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50 amp cooling fan fuse?

4K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  .40329 
#1 ·
Instead of the standard 60 amp fuse that the schematic shows and the manual refers to, I have a 50 amp.
My truck did not have a fuse box cover, and I got one from a trailblazer.
SSR Rebel was kind enough to send an image of the correct schematic and I see I have a 50 in place of a 60.
Searching the previous threads I can find no reason for this. Everything works. I see from Mike in AZ that the draw is 29 amps. There is nothing else fused to that position(no add ons). I guess I'll just put a 60 in and keep the fifty as a "get me home spare."

Any thoughts other than something happened and the previous owner could only get a 50 at the time, and then since it worked, just never replaced it?

I was also wanting to check the relays, but they are not identified by part numbers. I can do that at a rally or out to dinner meeting sometime.
 
#3 ·
The type of fuse used in the fan and anti-lock brakes is a slow blow. The 60 amp fuse will carry 60 amps continuously without blowing. Historically, failure of that fuse was due to someone trying to jump start the SSR at a dealership after they ran the battery down demonstrating the roof system. Since then, the fuse failure has mostly been due to a mistake on a technician's part or (very, very rarely) the OEM fan shorting out.

In 10 years, we have seen thousands of fan failures.... And only a very few relay failures. My estimate is that there are 800-1000 fan failures for every relay failure. The relays are pretty good parts. They reside just forward of the w/s washer bottle on the inside of the driver's fender. Black relay is low speed. Grey relay is high speed.

Regards,

Mike
 
#4 ·
I have a two speed Ford fan from a Lincoln Mark VIII that I installed on my 81 Corvette with an aftermarket relay kit. These fans are bulletproof, very high CFM and are sought after by the street rod market. They were also on the Ford Taurus with the larger V6 so they are plentiful. Even a used one off a high mileage car is better and more reliable than a high dollar aftermarket fan. I have a buddy with a 55 chevy with a blown big block that runs this fan that came out of a 110K Mi Taurus, he's run the Power tour three years in a row now, had it in service for four years without a hitch.
I'm going to measure mine up and see if it will fit on the SSR and see if it can be wired using the existing relays. The Ford fan is also on a 60A fuse and draws close to that on High Speed start. It pulls about 31A running on High.
I have a 440+ HP 383 in the Vette with a Champion aluminum radiator and it rarely gets above 195 even in Texas 99 deg heat with the A/C running. May be a good replacement alternative. Anyone checked into this?
Greg
 
#5 ·
Hi Texasbaehr

................. May be a good replacement alternative. Anyone checked into this?
Greg
Hi Greg,

Welcome to the SSR family. It's a great bunch of owners. I hope you can connect to the gang in Texas...... some of the best forum members are there.


Yes, that fan has been looked at. The issue is the mounting configuration.

Generally speaking, the amount of air moved by a cooling fan is directly proportional to the amount of current required for continuous operation. The OEM fan's significant issue is that it is completely unshrouded and sits too far away from the radiator. Although it draws 28-29 amps continuous, it spends too much of its energy recirculating the air behind the radiator and not enough energy pulling air THROUGH the radiator. The key here is how much is pulled through the radiator.

Attached is a copy of the data that I offered after building a wind tunnel in my shop and comparison testing of the two fans I sell that are drop-in replacements for the SSR versus the OEM fan. I hope this will help...... If you want to work on an alternative fan, I will gladly share my experience and lessons learned for the application limitations and circuitry in the SSR. Here's my email address..... mike@simple-engineering.com

My Best Regards,

Mike
 

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#6 ·
Nice work Mike! Yes I was amazed when I looked at how the factory fan is installed with no shroud. The mounting tabs on mine were broke and the fan was hanging loose. It is zip tied in now until I do a permanent fix. Although I did get stuck in stop and go traffic on the interstate in 94 deg heat and temp never got above 210 so it is doing its job for now.
The Ford fan is a monster, it is rated at 3800 cfm on high speed and draws about 52 amps. I had to upgrade to a Powermaster 160A alternator in The Vette to handle it. These fans are popular for high HP and big blocks that really need the extra cooling. Would be overkill for the stock SSR 5.3 or 6.0. I checked out your site and making my wish list!
 
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