Viscous fan V Electric Fan

[billingtond]

Hi, I currently have the viscous fan, and have found [due to the wet NZ weather and swelling rivers] that water is being sprayed all over the engine bay on water wadding.

I have looked at fitting a snorkel, but give the hight of the curret air filter, if I had water to that height I would be in trouble anyways. Therefore, what are the members view on an electric fan with an overide switch fitted {able to turn fan off in water wade}. Has anyone fitted and electric fan, if so was the result satisfactory. Thanks Dave

[5988]

not done it myslef but people seem to have success doing this with the $cyl petrols
As you dont need the fan alot of the time probably a good idea (though i would replace for that reason alone nless the viscous one was broken) but if waiding is a problem it should help...as will waterproofing the ignition system

[map1275]

The factory viscous fan is specifically intended for water crossing as one of its features. Read your hand book.

I haven't found one electric fan that is specifically guaranteed for immersion. Though most do survive quite well.

So the only thing stopping the car from overheating will be you remembering to turn the fan on? This isn't as easy as it sounds.

[stirlsilver]

I use a single large 17" (I think) thermo fan on mine... you can usually hear it howling away in my videos. Works fine. I didn't actually rig up a switch to manually turn it off and have some times headed in to water with it still running... which causes the fuse to blow.

Anyway, yes they do work fine, if you rig up a switch of shut it off hook it up to a light that goes on to remind you that it is off. Or install a temperature buzzer which sounds when the coolant temperature gets too high.

I've had a few situations where i've disconnected the fan and gone through a crossing and forgotten to hook it back up when I got out the other side! Eventually you notice the temperature gauge hovering up in the red section... not good.

[djam1]

I live in a hot climate and an electric fan is not a path down which I would go.
Apart from running it as a suppliment to a Viscous Fan.
I have run in temperatures up to 53 degrees C without issue
I guess it depends upon the conditions you run.
Just dont condemn the Land Rover when you cook it as you have fitted an electric fan.

[stirlsilver]

This is very true and something that you need to weigh up the benefits vs drawbacks.

When you go from the mechanical fan to the thermo fan you basically go from depending on one item (the belt) to the belt (for the alternator), your battery, your cable loom, relays, temperature switches and the thermo fan itself.

There is a lot more points for failure on a thermo fan setup when compared to a mechanical fan.

[disco2hse]

If the only requirement for an electric fan is to reduce the amount of water that gets sprayed around when the front is submersed, then you need to also ask the question of how many times will that situation be reached?

If it is frequent (more than monthly), then it may be worth the extra hassle and risk. If it is infrequent (less than, say, 6 monthly), then it is unlikely to be worth the risk. The grey area is fairly in/frequent (less than monthly, but more than 6 monthly), this is when you need to think about the risks more than the benefits (which have already been stated, water not being flicked about). Stirling said it, there are many more points of failure and are these mitigated by the benefit?

Alternatives are: Buy more WD40/Inox (I do); waterproof the dizzy and other affected electrics; take the fan belt off when the water gets really deep; make sure you always use a sheet of ply or tarpaulin over the grille; find a better fording speed so the bow wave doesn't collapse, letting water in under the radiator.