FFR Radiator fan wiring

[Peeker]

I was going to use the donor fan from a 96 Cobra but have now decided to use the FFR fan. With the donor, it was a no brainer, plug and play and it worked. The donor fan has 3 wires going to it and the FFR fan has 2. The harness has a Black (ground), a Red w/Orange and an Orange w/Blue. The FFR fan has Black (ground) and Blue. The radiator is out of the car currently and I would like to get my wiring done before re-installing the radiator. I know that if I had the radiator in, once the temp gets to 195 it would send a signal to turn the fan on so I could figure it out that way but as I said, I’d like to get the wiring done in advance. My question is which wire off the harness connects to the Blue on the fan? Thanks in advance.

[Papa]

What harness are you using? It doesn't sound like you are using the Ron Francis harness. Generically speaking, the fan has a +12v power and a ground to power the motor. The +12v should come from a relay. The third wire should be the thermostatic control wire that would typically come from the thermal switch or from an EFI fan control switch. The thermal switch completes a ground and that is usually what triggers the relay and sends power to the fan motor.

Basic fan circuit diagram:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=128544&d=1589814739

With the Ron Francis harness, the fan gets wired with the blue (+12v) and black (ground). The relay trigger comes from a green thermo control wire (either of two locations provided). This wire goes to the thermal switch in the radiator, an EFI fan control wire, or a manual switch if desired.

[Peeker]

You are correct, I am not using the Francis harness. That part of the harness is from the donor. I was go-karting around with the donor fan and everything was working properly. I do not have a switch in the cockpit, it runs once the temp of the coolant gets to approx 195. I’ve decided to go with the Breeze shroud so now I will need to use the FFR fan which I already have.

[Papa]

First step will be to identify what the wires in your harness are. With that information, the rest should be pretty simple to figure out. What did the harness come out of? Do you have a schematic?

[Norm B]

What year is the harness from. I can look it up in my shop manual and tell you which of the wires to use.
Just for your information, the donor fan was a two speed set up. There is a fan control module that determines the fan speed depending on engine temperature and air conditioning use.

Norm

[Papa]

Poked around a bit and found something similar to what your are describing:

https://www.sn95forums.com/threads/fan-wires.71752/


"The GND is black, and on one side. Red w/Orange stripe (R/O; fan LO) is in the middle, and Orange w/Light Blue stripe (O/LB; fan HI) is on the other side."

If this is correct, I'd wire the FFR fan with the black (ground) and Orange/Blue from your harness to the fan's blue wire. Whatever you have been triggering your fan with before should be unchanged. This assumes that the "high" speed triggers at the desired temp. If you want the fan to come on sooner, I suspect the "low" speed wire would be used. Since the FFR fan is s single speed fan, it just comes down to the temp you want the fan to come on at. Both wires should provide +12 volts.

[Peeker]

The donor was a 96 Cobra.

[Peeker]

Papa, I just checked out that link. Thanks. That’s kind of what I was thinking but didn’t want to cut anything before finding out what was what.

[Papa]

The donor was a 96 Cobra.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=136415&d=1602865384

[Hoooper]

While you have things taken apart, replace the relay with a PWM fan speed controller if its in your budget. Its nice to be able to run rad fans on low speed when you need some cooling but not ALL the cooling.

[Norm B]

I believe the fan on high circuit is only active when the AC is on. The low circuit is the one that responds to engine temperature. Both provide the same volts and amps. The difference in speeds is due to the double windings in the fan motor.

[Norm B]

Here's the right up from my manual.

[Norm B]

Can somebody tell me why images are orientated correctly when uploaded but, rotated 90 degrees when posted.

[Peeker]

So as I understand it, all I should have to do is Black to Black and Red/Orange to Blue. No relays necessary seeing that there were no relays when I was using the donor fan.

[Norm B]

That is correct.

[FFinisher]

So as I understand it, all I should have to do is Black to Black and Red/Orange to Blue. No relays necessary seeing that there were no relays when I was using the donor fan.

Correct .

[Papa]

So as I understand it, all I should have to do is Black to Black and Red/Orange to Blue. No relays necessary seeing that there were no relays when I was using the donor fan.

The relays are in the CCRM, and the circuit is fused, so you are good to go with connecting the FFR fan as you described.

[Peeker]

Thanks again for the help. Got it wired, now just waiting on my Breeze shroud so I can hook it all back up and test it out.

[Just puttering]

Basic fan circuit diagram:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=128544&d=1589814739

Papa - Wouldn't the switches be wired in parallel not series for a fan override circuit?

[Papa]

Basic fan circuit diagram:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=128544&d=1589814739

Papa - Wouldn't the switches be wired in parallel not series for a fan override circuit?

That diagram is just a simple example I scrounged up. In the case of the basic RF circuit, the in-car switch would be the ignition (switched power) feeding the relay pin 86. The actual circuit is triggered by the ground on the thermo control wire(s).

Here is a diagram I did for someone else that was asking about wiring an override switch:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=129223&d=1590774200

For non-efi setups, the EFI ground would be the mechanical thermostatic switch.

[Just puttering]

I was concerned someone whould see this post and try to wire the key switch in the drawing as the over ride fan switch and disable the fan!! Thanks for the clarification, it is perfect!