What temperature are you triggering high speed?

High speed triggers at stock set temp of 105°C, but I have a manual switch inside cabin for both high speed and low speed. I set low speed to come on when ac is on, but when temps climb I turn on high speed, sometimes I just let the high speed fans come on by themselves when temp climbs.

I installed an electrical fan in my Volvo 780 turbo, I liked the result and was very easy to do. Less vibration from the engine, some say it frees up 5hp, always welcome. What would the benefits be for the M103?

I'm sure if if there is any gain it would not make hardly any difference. I don't notice the initial drag or load on the engine from a stop, but that's about it. I'm doing it for cooling purposes only.

I will find a way to make this work ��
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzESTTCx-sQTeERHTkt0clI4ak0/view?usp=drivesdk

Cooling can use all the help it can get with these engines. I would guess it will improve the AC as well.

Bump
 

"GPS"

Thanks!

On my SD i bought a temp sensor and switch from jegs. i taped the sensor to the upper hose coming out of the head,and insulated with aluminum tape. works good.

You have a photo of the sensor and the set up?

lost my photo,and don't have a camera.I don't use cell phones either,as I hate being bothered.

[QUOTE=lsmalley;3658541The cooling system is working and had no issues, it's just that during summers here and using the ac the temp really climbs up if idling or in slow traffic. Thermostat opens up at 87°C anyways, right? I sent mxfrank a pm to get info on the thermoswitch he's talking about.[/QUOTE]

...means nothing without actual data like gage readings. So...?

The thermostat merely establishes a MINIMUM operating temperature. The maximum is established by the fans, which are all engaged at 105C, but it could go higher before the fans begin bringing it back down to 100C when the electrics disengage. The viscous fan clutch should still be tight, but at idle speed it doesn't pull much air. That's why there are aux. fans.

Duke

Electric fans: Resolved
 

Ended up buying a thermo switch (BMW p/n 61311364272, fits perfectly in the m103 engine block, thread M14 - 1.5) as mxfrank suggested. Fans now come on at 95°C and off at 87°C.

Electric Fans (Revisited)
 

So I finally think I have gotten my upgrade perfected from viscous fan to electric on the m103 2.6/3.0 engine after many trials. Here are the parts that I used if anyone wants to try this:

79°C Thermostat (MB p/n 1102000615)
91°C Thermo fan switch (BMW p/n 61311364272)
Spal electric puller fan (p/n 30101516)
Aluminum sheet and aluminum HVAC tape for shroud

I originally got the Spal electric fan p/n 30100400, but it wasn't enough, but the clearance is the issue and that fan was only 2.05 inches thick which made it ideal. Anyways found the other fan which is only 2.48 inches thick and it fits.....BARELY! So you better make sure if you are going to do this that your radiator support bracket is up to par. There is maybe about 4-5mm of space (possibly less) between the fan and the pulley. I positioned the fan so that the highest point is offset in between pulleys so that there is some wiggle room for flexing/shifting, but not much. I kept the same wiring diagram as previously posted and opted to not have the cabin switch since I already have a cabin switch for my dual aux fans for high speed.

I got a roll of about 16 inch wide aluminum from Lowes and I used that plus aluminum hvac tape to make a shroud which is completely sealed so that all air is pulled through radiator. Attached are a few photos and the link to a short video of the fan and clearance. Also, on a side note, I did wire up the fan to run even after the car is off until the temp is brought back down. To help facilitate the temp to drop with the engine off I also wired up the auxillary water pump to run as well with the engine off so that the coolant is still being circulated through the system and not just sitting in the radiator or hot engine block. Since the temps have been pretty mild here I will keep this thread updated once I am able to put this new set up to the real test when temps hit about 120°F here. May have to wait until next summer, but we will still have triple digits here.
For those that are wondering about the 79°C thermostat and have concerns about the car never reaching operating temp, especially when the weather changes and its no longer summer here, I have thought about that and I did consider having the 87°C thermostat for cooler months and the 79°C thermostat for summer, but so far that has not been an issue because the fan is not constantly running like the viscous fan so the temp does get up to operating temp, even faster than with the stock fan. While driving it does drop the temp to about 80°C if I'm at constant highway speeds. Another option I considered was concentrating the coolant a bit more instead of running the 80% water-20% coolant, I would try maybe 50-50 which would increase the heating capacity a bit. Still a work in progress, but I'm definitely getting close.

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzESTTCx-sQTSzRtLVhsYTlEejQ/view?usp=sharing

Fot thise attempting this, there is a line of 22mm bungs running aling the left side of the head in all 601, 602, and 603 engines. I think the 617 has them as well. These are water gallery ports which accept fan switches. Remove one and install a fan switch. 22mm switches are available in a wide range of temperatures, from 75c to 110c. They were used in VW, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar, Alfa, and many ither Euro cars.

So this took me over a year to perfect (I hope) and now we are approaching the summer months again so I will put this set up to this test. I have a new WP installed, new hoses, and seals and reinstalled my 79° C thermostat (which I highly recommend for those in AZ/CA desert climates during the summer). I will see how the electric fan holds up this summer because I completed this project at the tail end of summer, so no real challenge, but stay tuned.