Silent Echo

I have been wanting to do this for some time, and I have asked many questions, and I feel like I have a well enough plan set in motion for this. Hopefully I can do this without having to ask too many questions. :P

This is just going to be my swap, and maybe it will help someone else looking to do this.

I'm using a Ford 8C607 Fan Mark VIII. This fan is used in the Taurus from 1990-95. I bought mine new on eBay for $78 shipped.

I'm going to be using the Ron Francis AR99 Controller recommended by Bucko, and thanks to him for all the information he has compiled.

Currently waiting on the parts to show up, and then going to carry on with the build.

fltdriver

Just remember that the Mark VIII fans use higher amperage than most, you will need an 80 amp relay for the high (or two 40's in parallel) with fuses of the like.

Silent Echo

I feel retarded, let's change the title to, "Trying to do an electric fan swap."

So I know that a relay is a heavy duty switch. A smaller switch sends power to the relay, which then sends all the power to its application.

I thought that I just needed a high amp fuse for the two speeds. One fuse for 80A and one for 45A. I'm not entirely sure on that. How do you go about wiring a relay in?

I won't have a manual switch for this setup, so Does this mean that I need relays between my controller and the high/low speed wires? I thought I understood this well enough and... I guess not. Thanks for all the help!

fltdriver

#1
87>High Speed
30>Battery
85>Controller (AC or manual switch)
86>Ground
87a>Not Used

#2
87>Low Speed
30>Battery
85>Controller (temp sensor)
86>Ground
87a>Not Used


Now between each relay and the battery should be an inline fuse that can handle same as the relay. Most relays in vehicles are 30/40 relays, handle up to 40 amps, the Mark VIII fans need an 80amp relay (or two 40s wired side by side/parallel) for the high speed as well as the regular 40 amp for low speed.

Basically whenever 85 gets a signal from whatever source you hook it up to it switches the relays so power is sent out 87. Normally power is being sent constantly to 87a at all times, this is why we don't use it.

Also understand that when wiring the high speed you will have to use wire that can handle the amperage drawn by the fan.

I would suggest dry wiring everything up before actually installing just for a little confidence builder. Seeing the fan kick on is a really nice pat on the back.

Silent Echo

It would appear that my controller already has fuses and relays in it. I still will do a giant fuse going from the main power line to the controller. But it looks as though this system is just a plug and play. Am I correct?

Also, where are you getting the numbers from as far as 85, 87, 87a. Is there a diagram I don't see?

fltdriver

If you pull those relays out of the base the pins sticking out of it are numbered like I described. If that is a picture of the controller you are using both of those relays are 40 amps, was it quoted as saying that it could handle the Mark VIII load?

Basically my wiring just eliminates the need for that "controller", does it have a temp sensor with it that connects to your radiator somehow?

Silent Echo

Oh alright. Yeah, the controller has an eyelet sensor that bolts under one of the intake manifold bolts. Really reliable and accurate. I don't know if it's rated exclusively for the Mark VIII, but it described to handle dual fans, and high/low speed single fans.

Thanks for clarifying what the delays were for, that threw me off for a bit. Thank you for all the help man!

Silent Echo

Been slow progress on the conversion. When the flex fan did damage, it messed a lot of crap up. Radiator cut, timing cover roundhouse kicked, power steering pump and pulley decimated.

Finished putting in the new radiator about an hour ago at 12:45AM. I'm tired now haha

I was comparing the Mark VIII fan to the stock fan... My stock fan is 21' and the Mark VIII fan is a 16'. This new fan pulls a ton of air, but is it enough to cool down a 27 1/2 inch radiator??

Any personal experiences or opinions are welcome

fetasigma

my mark VII conversion is more than capable of cooling my engine down, my controller uses 4 40 amp relays so I am not 100% sure your controller may be up to the task long term. but mine is set up for low speed to come on at one temp, high fan speed to come on at a higher temp level, and the fan also to kick on with the ac. My truck has not even come close to overheating since I installed it. (and I don't think my high speed circuit has ever even kicked in) as you can see I bolted the whole shebang to the radiator using some bent aluminum stock on top and to the radiator support on the bottom. I also spent a couple of extra bucks and upgraded to a 2 row all aluminum radiator a little later because my cooling problems were more radiator than fan anyway.

MGD

Mornin' folks.

I have a question.

I looked up the Ron Francis controller and see it's ~$140. In comparison, a DCC FK-45 is $150 and will control any Ford fan except an RF-269, with full variable-speed, constant-temperature granular control and no concern with relays, extra 2-speed wiring, or inrush current issues.

Further - DCC also sells relay-based 2-speed controllers that, again, will handle any Ford 2-speed fan, for only $80. For folks who wanted basic on/off operation.

So - why are you folks choosing the Ron controller? I'm just curious, is all.

Thanks & Regards;
MGD