Cooling fan questions

    I cut apart one of the three relays I got on ebay. The left front terminal is 12v all the time. The left rear terminal is the ground for the coil and when 12v is applied to the right front, it closes the contact and sends 12v from the left front to the right rear which causes the fan to run.

    By running a wire from the left front to the right front and putting a switch in it, you can turn on the fan, even if the key isn't on.

    Looking very close inside the relay, you can see that the coil terminals (right front and left rear) have coil wire running to them. The left front and right rear internals are considerably heavier, to carry enough juice to run the fan.



    This picture shows the flex strip which allows the silver contact, barely visible behind the shiney copper flex strip, which allows the current to flow to the fan .

    I ran the wires thru the "firewall" and zip tied the switch where I can reach it. At a later time, I might go the trouble of drilling a hole for the switch, but since (I hope) it will be rarely used, I just jury rigged it so it's there if needed.

    Best part is, I can take the cover off the fuse/relay box, pull the wires thru the firewall and remove the switch in about 30 seconds, JUST IN CASE a dealer might get all bent out of shape about "modifying) MY property.


    I wanted to see exactly what was going on, so I "dremmeled" the cover of the relay. Now, when I look at one of the relays, I know what it's doing and why. At 3 for $15, I look at it as a cheap short course in relays. And, again, slide up to previous pics posted by Instalerrob for a couple of great shots of the underside of the relay and the inside of the box.


    I hope I have explained it so someone else can figure it out. Feel free to make suggestions or ask questions. Happy to contribute what I can.

    Good job and useful info.

    Thanks all for the research and experimentation, just came across this thread and it's what I've wanted to do for a while. I pulled the ecu and the 3 bolts holding the fuse box assembly down, lifted it slightly and used some t-taps to clip wires into bottom left and right of the fan relay wires and ran them to a switch in the dash Works as described and completely hidden, looks factory and just in time for the Fla. heat.:thumbsup:

    I put 7 YEARS of Slingshot riding in Florida (with a turbocharge as well) and NEVER had an overheating problem Plus when I sold it last year. it still had the factory battery. So much for Florida heat killing electrical parts faster than the rest of the country

    Nobody gets outta here ALIVE