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TR2/3/3A TR3/4 Electric Fan Conversion

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Hi Art

Are you pretty happy with the Spal mounts that you shared in the photo? Also, what size and style Spal fan did you purchase? I see there are several different models and sizes depending on application.

Cheers,

Pat
 
Here's how I mounted mine on the 3A. I made up two angle pieces which I tack welded 3 points to the radiator side shield. It is mounted as a pusher and is rarely used, mostly because it sounds like a jet taking off and I prefer to hear the purrrr of the engine instead.

electricfanmount.jpg


It is manually activated by a switch. I haven't noticed ANY improvement in cooling when it is turned on. In fact it seems to slight increase the temp when first turned on then back to the steady 185F that the engine mounted fan provides.

https://home.myfairpoint.net/kentech0822/triumph/electric_fan.jpg

I replaced the TR3 fan with one from a BMW 2002tii per advice from MadMarx (Christian). It is a plastic asymetric design that fit easily with a tweak to increase the diameter of the mounting bolts. ymmv.

bmwfan_front.jpg
 
Guess I should have taken a photo before removing it!

Anyway, I had my Hayden fan mounted through the core with the little plastic 'nails'. My radiator guy said to avoid having the nails touch the radiator tubes; but that otherwise he'd never seen a problem caused by mounting it that way.

When/if I get around to transferring it to the project TR3, I'll go the same way again.

Just curious, Peter, what would you consider an improvement over "the steady 185F that the engine mounted fan provides." ?
 
PatGalvin said:
Hi Art

Are you pretty happy with the Spal mounts that you shared in the photo? Also, what size and style Spal fan did you purchase? I see there are several different models and sizes depending on application.

Cheers,

Pat
Click to expand...

This is the Spal fan I got. It's a 12" 1360CFM puller. The bracket kit I got is the first one that they show on the list, the one with the green dot. You can see how I mounted it with that bracket on the other link. I feel that it worked out very well. I'm happy with the installation. I only drilled two holes for the bracket at the bottom radiator mount on each side. The top bracket was shortened and twisted to line up with the holes where the fender stays go to the top of the radiator.
 
martx-5 said:
deadair said:
...

I'm also looking for creative ideas on how to mount the fan to the radiator. The only places I feel safe drilling holes are in the top and bottom mount brackets. The only other alternative is some sort of clamping solution.
Click to expand...

I don't know which model Spal you have, but you can see how I mounted mine with their (Spal's) mounting kit in this thread.
Click to expand...

Those are the exact mounting points I was thinking about. How's it working out for you so far? Any noise or vibration issues?
 
Thanks for all the information so far. Now what about the location of the temp sensor? I can screw it directly into the back of my water pump housing, where that square-headed plug is normally installed. Is this an acceptable place for the probe?

Ideally, there would be a suitable port in the radiator to accept the sensor, but there isn't and I'd rather not take it to a welder for modification.
 
deadair said:
martx-5 said:
deadair said:
...

I'm also looking for creative ideas on how to mount the fan to the radiator. The only places I feel safe drilling holes are in the top and bottom mount brackets. The only other alternative is some sort of clamping solution.
Click to expand...

I don't know which model Spal you have, but you can see how I mounted mine with their (Spal's) mounting kit in this thread.
Click to expand...

Those are the exact mounting points I was thinking about. How's it working out for you so far? Any noise or vibration issues?
Click to expand...

Well, the fan itself moves a lot of air, so it comes with a fair amount of noise...more then the wimpy fan I had in there before. But, the mounting worked out very well. I don't hear or see any vibration of the fan against the radiator. The brackets keep it pretty solid up against it. I'm happy I went with those brackets.
 
deadair said:
Thanks for all the information so far. Now what about the location of the temp sensor? I can screw it directly into the back of my water pump housing, where that square-headed plug is normally installed. Is this an acceptable place for the probe?

Ideally, there would be a suitable port in the radiator to accept the sensor, but there isn't and I'd rather not take it to a welder for modification.
Click to expand...

I would have to assume that you do not have a heater in the car, as the location of the plug you are talking about normally has a pipe in there going to (actually coming from) the heater.

That position would see cooler water coming from the radiator, so it would not be an ideal place for a temp sensor for the fan.
 
A matter of opinion, some would say that's an ideal location. The point being that, if the water coming from the radiator is cool, then there is no need to run the fan.

That's where I'll put mine, if/when (since my car doesn't have a heater either).
 
I do have a heater, but haven't yet connected it to the cooling system. I would like that option to connect the heater in the future, so it would be useful to hear of other successful placements of the temp sensor.
 
One solution that worked reasonably well for me was a "through the fins" probe.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/DER-16759/

The leads are light (and should be anchored nearby with a tie wrap), so the probe just pushes into the radiator fins and stays there through friction. I liked the adjustable temperature, too.
 
One more question:

I have not yet converted by car from positive ground. Will this have any impact on my fan installation? How should I wire it? Should I wire positive to ground or the other way around?
 
On all the fans I've seen, they have two separate wires. One positive and one negative. A lot of times, the fan manufacturer has you switch the wires and flip the fan if you want to turn a pusher into a puller. Whatever the manufacturer decides is the positive wire for the application is the one you hook to positive, whether it's ground or not. If you switch polarity in the future, just switch the the fan wires also.
 
martx-5 said:
On all the fans I've seen, they have two separate wires. One positive and one negative. A lot of times, the fan manufacturer has you switch the wires and flip the fan if you want to turn a pusher into a puller. Whatever the manufacturer decides is the positive wire for the application is the one you hook to positive, whether it's ground or not. If you switch polarity in the future, just switch the the fan wires also.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Martx. That was my assumption, also. But you never know....
 
:iagree:
IOW, yes, you will hook the positive wire to ground for a positive ground installation. But with most fans, which wire is "positive" depends on whether you are configuring it as a pusher (in front of the radiator) or puller (behind the radiator).
 
TR3driver said:
:iagree:
IOW, yes, you will hook the positive wire to ground for a positive ground installation. But with most fans, which wire is "positive" depends on whether you are configuring it as a pusher (in front of the radiator) or puller (behind the radiator).
Click to expand...

It's a SPAL configured as a puller.
 
Looks like SPAL pre-configures their fans as either pusher or puller, so that removes that complication.

Are you going to use one of their controllers?
 
TR3driver said:
Are you going to use one of their controllers?
Click to expand...

Please elaborate. I have a temp sensor and some sort of box that plugs into the main-line electronics. Are there gotchas I should be aware of?
 
If it's a simple switch-type sensor with a relay and no solid-state electronics, then it will probably be OK. (But check for any diodes around the relay, which would have to be reversed or removed.)

But I seriously doubt that their PWM fan controller, for example, can be made to work with positive ground.

Positive ground is so rare these days that most auto accessory makers don't even consider it, or mention whether their products will work with it or not.
 
TR3driver said:
If it's a simple switch-type sensor with a relay and no solid-state electronics, then it will probably be OK. (But check for any diodes around the relay, which would have to be reversed or removed.)

But I seriously doubt that their PWM fan controller, for example, can be made to work with positive ground.

Positive ground is so rare these days that most auto accessory makers don't even consider it, or mention whether their products will work with it or not.
Click to expand...

I've got a Fan Harness Kit.
 
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