cheap 3 fan

After years of trolling the community Im happy to finally contribute. I recently pulled the front of the jeep to check my timing chain. Figured this is the best time to remove that HP robbing mechanical fan. My buddy has a wrangler and he suggested I use his fan, which was way too big. After some looking around on summit.com, one of my go to's for aftermarket parts as they're 45 minutes away, found a 10 inch fan rated at 1000 cfm. Needed a controller, well flex-a-lite does a 3 fan kit for big $. I used their controller. Its cheaper at summit. So, altogether 3 fans for 3,000 CFM. The controller has a manual control for adjusting the temp for the on control. I didn't do as good a job as I could of, but Im dropping a aluminum radiator in this summer. Then I will only use 2 fans as I feel they'll provide plenty of cooling. The wires all clear but I still need to wrap them up and protect them a little more, and clean up the bolts from the mechanical fans. Also aside from tapping power from the battery Im going to run a inline fuse from the power distribution block. Sorry if it

Fans are: Proform Electric Fans 67010. $45.97 bucks each (minus 10 if you buy their temp switch and do the rebate)
Fan controller: Flex-A-Lite variable speed controller 33054. $105.97
About 250 bucks with the inline fuses…

You need to get rid of those 3m scotch locks. And are those wire nuts by the battery, or a crimp style connector?

Don't think you will want to drop below 3 fans, you are barley over OE CFM if not the sames and please ditch the quick splice connectors!..and are those twist wire nuts? I would recommend solder and marine grade heat shrink wrap... having robust wiring is pretty critical.

That's fairly the same as the db off-road 3 fan setup, they just mount those fans on a shroud. I have the dboffroad fans and sourced another 3 spare fans (procomp) from Amazon. I use 2 fans on the variable speed controller (good choice getting that, I like especially the manual override on and off). The 3rd fan I have on a separate manual switch. I have noticed that on city drive/off-road when over 80s outside, the 2 fans are not enough, so I need to turn on the override for the 2 fans and start the 3rd fan. That would keep the temp at 210. Highway drive I haven't noticed them starting at all. That variable speed controller is really a very nice thought piece of electronic, it's also smooth on your charging system.

Connecting all 3 fans to the controller would not be a good idea, especially when temps fall below 50s, since the controller would start the fans for few secs and then stop them right after. With 2 fans on the controller, there are not that often starts and stops. I have the thermostat probe in the center of the radiator (I wouldn't recommend inserting it through the fins, just zip tie it through the fins) and the controller starts the side fans and manual switch starts the center. I've played with which fans to start for quite a bit, I like the best the setup I have now with sides on the controller and manual for center.

And I agree with the other folks, use some auto electrical connectors (soldering is what I prefer on the top of crimping) if you want to be able to quickly replace the fans in 2 years, I haven't had to replace any, which exceeds my expectations for those relatively cheap fans.

They are the crimp style connectors at the battery. It's 10ga wire at the controller and 14 from the fans. Come summer when I drive the jeep even less I'll buy male / female connectors like any other plug. As for now, it doesn't pull that much amps cause they kick on at only 60% so it definitely saves the battery. But I'm sure most have better wiring skills than myself, took a week to come up with this as everything else I tried failed. This was the fastest way to get it working.

That's a lot of work to go through to end up installing mechanical fan's again next year like most guys do.

That's just not enough CFM. :0

The reason I like efans is that I have the cooling when I want it. The mechanical fan just doesn't put out as much as the efans when rpms are low. Another mod I see quite popular is adding a switch override for the stock electric fan.

cal said:

That's a lot of work to go through to end up installing mechanical fan's again next year like most guys do.

That's just not enough CFM. :0

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I'm glad im not the only one who thought that

I also have a Flexalite VSC, with 2 OE electric fans. Where did you place the temperature sensor for yours? Mine is in a NPT Tee at the thermostat housing, as that seemed better than poking the fins of a rad with that needle type sensor. The OE CT-sensor also threads into the Tee and ties direct back to my engines ECU. In time you'll improve your wiring.

cal said:

That's a lot of work to go through to end up installing mechanical fan's again next year like most guys do.
That's just not enough CFM. :0

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I have seen similar setups on several XJs here in SoCal...until they are removed and replaced with the stock setup, along with a new fan clutch.
The small electric fans do not pull enough cooling air when the conditions get HOT, which is much of the year out here.
Try running in deep sand, on a warm day, and see how well they work.

Even if they worked at well as the stock mechanical fan, adding so many aftermarket electrical parts cannot increase reliability,
plus the electric fans do use a lot of power that has be generated by the alternator, it isn't 'free' power.
Parts availability and reliability are two big concerns for me.
If the fans or other added electrical components do burn up, getting replacements out in the boonies is going to be tough.
The stock cooling parts are durable and widely available, a big consideration for use who venture far from home and nearby towns.
It has been proven that the stock cooling system, in good condition, can handle the XJ's cooling needs here in the desert.

Problem is less with electric fans than with cheap electric fans

I would suggest at a minimum getting rid of the radiator probe. Temperature of the coolant in the radiator is nothing at all like the temperature of the coolant in the engine and really hard to use one to react to the other. Engine can get very hot very rapidly and it will take time for the thermostat to open and coolant in the radiator to build up heat, meanwhile the engine has just been getting hotter. Find a switch you can put in the thermostat housing or very close to it, even the coolant drain plug in the lower block is better. On my setup I have one installed in the upper hose, and that is kind of pushing it, but it responds pretty fast once the thermostat opens.

All those posts are very to the point and I agree with the statements. What the op (and I) did was to have a variable speed controller that turns on the 2 fans smoothly, won't just suck 15 amps for the 2 fans all of a sudden, it does it gradually within few seconds, so it will be very gently for the alternator. I one have a pretty good 200 amps max alternator (which is per alternator manufacturer 100 amps at idle) and not worried at all of reaching the limit even if I have all the additional lights on . I think I was at about 50-ish amps with everything on (lights, fans, blower, radio, Wipers, hazards, brake lights).

I do agree that the 3 fan can pull about 3000 cfm max, and I did measure them with an anemometer, considering restrictions from radiator grille and additional transmission cooler and considering that I didn't mess up the math...

I am seriously thinking in modifying the front crossbar on which the radiator sits and put a beefier radiator (taller and thicker), with either 2 12 inch fans or a big 16 inch heavy duty fan. I have no problems under normal conditions but I have seen tendencies of passing 210* mark when is hot and on the trail, so I just let it easier. Before having the e-fan was even worse, and I had a brand new viscous from napa, so the mechanical fan was working fine (thermostat also new and working properly, radiator new but stock, 1 row). I also need to mention that I'm very picky in not going over 210 as much as possible, so for the "normal" xj driver the stock cooling should be fine.

Lazyxj, did you think to use the flex a lite non viscous fan? I'm just curious on how they work in hotter environments, I was thinking in getting one but I didn't find a ready to bolt in for xj.

Oh, forgot to mention, those type of probes that you stick between fins are something that I really hate, mostly because I messed up a radiator after trying to reinsert it when it got loose... So mine is secured on the radiator with plastic zip ties through the fins. That variable speed controller needs the probe to work, and it is also adjustable, I think it can be set to start at 150 or 160 lowest temperature. A probe in the return rad hose would probably be better in my opinion as in this case it is easier to fine tune the controller.

I used to have triple electric fans (with a shroud which those fans are lacking). Keyword there is used to. Just can't beat the cooling power for the high RPM/low speed of my Ross bouncer. Good condition stock cooling setup with a CSF 3row, I leave the aux fan constant on too. I'll hammer on it all day in the heat of the summer at Rausch Creek without worry.

foxwar71 said:

I used to have triple electric fans (with a shroud which those fans are lacking). Keyword there is used to. Just can't beat the cooling power for the high RPM/low speed of my Ross bouncer. Good condition stock cooling setup with a CSF 3row, I leave the aux fan constant on too. I'll hammer on it all day in the heat of the summer at Rausch Creek without worry.

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Cool, thanks for answering, I will research your setup and see what's more feasible for me, but what you say sounds very good as a cooling alternative. I want to go with a bigger radiator in preparation of the diesel swap which won't happen soon, but will happen eventually. Thanks again!

Nice, you've cut your cfm probably in half. The stock mechanical fan moves around 5-6000cfm. If you live where it gets hot, keep your old parts as you'll probably be putting them back on.


How did your timing chain look?

Prom3theus said:

Oh, forgot to mention, those type of probes that you stick between fins are something that I really hate, mostly because I messed up a radiator after trying to reinsert it when it got loose... So mine is secured on the radiator with plastic zip ties through the fins. That variable speed controller needs the probe to work, and it is also adjustable, I think it can be set to start at 150 or 160 lowest temperature. A probe in the return rad hose would probably be better in my opinion as in this case it is easier to fine tune the controller.

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Probe in the radiator fins is measuring the temperature of the air passing over the radiator

You want to measure the temperature of the coolant that is leaving the engine

Please don't mind me for not agreeing with you. You may have coolant exiting the engine at around 210, when the thermostat should be fully opened (I think the stock thermostat is fully opened at 210), but the radiator temp may be 120 degrees, perfectly valid scenario on a cold winter day. By your rationale, the fans will start cooling a radiator that has 120 degrees. Some probes are recommended to be installed where the water exits the radiator or enters the engine, with some of them to be installed inside the inlet engine hose. Of course, I am talking about adjustable thermostatic controlled probes, where you can set a lower or higher temperature to turn on the electric fan(s). There are probes (non thermostatic usually) that you mount on the inlet hose to the cabin radiator/warmer. But I agree with one thing, thermostat housing is one of the best locations to measure the engine coolant temperature.

The advantage of the controller op and I use is that it can be adjusted to start at lower or higher temperature, so the position of the probe on the radiator matters only from the point of view of not being in direct fan airflow, this causing it to cool faster than it should. Again, the only reason I went with efans was that with stock cooling, I was going over 210 very frequently in the summer, sometimes even on highway speeds, since the stock efan kicks in after 210 (217 or 227? - not sure, maybe neither and I just have a fixation on number 7, lol). I am sure that part of the heating is due to the winch which partially obstructs the lower radiator side. I also have the stock 1 row radiator, which definitely doesn't help too much either. This never happened once I went with the efan setup. And yes, the 3 10 inch fans are not the best option, if you have a heavy foot you'll still go pass 210 mark, but the main advantage is that at lower speed and rpm I still get about 3000 cfm of airflow, which I can't get with the viscous-efan stock setup.

Regarding stock fan air flow, the max is either 3600 either 4200, don't remember exactly, and this is in close to max rpm with the electric fan running (so both viscous and efan). 5600 cfm is the max of the viscous fan that I have (or had more exactly since I have now an 3600 cfm 16 inch efan) on the liberty Crd, and that viscous I think is around 19 inch with very aggressive pitch, this measured at around 4000 rpm, which will pretty much ruin the lil' 2.8 diesel puffer, so all this max cfm is useless in this case since nobody sane will drive with an engine close to redline.

I am not saying everybody should jump in the efan bandwagon, I am just saying that for me the efans work better than the stock setup. I am sure that there are better ways than this. Based on my research, the best 10 inch fans cfm wise are getting 900-1000 cfm, based on manufacturer specs. Those specs do not consider restrictions such as radiator, additional transmission cooler, etc. my calculations though, based on my cheap eBay 15 bucks anemometer gave me 1500 cfm for a fan with no restrictions, so the results are in line with what dirt bound offroad advertises for their efan conversion kit. Not sure why my numbers are so different vs fan manufacturer specs but I am sure I made the calculations correctly. Maybe the anemometer I used was inaccurate. Or, it can be because the manufacturer wants to play safe and under speced the fan, fearing being sued, etc. it would be great if the stock radiator would be taller and thicker, so it can get 2 14 inch fans. I think be cool has a twin efan setup for Cherokee with 12 inch efans that are rated at over 4000 cfm, but that requires some pulley mods or moving the radiator to the front.

Also, the viscous, thermostat and radiator were in perfectly functioning state when I noticed my temp going over 210 , so this slight overheat wasn't caused by a fault in the cooling system. Mileage wise, I one haven't noticed any improvements, as some would think, the stock viscous is I think too small to matter and I don't believe it can create a significant drag to the engine that would affect the mileage. Plus these Cherokees are huge wall lockers on wheels, with no aerodynamics. On the liberty diesel, I did gain about 1-2.5 mpg, depending on city/highway drive, but again that viscous fan is huge compared to the Cherokee's.

Once again, I am not arguing for the sake of argument, I mostly want to post my opinions and observations hoping it will help folks deciding what's best for them.

Double post goofup...

I have used the same stick probes and dial controller. They are cheap for a reason. Measuring air temp over the radiator in cold weather, engine temp can be pegging the red line and the controller doesn't know anything about it because ambient temps are low. After that I ran it inside the return hose near the radiator neck, worked much better but constantly leaked because there was no way to get a seal with the lead wire sticking out.