I am installing the Troyer 16" dual fans on my f-150 and I have the fans all installed but the wiring I am having trouble with. When I read the book that came with the kit I get confused with the way its worded. If there is anyone that has any advise that could help me finish this project?

 

I have the kit but not installed it yet. I did read through the instruction to familiarize myself with them before doing the work. The only conflicting info is the fan that is triggered by the a/c. It mentions wiring them each to it at different points during the instructions. I called Troyer Performance and they told me that the high temperature fan is wired to come on with the a/c too (that's the driver's side fan).

I do a lot of electrical work and am an electronics technician in the Navy so I can't think of what other part might be confusing for you. If you post your specific question I'll try to give you an answer. If you want to reference a specific portion I do have the instruction manual to look at.

 

the problem that i am having if with the wiring of the controllers, with the fans ground, and with the connection of the orange wires.

 

this link might help...

http://www.fordf150.net/howto/electricfan.php

you might need to register also.

 

I don't recommend the fordf150.net article. He only installed one fan, mounted it differently than the Troyer kit, used a wet temperature probe (which has its own problems) and didn't even discuss the wiring (and he only used one controller). I looked through the installation instructions and here's the lowdown:

Each fan controller (relay) has the following colored leads: blue (for a second fan which this kit DOES NOT use, that's whey there's two), orange (which will go to the fan itself), black (ground), green (for the a/c clutch which will be the driver's side fan only), yellow (which will only allow the fans to run when the ignition is on) and red (to the positive battery terminal).

To make this as easy as possible I'll describe them as they appear in the instruction manual so you can use this as a guide to help you wire up your fans. All colors will be in reference to the fan controller (relay) unless otherwise specified. Also, make sure you strip off plenty of insulation when making connections (to connectors or other wires) for best conductivity and system performance.

Orange wire: cut the connector off of the end. Use the provided butt connector (looks like a small tube) and connect to the power lead of the fan (which should be the blue wire on the fan, but you should test each fan to find out which way to hook it up to "pull" the air through the radiator). All this is going to do is allow the power to pass to the fan when the controller is activated. Do this for both fans and their associated controllers.

Black wire: This is your ground wire. You want a good solid connection to the chassis, otherwise your fans may be weak, intermittent or not work at all. You want to make sure that it's a spot that makes good contact with the chassis, is free from paint and other insulators and won't be in the way of moving parts when the engine is running. There is a good picture of a ground spot for the passenger side in the instruction manual on page 13. You want to connect both fan controller black leads and the passenger side (low temperature) fan ground leads to you ground spot on this side (total of 3). You'll need to use your best judgement for the driver's side (high temperature and a/c) fan. The shorter the distance from the component to ground the better (fewer circuit losses).

Yellow wire: This is going to act like the on/off switch. If the ignition is off, the control circuitry of the relay (controller) is off and will never allow the battery power to the fans. Splice both yellow wires with the left over red wire so that the red wire will supply both yellow controller wires (make sure it's plenty long). Make sure you run the wire to where it needs to go before cutting it so that it doesn't end up too short. Page 14 shows how to route it to the fuse box. Page 15 shows you which wire to connect to (white lead with blue stripe). Use the clasp splice connector (it is blue), it makes splicing very easy.

Green wire: For the driver's side fan ONLY! The passenger side fan WILL NOT use this so secure it out of the way (don't cut it). Remember, only do this on the DRIVER'S side fan. Use the same fuse box as for the yellow wire and the same type of clasp splice connector. This time, though, connect the green wire to the appropriate a/c compressor clutch wire (if you have a '97-'98 it will be black with a yellow stripe, if you have a '99-'03 it will be a grey wire with white stripe). Double check with an owner's manual to make sure (or test the circuit with a multimeter to make sure).

That should take care of all the leads but a red lead on both controllers. Now's the time to finish everthing else (like install the probes) before connecting the relay power.

Red wire: Connect both red wires to either the battery or the power block on the passenger side of the firewall (there is a picture of it on page 18). I recommend the power block as it will become an inconvenience if you connect it to the battery when you need to replace the battery or disconnect it for any other work.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Thanks Brian42.
Very clear and straight forward.

Lonster

 

A couple more notes on the fan install.

The wire to the fusebox: you don't need to splice into the white/blue wire underneath, I routed the wire into the fusebox and used a spade terminal to plug it into the relay empty socket.

The fuseholders that come with the controllers are, to make it short, junk. Both of mine failed (open) within 3 months. I bought some nice, waterproof ones for U$5 each from autozone.

There are no fuses between the battery and the controllers. Not a good thing (tm). Add two fuseholders close to the battery into the red power wires. This makes a total of 4 fuseholders in the system.

I wired in two LEDS so I could tell when the fans are on. That came after the fuseholder failures. Radio Shack has 12v LEDs in nice holders for a few Dollars. Wire them between the fuse and the fan.

The AC wire. You don't need to run the wire all the way down to the compressor. Simply splice into the pressure switch behind the power distribution box on the firewall by the battery.

There are no 40 amp fuses anywhere so get a few spare 30 amp.

There is a nice grounding bolt behind the pax side headlight. Very convenient to get to after rmoving the headlight. Which you should do anyway because it makes it easier to work the controllers.

You don't need to remove the battery (but disconnect it!). Just the washer fluid reservoir. Also adjust the temp on the controllers before reinstalling the reservoir because it's very hard to get a long screwdriver into a short space.

Fritz

 

"The fuseholders that come with the controllers are, to make it short, junk. Both of mine failed (open) within 3 months. "



Mine were not very robust either and I replaced them with some I got from Pep Boys when I installed the fans.

 

I didn't know. I don't have the fans, but I'm glad you wrote up very extensive instructions.

 

do you think i could use two 9" fans i have from one of my old cars and just run both of them all the time or do the trucks need more than that?

 

Great replies in this thread! Very informative.

 

I would like add a couple things to make it easier from my experience.

I took the radiator out because it was a PITA to mount all the hardware. I am glad I did because I get a better angle to snug the clips a little tighter and didn't cut my knuckles up.

Another thing I did was suggested by my brother the ford mechanic. To get fan off/loose I used an air chisel with the flat end that has a shallow V . Put it on the side of the hex in the direction you need to turn it to loosen it. A couple of quick shots should loosen it. A heck of a lot easier than using a special toll and wrench. It didn't/won't damage the hex fitting if done right. Just a little marring. Besides , you will probably never re-install again.

I also used a meat thermometer to set the fans turn on point. Find the hottest reading by slowly moving the thermometer in and out of fins by the thermocouples. I set mine to 175 degrees on the first fan (passenger side) and the other to 185 degrees.


Good luck, it's a great mod.