Nashville TJ's Build - Continued

Ah, the mall Santa... :sneaky:

1786801140638.webp
 
I ordered this SPAL wiring harness for the big fan from Summit. There was not a great description, but it stated it was designed for the Camaro fan, so I took a chance. The hot and ground wires appear to be 10 gauge. I was expecting bigger.

IMG_2083.webp


The hot and ground wires on the fan are 8 or 6 gauge.

IMG_2084.webp


The harness was not cheap - over $70 shipped. So I'll get to try out Summit's return policy... :oops:

I liked this one because it was premade and well sealed, but I think now I'll drop back, pick up the raw connector as was suggested over on the Camaro Fan thread, and build my own harness with the correct cable.
 
Always looking for opportunity to improve my Fusion 360 skills, I built out the rest of the design for the fan mount. Learning to model these curved and swept fan blades was pretty cool, and a nice challenge.

Also, after considering a few ways to actually mount the big fan, I hit the easy button and ordered the spider motor mount assembly from Jeep Speed Shop - which @MichaelGH recommended (Thanks for that, Michael). This is not an exact modeling of that mount, but it will work something like this:

Jeep Radiator Assembly - With Fan Mount.webp
 
Last edited:
I have the exact same fan. The fan motor/fan blade can be unbolted from the stock factory plastic shroud. 3 nuts/studs hold it in.

I bought an aftermarket custom shroud and “spider” from Jeep Speed Shop to mount it tight to my radiator. All I had to do was weld on the provided mounting tabs to the shroud. They come loose so they can be welded on where it makes the most sense, considering so many different radiators can be used.

Google picture, but I can get detailed pictures of mine, if you would like to take some design details away.

View attachment 704189

I went back and looked at this post and saw that this was a google picture as you noted. I looked back when considering this mount for my setup, and realized that this radiator is huge compared to mine. If you could, I'd love to see some pictures of how you did your setup, Michael.
 
I went back and looked at this post and saw that this was a google picture as you noted. I looked back when considering this mount for my setup, and realized that this radiator is huge compared to mine. If you could, I'd love to see some pictures of how you did your setup, Michael.

My shroud is the same as in the picture. It is for a JK radiator. A bit larger than a standard TJ radiator. Approximately 2” taller and 2 1/4” wider core.
That’s why mine is still laying about. I will most likely use the fan and spider on a custom aluminum shroud. I don’t mind if the edges overhang the core a bit all around.

At the moment, I am still using the 4.0L shroud and 18” fan/HD clutch on my custom aluminum radiator.
 
I ordered this SPAL wiring harness for the big fan from Summit. There was not a great description, but it stated it was designed for the Camaro fan, so I took a chance. The hot and ground wires appear to be 10 gauge. I was expecting bigger.

View attachment 704610

The hot and ground wires on the fan are 8 or 6 gauge.

As with your pigtail, I ordered one as well, from RockAuto. You’ll notice in my picture that it is also undersized compared to the fan side wires. Unfortunate that none of the available pigtails seem to be the correct gauge wiring.
 
As with your pigtail, I ordered one as well, from RockAuto. You’ll notice in my picture that it is also undersized compared to the fan side wires. Unfortunate that none of the available pigtails seem to be the correct gauge wiring.

I actually decided to keep the one I got from Summit (it is a quality piece), but ordered new 8 gauge connectors and wire for that plug. From what I've read, the Camaro uses 8 gauge in the harness - which will fit in this connector - but the Camaro has less than 3 feet of run. My plan is to run the power out the passenger side of the fan to a fused junction box at the battery, and at that length the 8 gauge should be fine.
 
I actually decided to keep the one I got from Summit (it is a quality piece), but ordered new 8 gauge connectors and wire for that plug. From what I've read, the Camaro uses 8 gauge in the harness - which will fit in this connector - but the Camaro has less than 3 feet of run. My plan is to run the power out the passenger side of the fan to a fused junction box at the battery, and at that length the 8 gauge should be fine.

I decided against writing to you before about the Spal's fan using 8 gauge in case you wanted to over build with 6 gauge for the weight. :D

No problems to report for the fan, auto-reset breaker, or charging system running 8-gauge.
 
I actually decided to keep the one I got from Summit (it is a quality piece), but ordered new 8 gauge connectors and wire for that plug. From what I've read, the Camaro uses 8 gauge in the harness - which will fit in this connector - but the Camaro has less than 3 feet of run. My plan is to run the power out the passenger side of the fan to a fused junction box at the battery, and at that length the 8 gauge should be fine.

I’ve considered the same method for mine. Wrangler engine bays are small’ish so none of the wire lengths end up being considerably long. I think that will get the job done..
 
I built a quick setup to test the Spal Fan and the Lingenfelter controller. I bolted it down securely because I was pretty sure this thing would have taken off like a drone...

IMG_2133.webp


I tested all of the functionality of the controller, and everything seems to work. I was able to validate my configuration, and it controls the variable speed and the ramp-up as expected.

And man, is this thing a beast:


View: %5BURL%5Dhttps://youtu.be/VcE0c_Q09DE[/URL]

At full blast I measured the airflow in feet / minute on the front side (input):

IMG_2100.webp


...and the back side (output).

IMG_2125.webp


For reference, my current 500 watt Spal setup pulled about 650 ft / minute on the front side (input) through the grille. Although this is in no way a direct comparison as this setup is sitting in 0 static pressure in the open air, and the fan in the Jeep is pulling through the radiator, the condenser, and the tranny and power steering coolers.

But, I would certainly call this - an indicator.

For an actual comparison, I can't wait to see what it pulls when installed. When you stand in front of this thing it's quite the breeze.

I also tested the amps - right about 50 in this setup with no load. My guess is that it will go up substantially when all my junk is sitting in front of it. :oops:

IMG_2117.webp
 
Last edited:
I built a quick setup to test the Spal Fan and the Lingenfelter controller. I bolted it down securely because I was pretty sure this thing would have taken off like a drone...

View attachment 705006

I tested all of the functionality of the controller, and everything seems to work. I was able to validate my configuration, and it controls the variable speed and the ramp-up as expected.

And man, is this thing a beast:


View: %5BURL%5Dhttps://youtu.be/VcE0c_Q09DE[/URL]

At full blast I measured the airflow in feet / minute on the front side (input):

View attachment 705009

...and the back side (output).

View attachment 705010

For reference, my current 500 watt Spal setup pulled about 650 ft/second on the front side (input) through the grille. Although this is in no way a direct comparison as this setup is sitting in 0 static pressure in the open air, and the fan in the Jeep is pulling through the radiator, the condenser, and the tranny and power steering coolers.

But, I would certainly call this - an indicator.

For an actual comparison, I can't wait to see what it pulls when installed. When you stand in front of this thing it's quite the breeze.

I also tested the amps - right about 50 in this setup with no load. My guess is that it will go up substantially when all my junk is sitting in front of it. :oops:

View attachment 705014


That thing is a beast....
 
I built a quick setup to test the Spal Fan and the Lingenfelter controller. I bolted it down securely because I was pretty sure this thing would have taken off like a drone...

View attachment 705006

I tested all of the functionality of the controller, and everything seems to work. I was able to validate my configuration, and it controls the variable speed and the ramp-up as expected.

And man, is this thing a beast:


View: %5BURL%5Dhttps://youtu.be/VcE0c_Q09DE[/URL]

At full blast I measured the airflow in feet / minute on the front side (input):

View attachment 705009

...and the back side (output).

View attachment 705010

For reference, my current 500 watt Spal setup pulled about 650 ft/second on the front side (input) through the grille. Although this is in no way a direct comparison as this setup is sitting in 0 static pressure in the open air, and the fan in the Jeep is pulling through the radiator, the condenser, and the tranny and power steering coolers.

But, I would certainly call this - an indicator.

For an actual comparison, I can't wait to see what it pulls when installed. When you stand in front of this thing it's quite the breeze.

I also tested the amps - right about 50 in this setup with no load. My guess is that it will go up substantially when all my junk is sitting in front of it. :oops:

View attachment 705014


Pretty ridiculous, huh. Folks running it for a while certainly haven't been lying. I especially like that it doesn't draw much current unless the fan is really needed.