Flex a lite fan melting fuse holder

[00Caddy]

whats up guys?

Havent posted in a long while. Long story short... I had the flex a lite 280 kit on my 97 tahoe that was totalled. I took the kit off of the yukon and put on my 2000 escalade that i bought to replace the yukon. i have had nothing but problems with this kit. It blew one or two 30 amp fuses randomly on the yukon. it has blown many (many meaning so many that i dont remember the number of fuses i have bought) 30 amp fuses. I called flex a lite about 8 months ago about the issue. The tech said, "We have heard about this problem. the 30 amp fuse isnt big enough. put a 40 amp in it." So i stroll down to the autozone and buy 2 40 amp fuses. put one in and havent had a problem at all for 8 months or so. me and my dad have also noticed that fans dont come on at 60 percent. It just sounds one speed. teh variable speed controller is supposed to turn the fans up if there is a need for it. Now its just 100% all the time it sounds like. Maybe the controller is dead. I go home for a weekend and start my 330 mile drive back to school... i get 60 miles away and smell a weird burning smell. pull over and pop the hood. Smoke and popping noises are coming from the fuse holder. i look closer and it is completly melted together. Thankfully it was a 60 mile highway drive the rest of the way. Made it back fine and now i wait for monday so i can call flex a lite and figure things out.

What do yall think? Supposedly they fixed there fuse holder problem. Supposedly. The tech also said i had the updated, 'fixed' version. Doesnt look fixed to me... thankfully all problems i have seen on other forums, with all kinds of different cars blowing fuses and melting fuse holders, has been fixed by flex a lite for free.

Sorry its a long post. Just a lot to explain. Let me know what you guys think. I think i remember seeing someone or a couple people on here with the same fan kit and not having a problem...

thanks guys,

Nick

I have linked a picture also.

 

[SunlitComet]

Well there is a narrow window from 60%-100& fan speed. about 10° i was told by flex. Have you tried a different ****-fuse holder? the fact that melted is a bad sign especially with a forty amp fuse in it. i would suspect the controller is at fault and ask for a replacement. how are your fuse holder connections made?

 

[ezdaar]

Here is what i would do to solve this problem and get away from the flex lite pos controller.

Build your own relay harness and trigger the fans independently with two of these
Hayden Automotive 3653 Economy Adjustable Thermostatic Fan Control https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C39C6I/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_4HE9vb8D699MS

If you cant build the harness, i can build one for you.

Use two 40 amp relays, one per fan.
Along with two thermostat controllers, one per fan
Use two 30 amp circuit breakers instead of fuses.

Fan 1 comes on at 190.
Fan 2 comes on at 215.

You will never have a melting issue again.
But you will loose the low/high speed function.

Or you can look to performance trucks.net and gmfullsize, for a multi relay setup that can operate the fans with a low speed setup.
There are manufactures that sell some really nice fan relay harnesses that you can buy.

 

[00Caddy]

Well there is a narrow window from 60%-100& fan speed. about 10° i was told by flex. Have you tried a different ****-fuse holder? the fact that melted is a bad sign especially with a forty amp fuse in it. i would suspect the controller is at fault and ask for a replacement. how are your fuse holder connections made?[/QU

Im calling them tomorrow about the issue. Hopefully they can help me out. yeah the whole thing was completely melted together. The fuse was completed gone. the fans were still on when i shut the truck off on the side of the road. as soon as i lifted the hood, the fans shut off after their 30 second off cycle. If it comes to them telling me to buy a new controller and their fuse holder. ill go another route. To expensive to spend that money on their stuff that evidently doesnt work. Im not the only one that is having problems with this same issue.

We will see. ill let yall know what happens

---------- Post added at 05:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:07 PM ----------

Well there is a narrow window from 60%-100& fan speed. about 10° i was told by flex. Have you tried a different ****-fuse holder? the fact that melted is a bad sign especially with a forty amp fuse in it. i would suspect the controller is at fault and ask for a replacement. how are your fuse holder connections made?

The connections are made like the instructions say to make them. I followed the installation guide to a T.

 

[00Caddy]

Alright gents. New update on the whole situation. Flex a lite said it wasn't their vsc controller it was just a possible problem with the fuse holder. They sent me out a fuse holder and I replaced it today. Sat it and let it idle to temp. The fans came on, the wires, fuse, fuse holder didn't get hot. So I let it sit in the parking garage and cool off. I then made Prolly a 7 mile total trip around town to run a couple errands. Got back to my parking garage at my apartment and just checked everything out. Wires were hot. Fuse holder was somewhat warm. Fuse was so hot that I couldn't hold it for more than 3 or 4 seconds. Tried to call flex a lite Sat on hold for 2 hours, hung up. Gonna call Monday and see if they will send me a vsc controller. Getting confused and annoyed with all this now. If they can send me a new vsc I will have each fan wired to there own vsc with fuses for each and relays and what not. We shall see what happens. I cracked open the dead fuse holder to see what was actually going on, it was a mess. Everything was burnt. The metal spade holders were completely melted together. I'll keep y'all updated on what flex a lite says

Let me know what y'all think is going on. Just opinions guys.

 

[SunlitComet]

i still think the vsc is overloading the fuse.

---------- Post added at 05:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:47 PM ----------

btw the fans spin freely right?

 

[ezdaar]

Doood! Dump that pos flexlite controller and build your own.

Heck of you pay for parts and a some time, I will build you a controller that will rock and roll those fans like you've never seen!

I have one of their controllers sitting in bottom of drawer. Its so pos i wouldn't even give it away.

Maybe, hit LS1 fans.com and buy a pre made bitchin harness and retro it with some hayden temp controllers if you want a plug n play over the counter setup.

Your risking your engine by over heat and vehicle fire, stop dorking with those guys.

 

[00Caddy]

i still think the vsc is overloading the fuse.

---------- Post added at 05:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:47 PM ----------

btw the fans spin freely right?[/QUOTE

That is what i am thinking is happening too. The VSC seems to be working just fine. I really think the whole problem lies within the setup. 2 fans, one controller, one fuse holder. Fans spin freely. Nothing in the way at all. I need to figure out a way to see if they are on while im driving at highway speeds. Cant tell by my volt gauge. It sits at 14 volts no matter is on. (i have a aftermarket stereo that is roughly 650 watts which i always have on.) i rarely see the gauge flutter at all. I have a feeling they are still running when im driving at highway speeds. Which it shouldnt be. Im gonna raise the temp a tad on the VSC and check it again.

---------- Post added at 12:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 PM ----------

Doood! Dump that pos flexlite controller and build your own.

Heck of you pay for parts and a some time, I will build you a controller that will rock and roll those fans like you've never seen!

I have one of their controllers sitting in bottom of drawer. Its so pos i wouldn't even give it away.

Maybe, hit LS1 fans.com and buy a pre made bitchin harness and retro it with some hayden temp controllers if you want a plug n play over the counter setup.

Your risking your engine by over heat and vehicle fire, stop dorking with those guys.[/QUOT

That is most likely what i will be doing this next weekend. I am 400 miles from tools and part, so the car is sitting. Flex a lite has been helpful when i do get them on the phone. Guy didnt hesitate to send me a new holder. Gotta somehow get my vehicle 400 miles without it over heating. Thankfully i have a big radiator and its a solid 75 mph the whole way. Shouldnt overheat on the highway. We shall see.

 

['99_Tahoe LS 4WD - AZ]

Doood! Dump that pos flexlite controller and build your own.

Heck of you pay for parts and a some time, I will build you a controller that will rock and roll those fans like you've never seen!

I have one of their controllers sitting in bottom of drawer. Its so pos i wouldn't even give it away.

Maybe, hit LS1 fans.com and buy a pre made bitchin harness and retro it with some hayden temp controllers if you want a plug n play over the counter setup.

Your risking your engine by over heat and vehicle fire, stop dorking with those guys.

@ezdaar @SunlitComet Ok, so I have the Flex A Lite 280 dual electric fan rig coming my way here shortly. After reading these posts about this unit causing fuses to melt and the unit malfunction, I am very concerned I will have the same problems (although this thread post dates back to 2015 and now it's 2015) and I don't want or need that kind of drama in my Hoe's life. I'd very much love to purchase a plug-and-play unit that have everything built in and interconnected so I don't have to be a freakin rocket scientist to figure out how to put everything together. Do you have any suggestions on a site or could you build one for me and I'd pay you? Cost? Any help and/or advice you can give would be very much appreciated!

Eric

 

[HiHoeSilver]

@ezdaar @SunlitComet Ok, so I have the Flex A Lite 280 dual electric fan rig coming my way here shortly. After reading these posts about this unit causing fuses to melt and the unit malfunction, I am very concerned I will have the same problems (although this thread post dates back to 2015 and now it's 2015) and I don't want or need that kind of drama in my Hoe's life. I'd very much love to purchase a plug-and-play unit that have everything built in and interconnected so I don't have to be a freakin rocket scientist to figure out how to put everything together. Do you have any suggestions on a site or could you build one for me and I'd pay you? Cost? Any help and/or advice you can give would be very much appreciated!

Eric

@ScottyBoy

 

['99_Tahoe LS 4WD - AZ]

@ScottyBoy

Thanks for the forward @HiHoeSilver

 

[ScottyBoy]

To be honest, I would build a three relay setup like the 05 on up trucks came with. But then you would also need two triggers. That way, one trigger can turn one fan on high speed, or the second trigger would turn both fans on at low speed. If both triggers are activated at the same time, then BOTH fans will run at high speed. On the OEM harness, one trigger is the temperature trigger, and that turns both fans on at low speed. The second trigger is connected to the AC compressor, and turns one fan on at high speed if the AC is on. But if the engine is up to temperature, AND the AC is on, then BOTH fans run at high speed.

 

['99_Tahoe LS 4WD - AZ]

To be honest, I would build a three relay setup like the 05 on up trucks came with. But then you would also need two triggers. That way, one trigger can turn one fan on high speed, or the second trigger would turn both fans on at low speed. If both triggers are activated at the same time, then BOTH fans will run at high speed. On the OEM harness, one trigger is the temperature trigger, and that turns both fans on at low speed. The second trigger is connected to the AC compressor, and turns one fan on at high speed if the AC is on. But if the engine is up to temperature, AND the AC is on, then BOTH fans run at high speed.

Thanks @ScottyBoy , I'll definitely look into your suggestion!

 

[fire730]

Don’t stress over it too much.
I’ve been running the original FAL controller on my fans for at least 5 years now. The only problem I had was right after the install. It blew the 30amp supplied fuse. After putting an amp probe on it and seeing that it pulls 36 amps I changed the fuse to a 40 and it’s been fine since.

I did have to replace a motor about 6 months ago.

 

['99_Tahoe LS 4WD - AZ]

Don’t stress over it too much.
I’ve been running the original FAL controller on my fans for at least 5 years now. The only problem I had was right after the install. It blew the 30amp supplied fuse. After putting an amp probe on it and seeing that it pulls 36 amps I changed the fuse to a 40 and it’s been fine since.

I did have to replace a motor about 6 months ago.

Thanks very much, Kevin @fire730 , I'll put a 40 amp fuse in there instead of the 30.

 

['99_Tahoe LS 4WD - AZ]

@fire730 @SunlitComet @ScottyBoy did any of you have any issues with your alternator? I'm running my stock 105 amp Delphi alternator and am thinking perhaps, especially when at idle in the Phoenix heat with the AC cranked all the way up and sucking amps down, that I should upgrade my alternator to at least a 140 amp model. Will the stock gauge red and black battery and alternator cables be ok? Thoughts? I'm not running any fancy stereo equipment so I don't know or think I'll need to do The Big 3 wiring upgrade?????

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Don’t stress over it too much.
I’ve been running the original FAL controller on my fans for at least 5 years now. The only problem I had was right after the install. It blew the 30amp supplied fuse. After putting an amp probe on it and seeing that it pulls 36 amps I changed the fuse to a 40 and it’s been fine since.

I did have to replace a motor about 6 months ago.

Thanks very much, Kevin @fire730 , I'll put a 40 amp fuse in there instead of the 30.

Glad you haven't had any trouble but this can be a really bad idea, as you may now be over fused for the wire size, i.e. The wire will melt /burn before the fuse blows. @ScottyBoy, do you know the wire size?

 

[fire730]

If it’s putting out 36 amps I have to use a 40. I’m the one who hasn’t had a problem in 5 years. And my fans run on high ALL the time here in Louisiana.

 

[fire730]

That fuse holder could have melted like that from a poor connection inside the fuse holder. All it has is 2 female slide in connectors.
I had a customers car with a loose wire to the battery terminal that melted the lead on the terminal cause it was loose.

 

[fire730]

My truck already had the larger alternator. I’m sure you will need to upgrade.