Mrs.Crasher0083

Im not sure if this belongs in a electrical forum or what but here goes anyways. Im running a Ford Taurus fan in my 92 Camaro. Ive had it in for about 6 months. Up until about a month ago it ran fine. I have it set up to a toggle switch (50 amp) with #10 wire. Just out of the blue it started smoking at the switch and melting the wires. It didnt do it when I had a 20 amp toggle switch in for the longest time and then bam. Thats when I put the 50 amp switch in. The hot wire is running from the battery.....to the switch and then back to the fan (high speed wire). The low speed is not hooked up at all. The ground is attached to a ground on the frame by the battery. It works great for about 45 minutes or so and then starts to get hot and melt the switch connector/wires. What could be causing this? It worked great for months and now, since I had to re-route wires and stuff, this is happening. Should the hot wire be hooked in somewhere else besides the battery? Could the engine rpms cause the fan to draw more amps at higher rpms? Did the fan go bad? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Im kind of tired but I think Ive covered everything. Thanks for any help. I need to get this resolved so I can move on to getting ahead on this car instead of being stuck with fan problems. Thanks again.

Apeiron

I'd start by using a relay.

Mrs.Crasher0083

Im not an electrical kinda woman. What kind should I get and about how much are they? Does a place like autozone sell them?

Apeiron

A universal relay should be fine, Autozone probably has them. If you're melting wires on a 50A switch though, check for shorts when you rewire the whole thing, and use a fuse.

camaronewbie

I know cash is tight for everyone, but if you can spend it, I'd look into a seperate fan controller. They range from $35 at any local auto parts store, to well over $100. I run a Flex-a-lite controller from Summit Racing, it's about $90 or so, but it's the best $100 I ever spent. It comes with a probe that sticks between the radiator fins, so it runs the fan automatically at whatever temp you preset it for. Also has provisions for a manual switch, and will even connect into the A/C system so the fan runs with A/C (as it should). It's really easy to wire, and since it's all self contained, eliminates the need for any fuses or relays (as it does it all itself).

But, as mentioned, at the least you should use a relay. The relay gets wired in so that a small amp draw is used at the switch in the car, which activates the relay (under the hood), then the relay sends direct battery current (high amp draw) to the fan. The wiring inside would be 12+ (from fuse panel) and a ground to your switch, when switch is on the 12+ gets sent out to the relay, then outside the relay gets a ground and the 12+ from the switch, then a direct 12v from the battery into the relay that gets sent out to the fan when relay is activated. That way the high amp draw from the fan is pulling through the relay directly from the battery, and the high amp draw never runs all the way inside and back out. The relay basically has 4 prongs, one for the low 12+ from switch, one for ground, one for direct battery connection, and one for the fan.