joepenoso

I bought a complete Champion 3 core rad, shroud, 2X 14"cooling fans and an electric fan relay kit.
I went through the past files and can find little regarding where the most preferred method of installing the copper thermoswitch on an Olds 455. it's a copper, 175-190* male rod but haven't checked what thread pattern. It's got a single spade so I guess both fans come on at the same time.
Just asking the Olds specific stuff now before calling them as there was no connection provided between the fan plugs male (Blue,Black) and relay.
thanks
joepenoso

joepenoso

Anybody find a cool Oldsmobile Thermocopling switch location??

ah64pilot

Joe, I'm no help but I wanted to subscribe because I've been looking at that kit myself. How well does it fit? Are the fans decent?

joepenoso

Where did you install your thermo coupling switch?
Was it in the top return radiator hose??
Maybe drilled and tapped a spot for the coupling in the radiator???


I\m not sure how the fans are supposed to work?
What temperature do they turn on/off?
Without knowing that info and where the measurement was taken from I can't be sure they are working correctly.
The fans them selves look nice /well made but I didn't try to install them yet.
Thanks
joepenoso

garys 68

You'll want the temp sensor mounted in the head or any a on the intake near the thrmostat. Note, if yours is on at 190 and off at 175 and you're running a 180 degree thermostat, it may not shut off.
Also, if you have AC, you might want to activate one fan using a trinary switch.
Dont wire both fans on one relay or through your existing fuse panel. They can pull a lot of amperage. Wire to the alternator or distribution point, ie horn relay.

joepenoso

I'm just trying to get the facts straight before calling Leadfoot Racing(Champion USA). It looks like both fans hook up together to the relay and the relay is fed through a circuit breaker before the battery. The 2 wires are heavy duty 12 and 10 Ga respectively. There's another fused live wire going into the relay coming from an ignition or fan switch. This wire is not carrying a heavy load because it's only 18Ga.
The thermo switch can be mounted on the head? I thought you had to have it on the upper rad (Hot) or near the thermostat (Return hot)
Thanks
joepenoso

garys 68

The ecu that controls the fans in new cars does it from the head.
We're going to assume the fan on temp is higher than the thermostat, so any time it's on, the thermostat is wide open and you need more cooling. So the head or intake near the thermostat is going to be reading water temp pretty much the same as the thermostat.
As for the single relay, if the 2 fans came with your relay setup, they're probably not pulling amperage over the relays capability. My dual windstar fans pull over 30 amps each. That's about as much as I want to put through a relay.

joepenoso

In the Champion kit.....


The circut breaker is a regular 30amp that you can get any auto parts store . The relay is a 5 prong that bolts into a 4 wire harness but it has no ampere rating. The 2 fans are made from bake a lite plastic with only 2 wires coming out. A black ground and a live bluish purple (cobalt?) wire coming out. There is no ampere listing for each fan so I don't know what they draw. The copper circuit"Thermoswitch" is a common part with 3/8ths coarse thread pattern, single spade connector and 185/170 which I assume is the operating range in farenheit.
Thanks
joepenoso
PS.........?

I was wiondering where most people hook up the "thermoswitch" on an Olds 455 engine?
A) Do you drill and tap the intake manifold around thermostat,
B) Weld a bung or drill and tap into a boss on the upper radiator?
C) Get a 1 and1/2 inch aluminum pipe O.D. weld a bung to tap/thread the "thermostatic switch" and join it with hose clamps to the centre of the top intake return hose to the radiator

A smart man learns from his mistakes...A genious learns from others
Thanks

garys 68

Do you have an unused boss on the intake near the thermostat?
I'm not sure I would drill and tap anyplace you're not certain has enough material, it can crack. There are upper hose sleeves that have a bung for a temp sensor. Just be sure to ground it.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ATM-2283/

joepenoso

garys 68 you're a genious. Instead of drilling and tapping on a new rad or manifold I bought an Auto Meter Radiator Hose Adapters 2283
It comes with a 3/8 NPT pattern to install the fan switch and a place to ground it. I didn't know you get something like that pre-fabricated.
Thanks
joepenoso

garys 68

For th Roadrunner fans... Wile E. Gary...Supergenious....it's on my business cards.

ah64pilot

Joe, doesn't the Champion radiator have extra plugs in it? Ours did and I assumed they would be for the temp sending unit but we didn't buy the whole kit so IDK.

joepenoso

UHHHHHHH?? What do you mean by plugs?

I got some crimp on 1Xfemale spade, 1X sheet metal screw, 2X butte end connecions, and 4 varying sized ring crimp-on end connection.
thanks
joepenoso

Please tell me this is called research before I phone them I have a little background

455man

Mine had two plugs by the tranny lines. I got some salvage yard fans off a stratus that fits pretty good on the radiator. Oreillys relay with an adjustable switch. The thermostat switch just went into the radiator below the top hose.

joepenoso

I got a hex nut sealed with an "O" ring just below the top hose but the the thread pattern isn't 3/8" so i chose the hose adaptor + ground wire in the top rad hose.
Thanks
joepenoso

ah64pilot

Gotcha, those are the plugs I was talking about. IDK what size the threads are...or if they're even NPT.

joepenoso

ah64pilot
when I call them I will ask
joepenoso

joepenoso

The radiator is installed. The 3 core aluminum is a good fit with plenty of room for reaching the petcock. The fan relay install went well after using Auto Meter upper hose adaptor to mount the Thermoswitch. The fans work incredibly quiet and the first test drive out circuit breaker popped leaving me with no fan ....must of been built on a Friday. At the auto store it's a $2.00 part and after the autopsy conducted on the broken original it was determined the metal plate joining the two posts burnedl off. It would of been easier to use a fuse so you wouldn't have to replace the whole thing.....it was designed to reset but didn't.
The car runs a little cooler than before and you can notice more acceleration without the clutch fan drag. Gas mileage is about the same. If i was going to do this again i would of bought a different fan installation kit. One with a probe that slides between the radiator fins just under the top hose intake. Maybe a kit that you can adjust the temperature settings and the fans start at 60% power level and then hit100% at a higher temperature thereby reducing the Amp spike.
joepenoso

ah64pilot

Joe, I really appreciate your report! I just drove the silver car to pick up my oldest from school. I think at one point the temp hit 220 while idling. I'm pretty sure my clutch fan has seen better days. I'm browsing Summit right now to find an electric setup...sheesh, this car is bleeding me.

joepenoso

What compression you running?
Get a couple of Ford taurus/windstar/ volvo fans from the scrap yard and a good fan installation wiring kit. There are some made for adapting Fords only because some say Ford fans are the best. I heard good reports regarding Dodge Stratus.
joepenoso

ah64pilot

Its 10.65:1

real57vetteguy

I am running the Champion CC284, My car is a 65 so its a little different. My radiator did not have any extra boss's. I did my install about a month ago. I ran twin 12" elec fans and used a Summit relay kit that cuts on at 185 and off at 170. After install mine did great out on the road but wanted to heat up during idle or long periods of stop and go slow moving traffic. I installed a shroud and it has helped the situation. I would not use a radiator probe style sending unit/switch, they tend to be inaccurate. I think the radiator is a quality unit, but their accessories tend to be on the cheap built side. I was very happy with the summit relay kit, it seemed to be a quality piece!

garys 68

I agree on wiring as 2 seperate fans.
I have 1 start at a lower temp. The second fan starts at about 10 degrees higher or if the AC trinary switch triggers it. It's rare that they'll both kick on at the same time.

Alex72cutty

What year Stratus did you use for the fans. I have a radiator from Oreillys that I want to add electric fans to

garys 68&72

get the 2000 windstar fans. perfect fit for my 72

455man

The Windstar fans are huge and I've heard cool well! The Stratus was about at 2003 or so. My Oreillys relay burned up and is stuck on all the time. So I got a higher amp relay from Jegs, just have not put it on yet.