tuning adj. cooling fan switch with your... RADIO.....

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crew cab sonoma
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tuning adj. cooling fan switch with your... RADIO.....

Post by crew cab sonoma »

some of you may have seen my thread about my radio not keeping its station memory. that problem kinda led to this trick.

my radio defaults to the upper part of the AM band, to just "dead air". now, ive always known that you could pick up electrical noises there, but i never considered that it could actually be useful... other than as a lightning detector! :lol:

i use a resistor asy. on my elec. fan circuit to reduce their noise and amperage draw, so they always run at "low" speed. i can hear my efans (dual 12" pushers) running through the radio, and the other day, i happened to notice that the pitch of the noise would start rising, as road speed got above 20 mph... as wind would "push" the fans to higher speeds.

i thought it was interesting just how much it affected them... so i was listening to this for a while, (yes, i was actually driving around, deliberately listening to nothing but static... :shock: ) and realized that even at sustained higher road speeds , my fans were rarely turning off. so i pulled over, adjusted the fan switch up some, and proceeded to drive again.

after a couple more stops to tweak the adjustment, i got the fans to turn off shortly after reaching about 35 mph or so, and they will usually turn on again within a few seconds of coming to a stop, with only the slightest rise of the temp gauge.

now bear in mind i run a 170 deg. thermostat, and my adj. fan switch probe is mounted in the passenger side of the radiator, returning to the water pump... which i consider to be the best place for it. placed there, the fans never have to turn on if there is enough air moving through the radiator to keep that side of it cool...

sorry for the long post... :?
[size=75]Lee

01 Sonoma Crew Cab 2.21 60ft. 10.24 @ 66.5 mph (1/8mi.)(SOLD)
00 Sonoma Ext. Cab 4WD. front axle removed, Torsen diff. W4M pcm. 2.10 60ft. 9.64 @ 71.0 mph (1/8 mi.)[/size]
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Post by 2kwik4u »

Interesting thoughts.....

Your probe mounted at the top or bottom of the radiator?
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Post by crew cab sonoma »

its about 3/4 of the way toward the top. i should probably reposition it lower though, in case the truck ever gets low on coolant.

its height probably doesnt really matter that much for normal daily driving conditions, but which side you place it on does...
[size=75]Lee

01 Sonoma Crew Cab 2.21 60ft. 10.24 @ 66.5 mph (1/8mi.)(SOLD)
00 Sonoma Ext. Cab 4WD. front axle removed, Torsen diff. W4M pcm. 2.10 60ft. 9.64 @ 71.0 mph (1/8 mi.)[/size]