How to Wire a Cooling Fan to Your Car (DIY Electric)

by Skylark64 in Workshop > Cars

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How to Wire a Cooling Fan to Your Car (DIY Electric)

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First off you're gonna need a car. So today we are working on my old 1964 Buick Skylark. Since my engine is not stock (1971 Riviera 455 cubic inch big block the cooling fan previously that was installed is just not enough to cool it down. So we have bought a Ford Taurus 2-speed fan, this fan had rumored to cool down the biggest and some of the toughest blocks around! So today we are going to do the wiring part of the fan! This will take around 45 min to do or maybe less if you have some experience with cars and electricity work!

The Equipment

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Here is only some of the equipment we need to have in order to make this possible.

1- Zip ties

2- 2 packs of 10 Gauge wires

3- Wire Clippers

4- 1 pack of butt connections -10 gauge-

5- 1 pack of quick disconnects (male) -10 gauge-

6- Roll of electrical tape

7- Screwdriver

8- Pair of needle nose pliers or some clamps

9- Heavy duty 40 amp switch

Any of these parts can be purchased from an O'Reillys or Hardware Store

Saftey

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One main safety step is to unhook the BLACK (negative) wire from the battery, and when you do so make sure it will not touch the RED (positive) wire or any metal around it!

The Setup

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Above is the picture for our wiring plan!

Wiring (first Part)

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Get the wire situated and know which wire is ground and which wire is power! For instance the blue is our ground wire and the black is power wire.

Wiring (second Part)

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So now take the ground wire and clamp a (round) male connection piece to the wire, then tape it to make sure it stays. Next we will find a piece of metal inside the engine bay to screw it onto. Since we found a place in the car to connect it to, feel free to screw it in place! Now since it is in place continue to the next step!

Wiring (third Part)

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Now lets get the power wire in place. Get the 10 gauge wire and place it through the hole in your fire wall. This will be the wire that connects your switch to your fan power wire. So now we have a wire that goes through the engine bay to the cabin of your car! Now take the power wire from your fan and connect it to the wire that is going through the firewall. We will be using a butt connection to fuse these together. At the end of the power wire and the end of the firewall wire put a butt connection between them and clamp it together to make it stay in place. Now easily tape the wires and butt connection to hold it in place.

Since the wire is now connected we need to do a safety tip! Take some zip ties and tie them to a stationary place in your engine bay! Now cut the excess zip tie off for a clean look.

Wiring (Final Part

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The wire through the fire wall will now be connected to the switch. Unscrew the according link from ON position of the switch, put the wire around it and simply tape it! Then make sure the the blue wire on the Power link (middle link of switch) is connected to the main ignition wire of the car. This will be the big red wire that is connected to your ignition and sometimes even the red (positive) wire to your battery. This ignition wire will be in your cabin under the dash connected to your key system. Now take that blue wire and tap into the red wire (after the fuse) and tape it up!

Last Few Steps

After this is all finished, connect the black (negative) wire back on to your battery. Now turn on the switch! Your engine should now be getting a cool breeze of air with no problems!

You Are Done!

Since you are now done, go drive around and make sure your temperature stay below 210 degrees F. Go grab a drink or a bite to eat after this job. You deserve it!