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Think I finally got my A-C 66's cooling system right

magicv8

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
656
Location
Going too fast over the hill.
The temps had been unstable and surging coming off expressways. I have a Griffin BB radiator and a 16 inch Derale fan in the stock shroud opening - with Derale temp control. I've been trying mods to get the thing stablized. Some hot days it works perfect, some cooler days unstable - then hotter days unstable - more stable with the A-C on but running warmer. I stuck a penny sized piece of 3M strip caulk on the front of the radiator where the Derale fan temp probe is inserted in the rad fins - ALL the problems went away.

Evidently the probe was getting enough cool air at 30mph+ speeds to suppress the fan. With the caulk preventing the probe fom getting cool air, the fan cycles between 170.5F and 179F and the engine never gets above 180F - even with the A-C running in city traffic. Is the new technology great or what?
 
It can't get any better than that. :D
 
Dave great job.But would you get better results if you were using something sencing the water tempiture whats actually in the motor not the radiater that is effected buy the out door temp ?

I stopped by your web site its interesting reading
 
radiator probe versus engine probe

The 170F engine thermostat monitors the coolant needs of the engine. The temp Gauge monitors the thermostat and the radiator.


On an A-C car, the heat exchanger in front of the rad is adding heat to the radiator on a 100F+ day - pouring heat into the rad coolant. At the same time, when I am cruising up mountains in WY and MT at 85mph - the engine is pouring heat into the coolant - but by the time an engine probe would request coolant, the rad might be unable to supply fluid cool enough to maintain thermostat temps.


Also, on a cool day, when I need the A-C on in order to defog the windshield, I don’t need to have the rad fan running unless the speed is low enough to heat the engine faster than the car can push air through the rad to cool it.


Most people with A-C and electric fans have their cars wired to run the fan whenever the A-C is on. My Derale fan control has a wire for that purpose, but I did not connect it - since there is no need to do so if the cooling system is stable. Why wear out the fan and burn gasoline via the alternator if the car speed is cooling the rad coolant?


If I connect the fan control to the A-C compressor, I will never know I have a cooling problem until it's too late, since the fan will always be trying to cool a marginal cooling system. I prefer to get advance notice when my cooling system becomes marginal. The setup I have has all the capacity I should need to run at 85mph+ up mountains by the hour on 100F+ days. If not, I want to know as soon as possible. The Derale Tornado fan is quiet enough that I can't hear it from the driver's seat. I actually had to install an indicator lamp on the controller line intended for a second rad fan - just to diagnose the instability I had. Otherwise I couldn't tell when the fan was running.
 

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