HI!... Our stock thermostat's are set at 195 degree's. I've got fan controller set to kick the one of my two fans on at 200 degree's. The other fan is on a manual switch. You don't want to set the fan to come on below when your stat opens up at.

 

The way you worded that is a bit confusing but I think what you are trying to say is I need to set my FAL's to come on at 200* right?

Richard D.

 

The 14-inch Haydens are in and set. I have one that comes on at 95c the other at 98c. They don't move as much air as the stock fan does but seem to be fine now with temps in the mid 70's here. I ahve some doubts about their ability to properly cool the truck if temps reach the upper 90's like in July and August. I wouldn't recommend them due to there low air flow. Looks like I will have to save some money and replace one of them with a 16-inch higher output fan before summer to feel better about it. The fans surely free up lowend hp. as the truck takes off the line way better. When pressing on the gas for passing I really couldn't tell alot of difference. Haven,t ran the full tank of gas out yet so don't have any ideas to my personal mileage gains. Glenn Taylor.

 

Richard D -

If you wire your fans the way Flex-A-Lite says to, the fans will run any time the AC is on, regardless of the truck's temperature. The AC needs the airflow to properly cool so that's why they say to hook it up like they do.

The controller has multiple inputs. 1 of them is a manual override to turn the fans off. I wired a switch to this input so that I can turn them off while driving on the interstate. I don't see any reason to run the fans when it isn't necessary to, but that's my own preference. It will not hurt anything to wire them as FAL says.

Another instance I could see would be with a guy like JMC who does a lot of off-roading. When traversing deep water and such, you'd probably want to turn the fans off until you got out of the water.

A lighted switch can be had at Radio Shack, Auto Zone, etc. for under $10. You wire a terminal from the switch to +12V and another to Ground. Whenever you flip the switch, it lights up. Not really high tech, but very effective...

Yes, I think the FAL 270 kit will handle any cooling tasks you can throw at it. If the truck overheats, it would probably have done so with the factory fan as well...

 

Sweet! Thanks for the info can't weait to get mine

Richard D.

 

Has anyone that has done the electric fan swap noticed any real gains in gas milage?

 

After putting the fans in my truck, I noticed alot better throttle response and better "of the line" performance. It took alittle while to calm down a bit to notice any real gains in the mpg area, but I am noticing about 1.5-2 mpg increase. If you are looking for alot of mpg....get a Yugo. These are BIG trucks and should be expected to run like them!

Definatly worth doing. The HP is worth it alone.

Mike

 

Just installed the FLX-270 kit on the truck.
At the time of my purchase, summitt racing had the best price.

The fan is installed and working...however, after reading all the posts on where to break into the air conditioning compressor wiring, I decided to not hook it up.
The fans come on at normal (60%) kick on temp and if the temp goes up due to load or ac, the fans increase to 100%.
It seems to simplify the wiring.
Any thoughts?

 

Francis -

For the few minutes it takes for your truck to reach operating temperature, the fans do not run. If during this time you are sitting still and idling, the AC system will have a tough time cooling your truck.

I live in Florida, so it's always hot and humid. AC is a must. When I first installed my fans, I didn't have them wired to the AC either. Real pain if I was sitting still and the truck wasn't warmed up because the vents just blew warm air, unless I started moving.

I don't know if it will harm the AC system or not. I do know that it was designed to have air moving across it any time the engine is running and the compressor is turning.

It is probably not too difficult to wire into the AC. Post and you'll get help...

 

Francis,

B-Man nailed it right on the head. The condenser in front of your rad requires air flow across it fins to cool the condensed refrigerant. If the vehicle is stopped and there is no air flow then it can not cool enough and the efficiency of the A/C is decreased. I have mine wired to the A/C so it turns on when the A/C is on. Here in the winter you do not need A/C so some kind of switch would be desirable. I will be relocating my controllers to the inside of the cab near the RPO relay block so they will no longer get covered in mud and water. I have hard wired 2 pilot lights to indicate when and which fan is running so I can monitor the situation. And if anyone goes off road do not forget the master ON/OFF switch. Electric fans do not like to run under water.


JMC

 

The wife came home from shopping yesterday and I go out to help bring stuff in and the efans are running. I ask her why are you running the Air Conditioning when it's 70*out and raining? She says, I'm not I got the floor/panel going for heat. I said to her (Hapy) that I've told you that it's Floor OR Panel. Sheeesh!
Zap

 

JMC -

Do you happen to know if the system would be harmed by no air flow, if the fans were left like Francis was talking about?

I'm not an AC guy and was just wondering. Seems like something would get screwed up if the condensor isn't able to do it's job.

Just curious...

 

Damn, you guys are good.
AC blows warm until the fans kick in.
Stock setup, the fan is pulling all the time...
Saw the posts to go into the engine compartment fuse box for AC.
I'll try there first. Then I'll order the cutoff switch for highway.
The control box will be a mess of wires!

Thanks!!! for the concerns and advice!
This weekend I'll add the Hellwig rear sway bar.

 

I own a 97 F150 4x4 w/5.4 can someone tell me the best place to hook up the wireing for the A/C activation and where and what I need to to look for this?

Thanks ,
Richard D.

 

For my AC hookup I carefully stripped the insulation from the green/brown wire, I believe it was green/brown, going to the connector on the AC compressor. I stripped off about 1/2 inch with a sharp hobby knife. I then solderd about an 8 foot piece of 16ga stranded wire to that stripped section. I wrapped the wire around the stripped section and soldered it in place. I covered that connection with liquid electrical tape and then used a 6 inche piece of silicone tape around it to be sure it would not short out. I ran the wire along the existing wire loom along the top of the passenger valve cover, back to the firewall, along the passenger side of the engine compartment, behind the battery and to the thermostat. My thermostat is mounted on the pillar next to the radiator near the water inlet at the top of the radiator. I used cable ties to fasten the wire at various points but not before I encased the wire in the coiled wire loom material you can get at auto parts stores. I was **** about shorting the thing out.. I tested the connection with a volt meter to be sure it read 12V when the AC compressor was on. Works great. Have had it like that for about a year now. Last Fall I added a waterproof switch to turn that connection to the AC compressor off for in the winter. When you run your defroster in the winter time the AC compressor cycles, along with your fans, which is just a waste of electricity. When the weather gets warmer just flip the switch on and your fans will turn on when the AC runs.

I did not do a split between the 2 fans like Neal and some of the other guys did but the setup I'm using works very well and I've had no problems. The only thing I changed was that I ran across some 'free' 30 amp auto-resettable circuit breakers which I used instead of the fuses that go to each fan. If one blows for some reason, it will auto-reset when the power is removed and it cools down. It is a direct replacement for the double-blade fuses most of the kits come with.