Ok, a few days ago I completed the Mike Troyer electric fan install on my 2000 F150 (4.6 auto). Here are a few thoughts and tips on the process.
Good stuff:
1- The quality of the kit components is pretty good. The fans are solid and the controllers are sealed units.
2- The instructions are great with good writing and helpful pictures.
3- The price is good, you save a few bucks from buying all the parts individually.
4- Mike send it fast and even called me when some items were backordered a few days.

Bad stuff and hints:
1- While the fans themselves are fuse protected, there are no fuses in the primary wires from the battery to the controller relays. This goes against all good wiring practices. I got two nice, sealed fuse holders from the auto parts store.
2- No terminals to hook onto the battery were included in the kit. Same for the grounding bolt. Both bolts are 1/4 inch btw.
3- The fuseholders on the controllers are cheezy and look like they cost about 2 cents each. One of mine had a bad contact so I replaced it with another one from the parts store. They are also open to the elements, a sealed, waterproof housing would be much better.
4- Speaking of fuseholders, get some silicone contact grease (sparkplug boot grease) and liberally coat all the electrical connections to prevent corrosion and keep out water.
5- There is no need to plug into the wire on the AC compressor. Why run the wire all the way down when there is a perfect connection point on the AC pressure switch next to the battery.
6- It is easier to feed the controller power wire into the underhood fuse box and use a male terminal to plug into the empty relay socket for ignition power. The instructions have you chase down a wire underneath the fusebox and use a clipon terminal.
7- Fuse #39 powers the empty relay socket where the controller power wire plugs into. It also runs the overhead console, the flashers and the rear AC in the SUVs. Loosing any of those items will tell you that the fans arent't going to work either.
8- The fans are not totally independant of each other. The aforementioned controller power represents a single point of failure. If you are totally **** about reliability, run each controller power lead to a seperate ignition circuit.
9- The fan mounting system is a pain in the rear if you don't take out the radiator. There are enough rods and mounts for 6 points on each fan. I stopped after 5 each because I started to loose too much blood from all the radiator fin cuts.
10- The instructions ask you to remove the battery, battery tray, washer fluid reservoir and the entire intake. Way too much. I disconnected the battery and removed the washer fluid reservoir.
Plenty of room to install the controllers.
11- There is a convenient grounding bolt behind the pax side headlight. Pull the lens out for excellent access to the ground and the controllers. Sand off the paint to get good metal contact.
12- Leave the Washer reservoir out until after you adjusted the fan thermostats. It's hard to get a long screwdriver to fit into a short space.
12- Both temp probes are installed next to each other in the radiator space away from the fan. Two inches from the edge and one inch from the top underneath the USA stamp is my spot.
13- I used a IR thermometer to set the temps. Make sure you read the instructions in the fan kit or your temps will be 20 degrees off. The temp gun needs to be aimed at the probe spot because the radiator temps range from 195 on the top left to 110 on the bottom right.
14- If there are 40 amp fuses for the std holder I can't find them. So I suggest buying a box of 30 amps for emergency spares.

I've run the fans for about 1 week now. No complaints at all, the AC works better, the acceleration is a bit faster and the truck is quieter over all. It also coasts longer, the engine braking seems to be less without the fan up front. I'll have to check the gas milage over the next few months to see if there is any change. The thing that bugged me the most is that I can't tell if the fans are running. If I wasn't too lazy I'd wire in some LED lights to show fan operation.


PS - Personal opinion only, don't hurt me. That means all you Mike Troyer groupies from the other fan threads.


Fritz

 

Thanks Fritzthecat,
I will be doing this install probably next weekend and I think you already saved me some time and energy.
Very good point about the separate sources of switched power. I have read several posts about running led's into the cab, perhaps I will take this x-tra step.

I have printed this post and will have it handy when I start...

 

Glad to help.
The AC pressure switch is behind the metal block where the thick starter wires connect to. The red wire with yellow stripe is the one I spliced into.
Radio shack has some nice 12volt LEDs in orange, red and green. I would run the wire to the LED directly from the fan power wire. That way the LED only lights if there is power at the actual fan.
I made up a diagram with 2 LEDs and two switches for complete fan control. Manual on, manual off or auto with thermostat. If anybody wants it let me know and I'll email it.

Fritz

 

Fritz,

Yea, e-mail it to me at wlfclf2000@aol.com
my fans came in last nite. Looks like two Derale kits combined to make a Troyer kit?? Perhaps it is the hardware he adds.
Anyway, will try to do an install this weekend.

 

Is there such a thing as an output from an automotive fan that connected to a gauge would display fan RPM, just like a computer CPU fan?

 

Radio Shack has the LED's for a little over $2 ea. I put a pair in my 3 gauge pillar, one for each fan. I hooked them up to the power lead going to each fan AFTER the fuse to keep from getting a false indicator lamp in case of a blown fuse.

 

Well I installed the fans yesterday. Here are my recommendations.

-The meat thermometer worked GREAT. You can insert it from the motor
side of the radiator at the location of the probes. Get a real small one. Cost
less then $10 and you can use it later for the barbeque (I already had one).
-Remove the radiator. This would be a nasty job with the radiator in place.
-Only attempt this job if you feel comfortable removing the radiator.
I used this opportunity to do a flush and fill. I also was able to pressure wash the
outside of the radiator while it was out. You would not believe the dirt I got off.
I also replaced the upper and lower hoses.
-Allow more then the 4 hours to install as stated in the instructions. I did x-tra but
you would be hard pressed to do this properly in 4 hours. It can be done in a day easily.
-Really take care pushing the rods thru. I pushed out a little bit of radiator fin and was
worried about leaks until I got up to pressure. If you slightly rock the rods while
installing it makes it much easier.
-I found the attachment under the fuse box in the engine compartment was easy enough
for the switched feed.
-I still have not decided where to attach the air-conditioning line. I will not be using AC
for a while so I will take my time for this connection. Also, I have decided to use the
drivers side fan for the air-conditioning fan. That way it balances out the workload.
There is a slight possibility they may both start at the same time but I have each
attached to a dedicated 30 amp line so no problem there.

This system, once installed is smooth. I let the fans cycle about 5 times after getting them adjusted and they really work well. They are what Ford should have installed. The fans are also surprisingly quiet. Less noise then the fan I had in my old VW Rabbit.

There is a perceivable improvement in performance. I am more interested in the mileage improvement and I will report back on that later.

 

WLF...

Regarding connection to the A/C...I spliced into the recommended spot down by the A/C compressor (clutch line) and for some reason, the engine literally shut down at 1900 rpm on test drives. So I disconnected and removed that wire.

I then ran another wire across the firewall (like the ignition tie-in wire) to the grey/white wire into the loom under the fuse box on the driver side...worked like a champ. I didn't even need to remove the fuse box because the grey/white wire was exposed on the top of the loom.

Also, what were the temp readouts on your meat thermometer for "on" cycles of both fans? Did you add 20-25 degrees?

Regards,

Kevin

 

Yea I cycled the first to come on at 180 at the probe. The second to come on at 190. I could see the thermometer climb as soon as the thermostat opened. After the adjustment I could watch the fans come on at just the right time. The meat thermometer worked much better then I thought. It was easy to see and use.

Oh and thanks Fritz for the diagram. Looks like a lot of work went into it. You should post it here.

 

Fritz, I'd like to see that diagram as well.
email: droy80@aol.com

I'm looking at piecing together a system myself, money burns too much of a hole in my pockets to save up $400 :P

I'd be interested in seeing the controller diagrams as well, if anyone has those scanned, so that I'm can verify that the controllers and AC relays that I'm looking at are going to work.

Tks in advance

Danny

 

Ok, due to popular request, the Diagram can be found here:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/f/r/fritzthe...emp/fanall.gif

It's 60k .gif file.
The two switches on top are TTDP (Triple throw, double pole) and can be found here:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?&I=LXBFS2

LEDs are from Radio Shack:
http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...1%5F000&Page=1

The 12v LEDs with holders for U$2.19 or U$1.99 are great. The green matches the F150 color.

Hope this helps.

Fritz