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Got my Aluminum Radiator in......now what?

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Finally got my Ron Davis Aluminum radiator in (had to chase downt the UPS driver, he thinks I'm nuts) and actually got it tentatively installed. They did a beautiful job on building it exactly to OE specs, even added a drain hole. I had to rebore the bottom mounting bracket to move it forward so that my 16" Spal fan would clear the tubular frame brace. All worked well and in chatting with the guys at Ron Davis about a few small issues, I brought up where the ideal location would be for a temperature sensor to trigger my fan (they use Spal fans exclusively for all their radiators that request electric fans). The engineer there said at the hottest part of the radiator. Well, I called Spal, again, to post the same question. Again, their engineer said the hottest part of the radiator. Basically everyone on the forum has said otherwise. I know it is not good to constantly revisit an old question here but now I am totally confused. I plan on mounting the sensor inline in a radiator hose, top or bottom. Top will get the hottest coolant right out of the engine after my 160 degree thermostat opens up. Bottom will get somewhat cooler liquid after it has left the radiator and goes back to the engine. Remember I am using the Triumph alloy "Tee" to go inline with a radiator hose. (Will ground the sensor with a ground wire to the frame so the circuit will complete to the relay). The sensor is from Spal and will activate at 185 degrees, the lowest temp they offer. So someone out there please explain to me what the theory is behind fan operation. I think the guys at both shops are either misunderstanding me or guessing wrong. I think "Hot coolant in, radiator (especially at speed) works to cool it down. Too hot and fan kicks on to assist the radiator. If I mount the sensor in the hot spot, it will never turn off. But, I don't want to really overheat the coolant and have a hard time catching up, especially in traffic." That's me.

Bill
 
Bill,

Sorry I can't answer your question but I would be interested to know how much the radiator cost if it's not a secret...
 
[ QUOTE ]
Bill,

Sorry I can't answer your question but I would be interested to know how much the radiator cost if it's not a secret...

[/ QUOTE ]

Same here...
 
I'd agree with everyone on the forum... mount it on the bottom at the cooler point. If you mount it at the cooler point, it will only kick in when the radiator by itself is not doing an adequate job of cooling. Besides, those fans take a fair amount of battery power, and sitting at idle the car's alternator does not produce enough power to keep it running without taking some power from the battery (at least according to my own amp gauge and auxilary fan), when your car is still somewhat cool and doesn't quite need it yet, anyway.
 
Bill, I found this article by Dan Masters. It may help or confuse because he suggests mounting the sensor at the bottom as well. I understand your thinking about the temp diferances and I don't have any helpfull info either except that I mounted mine in the upper left hand side of the radiator & it works. It's been such a long time I don'r even remember what temp it is.
Hope this helps,

https://www.hottr6.com/triumph/tr6fan.html
 
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