Electric Fans Vs Clutch Fans

[Romey10]

What did you do to it?

I put on 2005 Silverado Dorman dual fans, Napa 200 amp alt, 2 gauge from alt to battery and 2gauge ground from alt to neg battery, Nelson Performance wiring harness and everything runs through computer I used HPtuners to set it up. This is on a 2003 Tahoe

 

[96-2D-Hoe]

So the Hayden Severe Duty fan clutch works better than the original in traffic & idle ? My issue was at idle.

Works way better than the original. Does take a couple minutes/miles for it to go off in the morning when you start from cold.

 

[Sam Harris]

So the Hayden Severe Duty fan clutch works better than the original in traffic & idle ? My issue was at idle.


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Get ready for some noise..

 

[96-2D-Hoe]

Get ready for some noise..

Yeah. Sometimes it scares people. Does rob power. e-fans are probably best overall as you can have them off in the winter. But the clutch bolts in.

 

[Nap73]

Get ready for some noise..

How noisy are we talking


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[96-2D-Hoe]

It roars when it's fully engaged. You should hear them on other trucks. Mine only ever does it at cold, and on a hot day if I leave it running with AC on while I go into a store if the dogs are with me. As soon as you hit the gas it's gone in a second or two. In traffic it's barely noticeable unless it's stupid hot out and even then it's only for a second.

You might want to make sure there's no trash / crap between the condenser and the radiator. I kind of remember someone having this issue and they found a bunch of trash in there stuck on the rad stopping airflow.

 

[bfourman]

The 2500s have clutch fans because they're better for towing which is why the 3/4 and 1 ton pickups still use them. The 2500 Yukon/suburban is also designed for towing so the electric fans would be inadequate. They're more efficient but they don't move near as much air as a clutch fan.

The 1/2 ton pickup and suvs generally aren't used for heavy towing so they went to electric to help with efficiency

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This. I converted my 00 2500 Yukon to efans to keep the aircon cold for the family during the summer. Towing heavy in the mountains they couldn't keep up vs my buddy in a 02 2500 Yukon 8.1 with clutch fan who had no issues.

I'm keeping the clutch fan in my 09 2500 Suburban.

For you I would start with hosing out the radiator and condenser fins; dust and bugs will certainly impede cooling at idle.

 

[avalonandl]

Water Pump ?

 

[Romey10]

As far as noise goes I kept hearing there really loud but reality is when there on low which is most of the time I don’t even no there on I actually would have to get out of truck and check under hood when I was first tuning them and when there on high you can hear them when your standing outside of truck but inside with a/c on above the 3 position or with radio on you definitely don’t hear them.
Now that I’m all done with them I wish I would’ve done this years ago. Also they are now way louder than a clutch fan on a very hot day, mine used to sound like a damn crop duster taking off!!

 

[Tonyrodz]

I put on 2005 Silverado Dorman dual fans, Napa 200 amp alt, 2 gauge from alt to battery and 2gauge ground from alt to neg battery, Nelson Performance wiring harness and everything runs through computer I used HPtuners to set it up. This is on a 2003 Tahoe

How's the Nelson harness holding up? It melted on a few guys.

 

[Romey10]

How's the Nelson harness holding up? It melted on a few guys.

Mine has been great so far.

 

[Romey10]

Mine has been great so far.

Very clean had good lengths on everything great instructions well worth the money

 

[thompsoj22]

Just my 02, Leave the viscous clutch setup as it truly is HD which is what the engineers had in mind with the 2500. Every big rig diesel on the road has a clutch fan, allthough electrically controlled it is capable of moving more air than any electric fan setup. your setup should not overheat at slowspeeds/stop and go. You did use an ACDELCO replacement clutch right? cause if youve opted for a dorman i would start there. Is the belt tensioner in good condition? with the tension indicator centered or biased to the tight side? you could throw one of those cool gates belts at it that are designed to drive on the smooth side as much as the grooved side to prevent slipping on the waterpump, they might be snake oil but they look cool. do you have an aftermarket trans cooler in front of the radiator?

 

[Nap73]

Just my 02, Leave the viscous clutch setup as it truly is HD which is what the engineers had in mind with the 2500. Every big rig diesel on the road has a clutch fan, allthough electrically controlled it is capable of moving more air than any electric fan setup. your setup should not overheat at slowspeeds/stop and go. You did use an ACDELCO replacement clutch right? cause if youve opted for a dorman i would start there. Is the belt tensioner in good condition? with the tension indicator centered or biased to the tight side? you could throw one of those cool gates belts at it that are designed to drive on the smooth side as much as the grooved side to prevent slipping on the waterpump, they might be snake oil but they look cool. do you have an aftermarket trans cooler in front of the radiator?

**I don’t overheat during slow speed / stop and go. It’s happened twice in the high heat while the truck is sitting with the AC on. We’re talking for 45min plus

**The fan clutch & radiator are aftermarket. Was done before I realized how important OEM parts are. Everything else I’ve had done is Delco or Delphi where applicable

**has all new belts tensioners that are AC Delco


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[thompsoj22]

**I don’t overheat during slow speed / stop and go. It’s happened twice in the high heat while the truck is sitting with the AC on. We’re talking for 45min plus

**The fan clutch & radiator are aftermarket. Was done before I realized how important OEM parts are. Everything else I’ve had done is Delco or Delphi where applicable

**has all new belts tensioners that are AC Delco


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Start the vehicle cold with the cap off the coolant reservoir and keep an eye on the liquid, As the thermostat opens at op temp there should be little to no fluid purging/flowing into the tank. If there is alot of flow than the radiator does not have the oem restrictor to prevent the coolant from circulating rapidly through the overflow/expansion hose and overheating. This would probably be most apparent at idle without any ram air cooling effect.

 

[RTLINGR2]

So in my 04 2500 Sub, I originally added an auxilary fan in front of the a/c condenser per a GM tsb on inefficient a/c cooling at idle. This tsb has the fan wired to the a/c clutch circuit so the fan is on anytime the a/c is on. Later I retroed a set of 06 tahoe fans in. They bolt directly in. I got a whole fan harness with the factory relay block and fuses from a bone yard , installed like the factory did it in the 1/2 tons. Just needs to be programmed. In the the mean time i made a 2nd fan harness that is wired in how the auxiliary fan was wired in. At this time both fans only work on high speed and with the a/c on. I do tow occasionally, but main concern is a/c performance and man did the fans help with the a/c. Ten times better than the clutch fan and auxiliary fan. That being said, I do keep an eye the cooling and trans temps especially when towing. Trans temps never get over 180. Since the upgrade I have only had one issue and that is because both fans come on high at the same time. The issue is the current draw when both fans turn on. Battery voltage drops briefly to 12.5 then comes right back up where it needs to be at 14. I know once i have the programming done this problem will go away.

 

[thompsoj22]

So in my 04 2500 Sub, I originally added an auxilary fan in front of the a/c condenser per a GM tsb on inefficient a/c cooling at idle. This tsb has the fan wired to the a/c clutch circuit so the fan is on anytime the a/c is on. Later I retroed a set of 06 tahoe fans in. They bolt directly in. I got a whole fan harness with the factory relay block and fuses from a bone yard , installed like the factory did it in the 1/2 tons. Just needs to be programmed. In the the mean time i made a 2nd fan harness that is wired in how the auxiliary fan was wired in. At this time both fans only work on high speed and with the a/c on. I do tow occasionally, but main concern is a/c performance and man did the fans help with the a/c. Ten times better than the clutch fan and auxiliary fan. That being said, I do keep an eye the cooling and trans temps especially when towing. Trans temps never get over 180. Since the upgrade I have only had one issue and that is because both fans come on high at the same time. The issue is the current draw when both fans turn on. Battery voltage drops briefly to 12.5 then comes right back up where it needs to be at 14. I know once i have the programming done this problem will go away.

running a 2 inch overdrive alternator pulley solves my current draw issues at idle, It provides better alternator cooling at idle, And our vehicles at freeway speeds are rarely above 1900 rpm so imo you dont have to worry about accelerated alternator brush/bearing wear.

 

[JonnyTahoe]

Works way better than the original. Does take a couple minutes/miles for it to go off in the morning when you start from cold.

My Severe Duty Thermo Clutch is like that too. If I hold it at 2000 rpm's it will slow down in about 10 seconds. I replaced it this summer because I assumed the truck had the original fan clutch on it which would spin faster and longer than I thought it should you could really hear it from inside the truck. As it turns out the new one is pretty much the same. I priced new AC Delco's and was surprised how expensive they are so I bought a Napa.

 

[Nap73]

So in my 04 2500 Sub, I originally added an auxilary fan in front of the a/c condenser per a GM tsb on inefficient a/c cooling at idle. This tsb has the fan wired to the a/c clutch circuit so the fan is on anytime the a/c is on. Later I retroed a set of 06 tahoe fans in. They bolt directly in. I got a whole fan harness with the factory relay block and fuses from a bone yard , installed like the factory did it in the 1/2 tons. Just needs to be programmed. In the the mean time i made a 2nd fan harness that is wired in how the auxiliary fan was wired in. At this time both fans only work on high speed and with the a/c on. I do tow occasionally, but main concern is a/c performance and man did the fans help with the a/c. Ten times better than the clutch fan and auxiliary fan. That being said, I do keep an eye the cooling and trans temps especially when towing. Trans temps never get over 180. Since the upgrade I have only had one issue and that is because both fans come on high at the same time. The issue is the current draw when both fans turn on. Battery voltage drops briefly to 12.5 then comes right back up where it needs to be at 14. I know once i have the programming done this problem will go away.

Just seems like a lot of work to keep the truck cool at idle. I’ve got a lot of guys on this post telling me to keep the clutch fan. And then a few of you guys who have done the electric fan mod. To be honest Im torn on what to do. I sit at idle way more than I tow so the cooling situation there needs to be addressed in some way. At this point I’m just not sure how.


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[agsmoke]

On both my 99' 2500 Suburban and my 08 2500 Suburban the dealer suggested going to a 160 degree thermostat. I have no problems in south Florida . Prior to changing the thermostatin the 99' I had a similar problem.