Switch to Engage Low-Speed Fan

[FinnTheHuman]

Possible simple question coming your way, but couldn't find a direct answer on the forum.

Say a guy wanted to wire in a switch to turn on the cooling fan manually if/when wanted, but wanted the LOW speed fan (CCRM pin 14) to come on instead of the High speed (CCRM pin 17) fan.

I found an old thread with instructions on engaging the high speed (pin 17) fan ( https://www.sn95forums.com/threads/how-to-manually-turn-on-your-fan.7232/ ), where essentially you run a wire from 17, to a switch that's also grounded. When you flip the switch, it grounds, fan comes on. Makes sense.

My actual question is - would wiring the low speed fan to come on instead be as simple as following those procedures only instead of tapping 17, tapping pin 14 instead?

Car is a 1995 Cobra that's stock. Not that it matters really, but the switch I'll use is a factory-style foglight switch from LMR that I'll place on the console where that ridiculous coin holder currently lives.


Thank you!

Finn.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Possible simple question coming your way, but couldn't find a direct answer on the forum.

Say a guy wanted to wire in a switch to turn on the cooling fan manually if/when wanted, but wanted the LOW speed fan (CCRM pin 14) to come on instead of the High speed (CCRM pin 17) fan.

I found an old thread with instructions on engaging the high speed (pin 17) fan ( https://www.sn95forums.com/threads/how-to-manually-turn-on-your-fan.7232/ ), where essentially you run a wire from 17, to a switch that's also grounded. When you flip the switch, it grounds, fan comes on. Makes sense.

My actual question is - would wiring the low speed fan to come on instead be as simple as following those procedures only instead of tapping 17, tapping pin 14 instead?

Car is a 1995 Cobra that's stock. Not that it matters really, but the switch I'll use is a factory-style foglight switch from LMR that I'll place on the console where that ridiculous coin holder currently lives.


Thank you!

Finn.

Theoretically, yes. It would be the same thing as switching the high speed relay. We would need to look at the wiring diagram and confirm the signal is in fact a ground signal to trigger the relay (I’m pretty sure it is), then it would work the same.

Better question is, why do you want to do this?

 

[95opal]

Possible simple question coming your way, but couldn't find a direct answer on the forum.

Say a guy wanted to wire in a switch to turn on the cooling fan manually if/when wanted, but wanted the LOW speed fan (CCRM pin 14) to come on instead of the High speed (CCRM pin 17) fan.

I found an old thread with instructions on engaging the high speed (pin 17) fan ( https://www.sn95forums.com/threads/how-to-manually-turn-on-your-fan.7232/ ), where essentially you run a wire from 17, to a switch that's also grounded. When you flip the switch, it grounds, fan comes on. Makes sense.

My actual question is - would wiring the low speed fan to come on instead be as simple as following those procedures only instead of tapping 17, tapping pin 14 instead?

Car is a 1995 Cobra that's stock. Not that it matters really, but the switch I'll use is a factory-style foglight switch from LMR that I'll place on the console where that ridiculous coin holder currently lives.


Thank you!

Finn.

Yes pin 14 for low. You can also run a 3 way switch and have low and high wired to that single switch. I ran mine that way for years.

 

[FinnTheHuman]

Thanks guys, appreciate the info!

Better question is, why do you want to do this?

That's a great question, I'm not even certain that I want to or will. Honest answer, I've had several fox bodies in the past and all of them have had an electric fan wired to a switch. I grew to like having the switch, being able to flip it on whenever I want, however that had more to do with the fact that those cars didn't come from the factory with an electric fan...and I never fully trusted the aftermarket thermostat to cycle on and off correctly.

My Cobra of course came from Ford with an electric, and both low and high speed fans function just fine automatically, although they kick on so late and it's annoying. I know full well that's how these cars are engineered to run...but I'm fighting the urge for having some control over when things happen and a Plan B in case the fan ever stops triggering correctly.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Thanks guys, appreciate the info!



That's a great question, I'm not even certain that I want to or will. Honest answer, I've had several fox bodies in the past and all of them have had an electric fan wired to a switch. I grew to like having the switch, being able to flip it on whenever I want, however that had more to do with the fact that those cars didn't come from the factory with an electric fan...and I never fully trusted the aftermarket thermostat to cycle on and off correctly.

My Cobra of course came from Ford with an electric, and both low and high speed fans function just fine automatically, although they kick on so late and it's annoying. I know full well that's how these cars are engineered to run...but I'm fighting the urge for having some control over when things happen and a Plan B in case the fan ever stops triggering correctly.

I understand what you’re saying. They are definitely engineered to run hotter than we believe they should. You could lower the temp that the fans are triggered by getting a custom tune.

However, trying to cool the engine too far can cause negative effects. Engine wear is increased when temperature is below 160°f. If the engine can stay warm and stable, it will run better.

 

[FinnTheHuman]

They are definitely engineered to run hotter than we believe they should.

You hit the nail on the head right there "than we believe", the Ford engineers certainly know better than I do. Perhaps I'll pursue the tune at some point as a better option, there's no problem here and nothing to actually fix. I'm in Minnesota and the car has been sitting, and will be sitting for months, and the mind starts to think about all the little projects that could be done. I've never had a problem wiring things into all of my previous fox's, however this Cobra is really nice and I'd rather NOT start wiring in switches, I don't like extra gauges, etc.

Anyways, at the very least maybe someone else will find the information provided by you and 95opal helpful, as I have.

 

[94IndyPace]

Ford upped the temps in these cars for EPA reasons. Check out Ted Jenkins video on YouTube. TuningInnovations. He talks about why he uses his on high only.