Hmmm sounds like it's time for a letter to the Mythbusters!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

No mythbusters yet...on extreme 4x4 last week he replaced a viscus fan with an electric one and he gained 1.2 miles to the gallon on fuel. this was on a full size 99 or so dodge with the V8

I can't remember the last time I believed a 4x4 show dude...

To confuse it even further, does the fan help pull the truck thru the air? Now, where is that "bait" emoticon...<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />

YMMV and be sure to read this with a grain of salt on your foreskin...

I have an electric Taurus fan on mine. Had it for 2-3 years. Did it because it's what I wanted to do. Everybody told me it probably wouldn't be as efficient as the viscous fan or that I might have problems with it. It's fine and I haven't had any problems with it. I'm replacing it this weekend because the motor started dragging a bit. Or at least it sounds that way. I use a Hayden controller to tell it when to come on and turn off. If you'd like a schematic, let me know, it's real simple.

Bottom line, if you want to do it, do it. You'll figure it out pretty quickly if it'll work for you or not. You may find an alternator upgrade is in order, which won't be a bad thing for future plans anyway.

Red, don't wanna seem like I'm hijackin your thread but I need help...
What about a fan that is not working? Where do I start troubleshooting?

i havent made up my mind yet. I put an electric fan on an old jeep i used to own and I liked it and seemed to help. I have a 75 amp alternator on it now. I just got back from advance testing it...when I turn on my signal the volt meter moves. Alt is fine and I just got a nice battery. They had it on return it is a 900 cold crank with 140 minute reserve. I plan to ad an extra battery later. I am just looking to pick up a bit of power. I will be doing the weber carb and a header soon. Then I may alter my exhaust a little later

The voltage drop you see is past the battery and the alternator. The ignition switch, and the under dash wiring cause it. Mine has been doing that for 16 years.

As far as the electrics go, I found that at low speeds I could get full airflow. Unlike the mechanical setup that at idle in gear it did not move a lot of air.

The dual 1650 CFM fans work OK in traffic. I think a shroud would help a lot. Also the combo of an auto and a turbo is harder to cool. I dont think a single 12" fan is enough for a stock motor for hot weather.

I have had my fans for seven years and they seem to be struggling a bit. The radiator may be part of it, its about 10 or 11 years old.

Not totally sold that what I have was worth it. I was looking for better cooling at very low speeds, that I did get. I either need to add a shroud or do some radiator work for long slow traffic. This summer I was caught in traffic when it was 90? for an hour a day. The temp gauge was getting past the half way mark.

I plan of having that fixed up by next summer. Still, the dual 1650 CFM electrics was better than the factory clutch fan. Mostly I did this to keep a turbo motor cool when going very slowly. The combo of auto and turbo does take a bit to cool. My clutch fan didnt cut it at all.

The gain of the electrics is when not needed, there is no parasitic drag. Not a huge gain, but it helps.

Kevin

well thats nice to hear the volt meter isnt a big deal...its been driving me nuts. So one 12 inch 1550 cfm fan wont cool my truck. I have a brand new radiator in it and it is a 5 speed.I was thinking about one of those flex fans they are like 50 bucks and also they have two 10 inch fans for about the same price. One reason I am thinking about doing this also is when I go to speeding up or starting off you can hear the stock fan just a whirring. Not a bad sound like something is broke just sounds like it is take all it has to spin it

This is a reply I made on an old post.



This is what serching will do for you.

I searched for electric cooling fanand got a couple thousand hits and gave up after about 150. Just wanted to make sure I done it right if I decieded to try