Morning all....

I was suspecting that my fan wasn't coming on (my temp rose quite high after getting stuck in traffic immediately after a blat and took quite a time to come down again)....
I ran up the engine back in the garage and infact it is coming on but it's got me thinking...

I'm using a Polo radiator with the fan switch being activated from the Polo rad switch. Can these be used without a relay? They're pretty chunky (presumably a bimetalic switch), so I'm assuming no relay needed... Does anyone bother??? I know its not causing a problem at the moment, but the thought of it dying and needing replacing (IE requiring re-filling the cooling system) is not particularly tempting...

I'm using a Honda Blackbird fan BTW. though I suspect the Ampage of fans is reasonably similar...

Thanks in advance!

Ben

[Edited on 22/11/06 by BenB]

Ive wired mine through a time delay switch (10mins) as used on rear screen heaters. The switch on the dash is a momentary unit that is wired to light up when the fan is running either by manual over ride or with the switch in the rad.

This way I can monitor the fan and I will never leave it on.

Steve

I'm using the same rad and switch, I don't think the Polo switch needs a relay (suspect it doesn't have one in the Polo). I have mine wired through a relay though as I also have a manual overide switch on the dash so I can get better control over the fan.

Gr8... I think I'll leave it alone. If it burns out or arcs I'll change it for a new one...
I should probably change the coolant relatively frequently to begin with just to flush out any sedimented cr@p from the bottom of the engine etc...
Its amazing how much crud can accumulate. I put a hose from the pressure overflow on the header tank to the floor of the engine bay after seeing Ian @ STM fire up his ST1100 for the first time (shiny new engine off a police motorbike- rider fell of after < 200 miles!!). It got up the temp then dredged up a load of sedimented blue crud from the block and farted it out of the header tank outlet all over the engine.... Whoops...

Have you seen cost of the 12v 40A Maplins relay ?

Cheaper than a new temperature switch.

Cheers,

Colin

I've even got a suitable relay sitting in the box'o'bits somewhere. Just plain lazy
I'll see if I get sleepless nights worrying about it!!! Probably will!! Don't want to be left without a fan!!

I've got mine switching through the switch and its been fine so far. I also have a manual override which activates through a relay and also so I can have it controlled by the ECU if i want when I go to injection.