replace radiator fan with electric fan?

[VR6 vanagon]

I have a 1982 Vanagon westy that has a VR6 swap. The radiator and fan is from what I believe was a 1986 Vanagon. It was working, but it was very loud. From What I have learned from my search, that is a sign of a bad resistor. Well now mine isn't working a bit. There is power to the 3 prong plug by the bottom of the radiator. I have jumped it between all 3 prongs and I don't get anyhting from the fan with any combination of prongs when I jump it.
I have only found 1 vendor that has this fan and they want almost $600 for it. I REALLY don't want to pay that much for a simple fan.
Is there any reason I can't just hook up an electric fan and do away with the original fan?
Does anyone know the CFM of the original fan?
I know for a fact I don't have a resistor behind the headlight, I am confused as to if this was found on pre 86 vanagons, or after.

[crazyvwvanman]

The fan is probably fine. You need to test it while bypassing your wiring. The problem is most likely in the added wiring and you would have to fix that even with a different fan. Nothing is likely to work as well as a stock Vanagon fan.

The big external low speed resistor was only used in models with the large fan motor. Most but not all 86-91 have the bigger fan motor and need the resistor.

Mark

[VR6 vanagon]

What do you mean test it while bypassing wiring? I tested it from the plug down by the radiator, where would I test it bypassing wiring?
There is a sticker on my fan with a Bosch part number, does anyone know what the part number is on either of the different fans so I can be positive what one I have?

[MarkWard]

Your test at the fan switch if the fan came on would only confirm that the fan is good and the circuit is correct. The fix would be a new fan switch or a flow problem related to air in the system or thermostat issue. This is not your problem. You should test the fan with some decent jumper leads with the stock wiring disconnected from the fan. This will tell you for sure if the fan is bad. If the fan runs, then you know you have a problem in the wiring and will need to trace it out. Regards
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[crazyvwvanman]

Tell me the VW part number on the sticker and I will tell you which fan it is.

The big fan motor has 2 threaded studs where the wires screw on.
The small fan motor has 3 wires built into it that can't be removed.

Mark

[VR6 vanagon]

I have the 2 threaded studs, so I guess that means I have the bigger unit. That also means I need the resistor that goes behind the headlight?
As far as testing the fan, You saying I should hook a hot and a ground from the battery, directly to the wires on the fan to see if it runs?

[crazyvwvanman]

Yes that is the bigger fan motor and must have a resistor connected to the wiring if it is to work on any lower speed. It can work fine without a resistor but only at full speed which makes a LOT of noise.


The big motor pulls a TON of amps so if the person who installed it did not use heavy enough wiring the wiring probably cooked somewhere. In the 86+ vans VW ran a dedicated power wire from the battery to the fan high speed relay on models that used the big fan.


To test the motor connect 12 volts to the positive stud and ground to the other stud, with decent size wire. For a quick test 12 or 14 gauge should do but really 10 gauge is the bare minimum for sustained high speed and 8 gauge is what I would use if making my own wiring up.

Mark

[VR6 vanagon]

is that resistor still available or do I need to find the specs of it and find something with the same specs?
The wiring that was added to make the fan work is 10 gauge. I looked around at it but didn't see or smell anything burnt.

[MarkWard]

[crazyvwvanman]

The resistor is available but has been hard to find at times and may go NLA again. If using with a custom harness you can choose either the 2 speed E part, or the 3 speed H part for A/C models.

There is an Audi part that does the same job for the same size big fan motor some big Audis had in the 1980s. The Audi resistor is much cheaper but is meant to mount down in the airflow of the fan, in front of the radiator I think. It is larger and made of metal. I don't think it fails as often either but that is just a guess and may be due to the airflow keeping it cooler. I recently bought a couple to try since the Vanagon resistors were NLA recently. I have not installed one yet but will sometime.

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=...r/Resistor

Mark

[VR6 vanagon]

I just ordered the resistor from van cafe. I think it was $54 They sent it out already according to their email. I should see it in a couple days. I guess I need to start thinking about how the resistor gets wired into the system...
Next I will determine if my fan needs replaced or not. If it does, I found one for $358 from partsgeek.com it is by far the best price i have found for a new one.

[crazyvwvanman]

If you have a newer Bentley it shows a simple and separate wiring diagram for the 450 watt fan with external resistor.

page 97.200

You will need a power wire from the battery to a 60 or 70 amp relay and a 50 amp fuse if you mirror the factor wiring.

Mark

[VR6 vanagon]

I don't have a bentley, but I have the official factory repair manual, (the thick green book) I was hoping I would be able to find something in there to help me. I will look when I get home tonight.

[crazyvwvanman]

Yes, look at page 97.200 in the thick green book, if yours covers up to 1991.

Mark

[VR6 vanagon]

So today I took a spare battery, and a set of jumper cables with the clamps on one end cut off and put juice to my fan directly, it didn't budge. So now I'm pretty positive I need a fan. I saw one for $358, new, Bosch, the only other place I saw that carried it wanted like $579.
Does anyone know where to get this fan any cheaper? It is the 450 watt one, by the way.

[James 93SLC]

Someone needs to get something like this going. Cheaper, and I bet quieter and more efficient.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLX-119/

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91 Vanagon Carat
93 Corrado SLC
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Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/slc.corrado
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tencentlife "Sometimes a pooka is a problem and sometimes it's just a pooka"

[?Waldo?]

[VR6 vanagon]

The reason I got the resistor before the fan was because when the VR6 swap was done, and the radiator and fan was added, the resistor was never put it. I didn't know it needed one. I thought my fan was old and on it's last leg since it was so noisy. So I bought the resistor, cuz if my fan was bad or not, i didn't have the resistor. So i figured I'd get that since I needed it anyhow.

[VR6 vanagon]

[James 93SLC]