... but diodes across the load as laid out in his link .... and after looking at it .... diodes are cheap and it can't hurt .... so I say try it. Again .... pay attention to polarity.
The quenching diode I described placing across the operating or driver side of the relay is something I have had to do in several instances when using relays in switching circuits that repeat in order to get them to survive .... most recently some added brake lights on a GL1500 Trike and trailer set up.
Now I either get relays with quenching diodes internal or I add them externally.
That's their diagram and it shows a diode across the motor leads to the fan correctly installed .... which is the diode he speaks of.
And though they don't show it in their wiring diagram as being there, it looks to me like that Bosch Relay has a quenching diode on it's case side schematic.
That is a good article he posted to! I'm gonna save it too.
Thanks .... I may combine these tips myself to maybe go electric on my 2007 FX4?
I agree ..... it may help you.
Might help to follow the diagram in the linked article as far as adding back-emf suppression across the fans in addition to the relay coils) for a complete solution.
Now - the other failure mode here is the relay sockets themselves... IF they are loose and/ or corroded, the resultant resistance incurred WILL heat and eventually melt the socket. I'd add some dielectric grease there for good measure to mitigate longer-term degradation.
It may help the poor feller if you add this linky in any reply you may wish to make:
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2...cfan/index.php
The diagram in that article clearly shows where the suppression diode needs to go - across the load(s) - e.g. each fan. This will shunt the inductive back-emf that is causing the contacts to arc (and thus weld).
I think the articles you linked him to confused him further as they describe quenching across the relay coils to protect the driving circuits, not the contacts themselves.
I would assume (perhaps incorrectly) the controller already has suitable quenching for the relays in use (if not then by all means replace them with the type that has it internally as you have linked to).
I further assume the OP has actually metered said contacts and verified the failure mode (e.g the contacts show 0 ohms across the N.O terminals).
Also suggested that you spring for a proper controller ( DCC ) to eliminate the whole issue altogether, AND gain superior fan control with far less stress on the electrical system. IMHO, of course
Always a pleasure
Now - the other failure mode here is the relay sockets themselves... IF they are loose and/ or corroded, the resultant resistance incurred WILL heat and eventually melt the socket. I'd add some dielectric grease there for good measure to mitigate longer-term degradation.
It may help the poor feller if you add this linky in any reply you may wish to make:
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2...cfan/index.php
The diagram in that article clearly shows where the suppression diode needs to go - across the load(s) - e.g. each fan. This will shunt the inductive back-emf that is causing the contacts to arc (and thus weld).
I think the articles you linked him to confused him further as they describe quenching across the relay coils to protect the driving circuits, not the contacts themselves.
I would assume (perhaps incorrectly) the controller already has suitable quenching for the relays in use (if not then by all means replace them with the type that has it internally as you have linked to).
I further assume the OP has actually metered said contacts and verified the failure mode (e.g the contacts show 0 ohms across the N.O terminals).
Also suggested that you spring for a proper controller ( DCC ) to eliminate the whole issue altogether, AND gain superior fan control with far less stress on the electrical system. IMHO, of course
Always a pleasure
... but diodes across the load as laid out in his link .... and after looking at it .... diodes are cheap and it can't hurt .... so I say try it. Again .... pay attention to polarity.
The quenching diode I described placing across the operating or driver side of the relay is something I have had to do in several instances when using relays in switching circuits that repeat in order to get them to survive .... most recently some added brake lights on a GL1500 Trike and trailer set up.
Now I either get relays with quenching diodes internal or I add them externally.
That's their diagram and it shows a diode across the motor leads to the fan correctly installed .... which is the diode he speaks of.
And though they don't show it in their wiring diagram as being there, it looks to me like that Bosch Relay has a quenching diode on it's case side schematic.
That is a good article he posted to! I'm gonna save it too.
Thanks .... I may combine these tips myself to maybe go electric on my 2007 FX4?
Last edited by tbear853; Feb 11, 2013 at 08:11 PM.
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Thank you for that. I'm on my phone now but I will definitely look at all over when I get home. I called Troyer today and he had me go over the wiring with him on the phone and its all good. He said he would talk to Mr Troyer and get back with me tomorrow.
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Customer service is non-existent with Troyer. Gary never called me back like he said he would so I called them back again this morning. He said he would talk to Mr Troyer AGAIN and call me back today. I will be very surprised if he does but we'll see....
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Colorado Springs, CO
I'm a long time supporter of Troyer after visiting there a few times and their customer service is iffy but there's only about 3 people that work so I just call until I get a answer. Yes their efan controllers are garbage and in my case I had one go out also. They sent me a new one and it worked BUT then I blew a fuse in the wiring harness and took it to one of my local shops and we decided the fuse holders were junk also and replaced them. Haven't had any issues for about 20K miles now.
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Just to update my thread....
Gary from Troyer called me back today and said they had decided to send me 1 new controller and a new relay for the other controller because 1 controller is all they had in stock. The new controller was supposed to be shipped out to me today. Hopefully this will solve my trouble. I am tired of having to worry about my truck if/when someone else drives it. When I drive it I always notice when the fan does not turn off but someone else driving it might not know any better. As far as the fuse holders, yes they are junk also. I should probably replace them as well.
Gary from Troyer called me back today and said they had decided to send me 1 new controller and a new relay for the other controller because 1 controller is all they had in stock. The new controller was supposed to be shipped out to me today. Hopefully this will solve my trouble. I am tired of having to worry about my truck if/when someone else drives it. When I drive it I always notice when the fan does not turn off but someone else driving it might not know any better. As far as the fuse holders, yes they are junk also. I should probably replace them as well.
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I don't need a fancy fuse holder or anything else fancy. I said it's junk because the first week I had the truck one of the fans quit and I finally tracked it down to the wires falling out of the fuse holder. I had to try to tighten them up with pliers before they would even stay on and they still are not on there very good.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,506
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From: Puyallup, WA
I'll keep my mechanical fan... Been working fine for 243,000 miles.... 
Sorry to hear of all your issues with going to electric... I've read a lot of posts about issues with going to aftermarket electric fans, but I've heard of others that have had no issues either... More bad than good however..
Now, I've had FACTORY electric fans in various vehicles going back to 1984 and never had a single bit of problem with the factory ones... Never had any issues with the factory mechanical fans either...
Good luck with it all!
Mitch
Sorry to hear of all your issues with going to electric... I've read a lot of posts about issues with going to aftermarket electric fans, but I've heard of others that have had no issues either... More bad than good however..
Now, I've had FACTORY electric fans in various vehicles going back to 1984 and never had a single bit of problem with the factory ones... Never had any issues with the factory mechanical fans either...
Good luck with it all!
Mitch