Electric fan conversion.... I did search.. honest

jakechan

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Feb 6, 2015
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Decided to get rid of the horrible fan noise, risk of the bonnet getting mangled, and the general 20th century nature of the cooling system. I'm sure it's been done before;)
SPAL medium puller fan, 85 degrees switch in bottom hose, works perfectly. Also installed a manual switch with an LED indicator, just in case

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Lee

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M Power
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That’s a tidy install. Did the brackets come with the fan or did you fab them ?
 

Dino D

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Do you also have an aircon fan on the other side? Just wondering how you wired it in if it has two fans?
 

Sean d

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I have been considering doing this, I have the fan with the correct cowell as well, came brand new for a Merc van but never got fitted ;)
 

jakechan

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That’s a tidy install. Did the brackets come with the fan or did you fab them ?
I made the brackets, I didn't want the fan on the surface of the rad as others do.

Do you also have an aircon fan on the other side? Just wondering how you wired it in if it has two fans?
Yes I have the aircon fan, this fan is wired completely independently using a relay triggered by an 85 degree switch in the bottom hose. Fan comes on when engine temp is around 98 degrees.
There isn't much room there, SPAL makes some low profile fans that fit. I used 16 inch medium profile, about 2.5 inches thick.

https://www.bimmerworld.com/Cooling/Fans/SPAL-16-Medium-Profile-Fan-Pull-Straight.html

https://www.bimmerworld.com/Cooling/Fans/Basic-Spal-Fan-Relay-Harness-Kit_2.html
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LED lights when fan turns on automatically or with switch
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Ianmc

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If you have the aircon fan, don't think you need a secondary. My M44 only has the aircon fan (from factory) which cools the engine just fine.
 

Scooblitz

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I'm not sure if my car has an air con fan. i don't have air con for starters =)). I've seen a few threads with the delete on its own. e36 owner on youtube "pamo" with a 328i has some good vids on upgrades, electric fan and m50 mani swap of particular note.
 

Arkman

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Jan 12, 2021
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I know this is an old post but...where did you pull the switched 12V for your relay in the bottom hose? I'm using the lug near the SAS for the main 12V power for the fan.
 
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