BMW Electric Fan Conversion
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2019
- ► 16” Spal electric fan : amzn.to/33ZFdmb
► Craftsman tools I use : amzn.to/3T5t34p
I used an 80/88°C auxilary fan switch (sensor) that goes in the side of the radiator. This is what switches on the fan at those temperatures.
► www.bimmerworld.com/Fan-Delet...
This video will go over the simple process of wiring up an electric fan to your 3 Series BMW (specifically the e36 generation). The BMW electric fan conversion is a common modification on these cars that will eliminate the OEM clutch fan that is driven by the water pump pulley, as well as the auxiliary fan that is in front of the AC condenser.
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BRILLIANT! After days of searching on how to wire an A-Team fan (no instructions) this is exactly what I wanted to do.... Thank you for a great video
Glad I could help!
After 2 hours of Searching I found your vid it was exactly what I was looking for all the other bids showing all pain of Thermo switch fitting loads of mere rewiring into the fuse box thank you a million for this vid
Great work really, I have a 95 840ci and I am not waiting to get the auxiliary attitude, so I will remove the one and get the one you mounted on your bmw..thank you for the info
HANDS DOWN THE MOST SIMPLEST VIDEO EVER THANK YOU!!!!!
I have fan currently wired into my car via the last owner, he used a mishimoto relay and some sort of fuse to wire it directly to the positive terminal under the hood... the fan just went out and i have no idea what im doing when it comes to wiring, so ill probably rip that all out and try this method. Thank you for the awesome video!
I am happy with that spal fan after 3 years and no issue! Work like champ
That's awesome!
this is a very clean install... Will use this method!
What a video, great job!! Actually might be my favorite e36 diy mechanic CZcamsr. Thx!
Your video explains more details than others. Thank you so much. Its help a lot
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. I have a 2001 E38 740iL BMW. I plan to replace both aux and mechanical fan with a 16" spal high performance.I love the simplistic way you make the connection. I am not sure where does connection goes after you did your pre. test with the jumper wire to turn the spal fan on. Thanks for your answer
Thank god I watched your video, I almost wired the fan on the thermo switch side. I totally forgot about that connector for some reason even though I disconnected it.
Edit: wait so I bought a Spal wiring harness for no reason….
Great stuff, Justin!
Thanks for the video
I’m however concerned this method will have the engine running hotter in average
The clutch fun runs consistently while the aux electric fan kicks-in when AC turned on OR engine getting too hot, this means that by using this setup the MAIN and only fan now will only run at full when the thermo switch goes ON so until that point the engine will have no cooling other than the air naturally going through due to speed
Thanks it wasnt my fan at all just the relay switch.i tested with the wire. fan came on so its my relay switch..thanks again...
Nice video. With having the electric fan setup can I remove the AUX fan for good, or should I leave it installed.
Great video. It helped me out a lot
would this be the same with the mishimoto fan, i see it only has 2 wires also power and ground. thank you
My Spal fan came with that small harness already attached and sealed into the fan, and also didn't come with anything else to plug it into if I were to cut it out. Yours came with everything you needed?
Did the same procedure with the electric fan installation on my e36 but the fan won’t turn on at all but there was a missing fuse in the AC/Fan slot but both high and low speed relays are still there, possible thermal switch going bad as well?
Have to do this for my FRS
I'm about to do this for mostly a track car but is there a benefit for the fan to turn on at 80C? Might this prevent the car from warming up on cold days? Why not just use the wire that activates at 88C. (which is still lower than the slow speed switch on the OEM switch).
Well if you remove the aux fan how will the aircon work? The aircon condenser need to cool when the aircon is on no?
will this work on heavy traffic situations?
Very cool! I will be doing this soon and was wondering, is there a way to make the fan work in 2 speeds?
Not with this particular fan, as far as I know. Single speed only.
What if I want to run aux fan too ? what wiring needs to be done ?
can I just joint red to blue and black to brown ?
the ground and power connector you say came with your fan is not available for purchase and I've found none who sell the SPAL say that the wires come with the fan. is there a part number for it?
Where do the wires go from the sensor and the fan, do they join to the engine bay wiring or what? I can’t find any wiring at front
Factory fan is with 2 speed,that aftermarket is with 1 speed correct? What about temperature is it going on full or not have problem??
Hey Justin ,can we install same as this at e39 double vanos..
Great vídeo Justin!
Please wich termostato you use for the fan to turn on before hesting. Thanks mate!
It was the thermostat located on the passenger side of radiator. Is that what you were asking?
I did similar wiring with crimp connectors n i noticed now the system overloads, any reason why? Fan runs but wires get hot 3mins in
You should have added a series resistor to activate low and high speed.
Thanks very simple
Hey food for thought here. For keeping the A/C fan functional -- assuming A/C duty only uses the low speed side of the aux fan, why not leave that intact and just cut the high-speed side and run that (only) to the SPAL? This would effectively allow the aux fan to continue running for A/C duty but, prevents it from being triggered for high-speed mode in a high-temp situation. Basically it'd be powering up the SPAL instead for high-temps, thus allowing the fans to work independently. I believe this is what we want right? If so, if the factory fan connectors are available in both male/female, one could create a simple adapter. ;)
You will need to add another relay, the stock system will not let you run 2 fans at different speeds
Is this method worked on BMW E36 318i M40 engine?
So like. I do This then when my car hits a certain temp it automatically kicks on?
Can I do this method with the 2000 series
Hey awesome video! Just a quick question. Because we are tapping into the aux fan, does that mean I have to turn the AC on to get the fan going. Or should the temp switch just do that
The temp switch handles it.
Hye..can i use 14" spal fan?
Nice video! Would this work on an E30 you think? I currently have an E-fan that’s controlled by the a/c button from the previous owner
Hmm not sure, if the wiring is the same for the aux fan it may work. But, I have not done it personally.
hey Justin great video, was wondering where’d you get your low temp fan switch?
Any of your common BMW online parts stores will have them. Just look for the sensor that has a lower temperature initialization.
@@TheBTRGarage do you know what temp yours kicks on?
It's this one: www.bimmerworld.com/Cooling/Coolant-Sensors/Fan-Delete-Switch-61-31-8-376-440.html
The original is 91/99°C and this one is 80/88°C.
Hey Justin, this is the simplest setup I have ever seen for an e36. Great video. However, this would mean the puller fan would be stationary until the thermostat kicks in and then it will run full time yes? If so, would it overheat the wiring for the AUX fan since in its original setup, the AUX fan isn't supposed to run all the time? I ask because I plan to use my car on the street, track days, and B-Road runs, and i live in Malaysia where we have 36deg -39deg afternoons... so my concern is the longterm reliability of the wiring/fuses since we know the fan is up to the job but requires a high current load(Car: 1996 e36 328i)
Yes, it will run only when it is in the t-stat range. Not sure on wiring lifetime, but it's been fine for me in many track days. Days over 95 Fahrenheit for me.
@@TheBTRGarage Thanks for the explanation buddy. Keep them videos coming!
Hi there Justin. Great video, and I have a follow up question since this looks like it’s been awhile since you did this upgrade. I pulled a factory BMW electric fan that will slide right in using the existing upper tabs on my 318is radiator. This fan still has the 3 wire factory plug off of it, so when I pull the mechanical fan, you would still recommend pulling the aux fan and not wiring them in together on the aux fan wiring? If I pull the aux fan, this factory main fan plug has 3 wires, so might be a little more straightforward plug-and-play. Also.. since you’ve had run time on it.. any updates on issues that might have surfaced (burnt relays, circuit overload, etc)?
Again, thanks for the video, and I appreciate any help you can offer!
Have not had an issue with the fan at all. You can leave the aux fan in if you want, but the new fan moves a lot more air which should be plenty.
BTR Justin, I'm getting ready to do this same update. Is your SPAL fan a pusher or puller fan?? Also, for a street driven car that sees occasional track days, do you recommend keeping the auxiliary fan on with the electric fan or can the single electric fan do all the work??
I was also looking for your rad install video and can't find it. Thanks in advance.
It's a puller fan. Supposedly the electric fan can replace both fans, so no need to keep the aux fan. I haven't tested this personally though, but the fan is much more powerful than both the clutch and aux fans.
I'm not sure if I made a video for the radiator install specifically. It would be in my BMW Playlist if so.
I am about to do this to my e36 i have been using my fog light harness for about 3 years and i dont like it anymore. Do you suggest to use a in line fuse with this setup or is it okay as is? my spal fan is a 16 inch curved blades not sure if its high performance model. Thanks for the great video!
Thanks for watching! You can always put an inline fuse in there, it doesn't hurt. But you want to make sure to use the right sized fuse is all.
Good modification but at what temperature the aux fan is suppose to turn on ? Is it at around 195 F like the original fan clutch ?
I installed an 80/88°C fan switch so it comes on a little sooner.
Can someone please tell me, does this eliminate my aircon, its my daily and these comments are confusing.
Hi got the same fan for my e30. So does this setup allow the spam fan have 2speed that control by the Radiator temp switch? I search a lot about the aux fan wiring ,some body use Volvo relay to do the dual speed setup. I think the way you provide is more easy for me
No, it is single speed. I mentioned that in the video.
Thank you .
Now subscribing from South East Asia.
If i understand correctly, the auxiliary fan is not used anymore?
Effendi Lesmana you’re right mate. There will be just this high performance fan then.
thank you im follow from iraq so nice work i do in my car
Thanks for watching!
Work on e39 530d?
Does the conversion allow you to keep the A/C? And is deleting the auxiliary fan also necessary if I plan to wire the new electric fan through the auxiliary fan plug wiring? It gets pretty hot around where I live so A/C is pretty much a must. Thanks for the video!
same question here too can we run it all on one fan or will we be adding this
You can definitely keep the AC and just replace the clutch fan. If I remember right, the single fan can support everything by itself, but I would probably keep the aux fan if keeping AC.
@@TheBTRGarage how would you recommend to do the wiring if keeping the A/C fan?
@@sebastianmurillo2091 Did you find a way to wire it and keep Aux fan for a/c?
So I bought the fan and everything so I looked at the spal fan and it didn’t come with the red and black wire you had to snap off. Where can I buy that extra piece
Hmm, that's really weird. The fan is not usable without that connector and it comes in the box with the fan...maybe you got one that was returned and the connector was missing?
Anyways, check this out, it should be the connector you need : amzn.to/3cgjjBj
Does the aftermarket fan recommend to take the aux fan out? Or because this is a track car you will be at speed more often than stopped and idling
The fan is just a fan, they do not supply car specific instructions. I read in other DIY's that people were replacing both fans with this one.
Question, does the e92 have the same three wires? I installed a racing radiator and i want to do the same. Thanks.
I don't think so, but it might. The e9x generation was quite a bit different from the e3x and e4x generations.
Is it worth putting in the 30a inline fuse from the spal relay kit into the red fan wire?
There is probably already a fuse for your aux fan, but there is no harm adding extra protection devices.
Just what I was looking! Did you have to offset the fan a bit? Or is it centered, In other words, how is the clearance bet the fan and WP?. Thanks great stuff in here
My fan is center mostly inside the stock fan shroud.
@@TheBTRGarage Thanks, would you recommend this method to a daily W/AC track weekend car? I was trying to avoid getting the harness/relay at almost all cost but i'm gonna try this way hope it works for my application.
It should work fine for that use.
Thank you for a CORRECT instructional video!
Thanks! Hope it was helpful.
I wired my fan up this way. Have you tested it out on the road or track? I’m worried it’s not going to turn on early enough and be optimal for cooling it down. Could be wrong. How’s it working for you?
Worked great, year and a half and no issues with it. Granted all my time is on the track with this car, but it's been solid.
Okay awesome! I’m getting mine drift ready and it’s going to be mostly on track so I wanted to make sure this would be fine. Thanks for the help!
So does the fan automatically stay on when the car is running? Or only when the car heats up ?
Only when it reaches the trip temperature on the thermostat. The thermostat I got turns it on at a lower temperature than the OEM one ( see the radiator video ).
So if I use the ac wire. Does this mean I can still turn on my ac and it will work perfectly fine? Since the fan will be on already before I even turn on the ac
Or do I wire it by itself
Hey I’m gonna do the same thing but my question is does this fan only turn on to cool down the temps or is it always on
Joseph Villarreal did u get this question figured out I was wondering that my self
It is not always on. It comes up when the coolant in the system reaches a certain temperature, just like the OEM aux fan does.
Is this one of the SPAL models that doesn't require a separate high powered relay?
Right ✅
Does the stock temperature switch control when the fan goes on and off or does the fan just turn on when you turn the car on?
It is still controlled by the fan switch in the radiator. I installed an 80/88°C switch in mine so it will come on sooner than stock.
You got rid of your A/C correct? That's why you didnt just keep the oem aux fan. I will be doing clutch fan delete next season but was debating whether to put in the electric fan myself or just keep the aux fan.
Yes, no more AC. So it's a little more simple for me.
@@TheBTRGarage so removing the aux fan would mean my ac will no longer work ? I just got my fan yesterday from the one you listed so I’m now curious how to keep my ac since this isn’t a track car for me .
what about the stock fan shroud? have to remove that as well right?
No, you do not. I have my stock fan shroud still in the car attached to the radiator.
Probably a dumb question but I'm tired of my car overheating: I don't have the spal fan, but something very similar I got locally. But it has no harness to replace it with the OEM one. Is it absolutely necessary to have the harness or could I just continue to splice, solder, etc into the OEM wires?
You could certainly direct wire everything. I would do some testing by just tying the wires together first, before soldering or crimping.
If the car is overheating I would make sure the cooling system is bled well and has no air pockets.
@@TheBTRGarage Holy speedy response batman! Thanks man I just needed a second opinion. I figured I'd be able to but wanted to make sure before proceeding!
I would like to keep the aux fan and have it turn on with my electrical fan. How would I wire that up?
Wire it inline with the aux fan.
So jump a wire from the temp speed high to the aux fan?
Thanks for the video but are you sure the link in the bio is the Spal Fan on Amazon?
I mean is it the same as yours? Because when I click on the link I see a fan without Spal written on it
Shoot, you're right. The link in description is wrong or changed...here is the right Spal fan with Prime shipping, part #30100400 : amzn.to/33ZFdmb
What to do with aux fan now ?? Does it work or we get rid of ac
I also have a similar question, do we have to delete the aux fan or can we just splice into the existing wiring
Hello Justin. Quick question. What if I decide to keep my aux fan and the plug, can I just splice into the ground wire (brown) and also to one of the speed wire (blue for example)? You think this will still work when blue becomes active? Will it turn on both radiator fan and aux fan? Will it also be safe?
That sounds like it should work, but I'm not certain. You would have to test it out and use trial and error to see if it works. Good luck!
i was thinking about this too
Running both fans together might be too much load for the aux fan fuse and wiring. Let us know if it worked for you.
Did it work ?
@@mr.apathyy913 never did try it. Sold the car.
hey dude so i followed your tutorial step by step, but i just have a flex lite fan. and my fan isn’t turning on even when i turn up the ac, would that mean my coolant temp sensor is broken?
Hmm, it could be. Did you test manually like I showed in the video, to bypass the sensor? That would tell you if the sensor is bad or not.
@@TheBTRGarage yeah i tried manually testing it with some copper wire and it didn’t turn on. would that mean the connector inside the rad is bad or the one that plugs in? also would my fuse have any play in this? my stock fuse is only rated for 5amps and the efan has about 11 amps of draw
I know I’m a few years late but I did this mod today and the fan only initiates when I turn my A/C on and not when the t stat reaches temp, did I miss a step or am I supposed to snip a wire of some sort
I also am running the oem aux fan switch on my car which is a 95 325is (obd1)
My ac don’t work now but kicks on sometimes
is this process the same for a bmw e46 with a Mishimoto fan?
I am not sure unfortunately. It might be similar, but I don't know for certain.
I wired my fan up as you did. It doesn't stay on after Temps raising any ideas? It just turns on for a few seconds then off
Sounds like it is shorting out. Did you do the manual test like I showed in the video? One way to make sure it is working as expected.
System mightve overloaded?
a question so does the aux fan run according to the thermostat? or from the coolant sensor that’s plugged into the rad?
This fan is triggered off the sensor in the radiator, as I demostrated in the video. The thermostat doesn't do anything with the fans, it just keeps coolant flow blocked until the engine is up to temperature (warm coolant) then it opens to allow engine coolant flow and begin engine cooling. There are no wires or anything connected to a thermostat, it mechanically opens/closes based on coolant temp.
@@TheBTRGarage way cool thank you!
@@TheBTRGarage one more question if my coolant sensor is broken will it continue to work? or will it not turn on
Hi if i dont take the AUX fan out will it get any problem ??? so if i do it that way meant i need to run the oem fan by relay right? my contry is damn hot haha around 35 degree celcius LOL , BTW just passing by and found the greatest instsruction VID for my e36
Hi Tanemm, so have you done this? I also want to keep the aux fan in the hot country i am living.
Lmk if y’all figured it out 😂
So you’re only running one fan now ? Why not have two. One for each speed on opposite sides of the radiator ?
It's not really needed for my setup. I have AC delete and clutch fan delete. The electric fan is plenty of air moving power for the radiator.
Did the harness come with the fan in Amazon
No it's just the fan there I believe. I got the harness from bimmerworld then realized I didn't even need it for my situation.
Does this work for an e39 with an m54?
Hmm it might, but I'm not 100% certain. If it has a similar configuration to the M50/M52 I think it should.
Where do I get the red and black connector?
Try this: amzn.to/3cgjjBj
Dude is there any way if I don’t delete my auxiliary fan?
Yes. You can buy a harness setup with a relay where you tap into your coolant temp sensor, and the fan will come on when it reaches the necessary temp. Helps if you have wiring diagrams so you know where to go and what wires you need to splice.
So does this get rid of ac or no because i want to do this but i dont want to get rid of ac
I believe it does , I’m trying to find out because I just received this fan yesterday but already removed my clutch and aux fan but before I cut wires I am trying to figure out how to keep my ac and run this fan now 😩
@@teasecollections3857 did you ever figure it out? 😂
Is the wiring the same on a m52b28
It should be the same yes.
Did you delete the aux fan?? I mean only using electric radiator fan only..
Yes, correct.
16" size?? Or 14" size
Where did you buy the lower temp temp switch from?
I think that was from bimmerworld or maybe Turner, they all have them.
@@TheBTRGarage yeah I found the kit with the sensor, and copped it!! I have mishimoto hoses, radiator, expansion tank, and next is electric fan conversion. Then turbo!! Great video thanks!!
eliminating aux fan? so you are not running AC now?
That's correct.
did you get any problems from doing this?
No, worked great all race season last year.
Does fan turn on at operating temp???
It turns on when the temperature is reached per your fan switch (sensor) in the radiator.
How did you connect an 80/88C auxilary fan switch on a 6cyl? My connector has a slightly different indentation inside so that it doesn't match (and it was one from a kit)
Hmm odd, I didn't do anything special. I ordered the sensor switch individually from here : www.bimmerworld.com/Fan-Delete-Switch-61-31-8-376-440.html
It was plug and play for me.
I just did this and had the same problem. I was able to take a knife and cut the small protruding part on the wiring harness plug side (not the switch) so that it allowed it to slide in. Working great with no problems.
Where did you get your fan switch from
Links are all in the description, I think :)
@@TheBTRGarage I double checked, didn’t see it. I only ask cause I’ve been searching for that same one but everyone I get doesn’t go on cause of a small plastic piece inside the connector seems to be on the wrong side
Im debating to do this instead of buying a fan controller but my only worry is will it still work if I keep the air con fan? I would prefer to keep the air con fan because I use the car daily and it gets hot over here
If you kept the aircon fan, you would need to remove the clutch fan and run a relay setup and tap into the coolant sensor to have both turn on with the correct temp, but the AC fan would turn on also with the AC switch. That said, these Spal fans are quite powerful and can replace both the AC and clutch fan if you get a high enough CFM one.
Would this work and fit on bmw 330i 2004?
It probably would, but I am not certain the wiring would be the same.
All M5x (e30, e36, e39, e46, e53) motors can do an electric fan conversion, just different wiring procedures, but all relatively similar.
@@Noah-vj9vy Hi Noah can you please elaborate on the wiring prodecure . I see Bernardo 1 week ago said it could not be done on the e53 X5 ? Have both and E53 and E39 525 that I would like to do, busy with the E39 now . Looking at the E39 2000 model it seems the same as the E36 (only plug looks different )
@@juanpretorius4322 I could be wrong about the e53 since it's an SUV. There is a ton of similarities between the e36/e39 chassis though. Find the thermo temp sensor and tap wiring into that. It really helps to have a wiring diagram for that. ShopKey is extremely good for coloured diagrams/locations, etc. (paid service). For free though, try RealOEM? I haven't used that one a ton, but it might have diagrams? otherwise dig online. Very useful.
@@Noah-vj9vy Hi , thanks for the reply and advice . E53 and E39 also very similar , from what I have checked visually on the two cars I have 2000 E39 523 with M52Tu engine and 2003 E53 with 3.0l M54 engine it is the same
Puller or pusher?
It's a puller, mounts on the back side of the radiator.
What song is that??
It's just something out of the free CZcams library, honestly don't know the name.
I followed your steps one by one, but the car gets overheated, and the fan is still not working; the fan doesn’t kick in at that temperature.
Prob a bad temp switch
I have a temp sensor that has a different activation point than oem.
Not for e53 x5 ):
This setup will fail if your car was driven in hot climate like in the Middle East you definitely will need two speed and only fan working when you need it I think this setup will make the fan working constantly that gonna be a hard work for your alternator
Isn’t there Constant power at that fan wire
No, at least not in my testing. It is triggered by the coolant temp sensor. If it was constant power the fan would just run all the time, which was obviously not the case when I tested it.
BTR Justin I’m trying to do the same thing for my 2004 bmw 530i I have three wire also well and with the car off there’s still power in the red wire
@@BoyBoyBoyboy-be7ie i have the same problem with my 2001 530i
BoyBoy860 Boyboy860 hello, did you do it on your E39? I‘m also thinking to do a clutch- & auxiliary fan removal on mine.
Should likely be a switched 12V