Just so you know, I got this same idea to work on my 3rd gen. Exact same level of difficulty after finding which wire to tap into since it's different than the 4th gen. A FSM solves that problem.

Thanks Jime.

Oh yeah SXN, don't feel bad, I needed those same questions answered myself.

 

thanks Aaron

 

i really want to do this! but i need a picture for how to attach the wires to the switch. Also, where can i get this wire through the firewall? im going to the track friday and i really wanted to do this! PLEASE HELP!

 

Sean forget that setup, have a look at my homepage under Tech/Cooling Fan Switch. Its too simple just one wire from the ECU has to be grounded for Hi Speed operation thru a single pole singe throw switch. If you want Hi and Lo then 2 wires and as per writeup.

No need to go through the firewall just run a wire from the ECU to the switch and then to ground. You can use any gauge wire because its just signal.

http://jime.homeip.net/fan.html

 

well i got a switch, not sure what kind it is, it goes up and back( lol sorry for description) it has 3 metal prongs on the bottom. It is labeled, Ground, Acc, the On? (i believe) Then i have 14gauge wire. On your web site it says ECM. What is a ECM? it its just the fuse box? Sorry for the the lack of electrical intelligence.

 

from what it looks like you used a switch with a center off. Do i need that? can i just use high speed? Am i wiring this to the ECU? Do i need to remove the ECU?

 

Any switch will work for just the high speed. You do not need to remove the ECU just find correct wire and connect into it, do not cut it just bare the wire and connect to it and run to the switch, then connect the other end of the switch to ground. When you ground that wire the fans will come on high speed.

 

What do you mean by ground? Well i know you mean ground the wire but how did you do that? Is the wire on the back of the ECU? How do i get to the back of the ECU? How did you bare the wire? Waht do i do with the last meatal tab on the switch. 1 from the ECU, ground 1, and i have 1 remaining? Sorry for all the questions, i wanted to use this friday for the track. I know your are the track king and all so lol thanks again!

 

First is the switch you are trying to use light up, if so that is the 3rd tab which you don't need to use.

To ground the wire just connect it to the switch tab and connect the other end to the chassis somewhere.

You should be able to access the ECU by removing the plastic cover on the passenger side floor. There are approx 125 wires coming out of it. Use the diagram on my site to find the correct location.

You bare the wire by cutting the insulation off with a knife or equivalent, be careful do no cut the wire just the insulation. Then connect to it be either soldering (preferred) or wrapping the wire around it and taping it.

Use the FSM to make sure its the correct wire by identifying the color.

 

jime you are the man! Ive found the wire or so i think. I think its a light green with with a pink stripe. What is a FSM? I just want to be sure its the right wire b4 i go slicing into it!

 

13 should be LG (light green), 14 is LG/R (light green with red stripe) make sure you have the right one.

FSM is Factory Service Manual you can get one here. http://jime.homeip.net/files/fsm/

 

glorious writeup. you r00l

 

uh oh... problem.. I attached it to the green wire with a pink line and then grounded it into a screw in the shifter console. On the switch, do i connect it to Power, or Accessory? When i had the wire connect and grounded the car wouldnt start I took everything off and it still wont start!! HELP!!

BTW: When you pull off the pack with the gazillion wires, is it allready right side up and matching the diagram or do i need to read it upside down or something?

 

It is light green not green with a pink line. Check the diagram its very easy to match up the connector with the wires. The left and right side of the connector are totally different so its easy to tell the difference. Do not guess, you have to be certain and it has to not only be the correct color but in the correct position according to the diagram.

When you do get the correct wire connect to it and run the wire to the switch either power or acc. The other side of the switch (power or acc) then goes to ground. Don't connect anything to the ground on the switch.

These switches are made to turn power off and on thats why they are labelled power and acc, the ground (when connected) will light the switch when power is applied to the power connector and the switch is on, thats all its for.

You are not connecting power to the switch so it will not light up regardless of what you do.

 

humm.. i did all that right. The light on the switch even worked. BUt when i switched it over it wouldnt do anything. Would it have to do something with the connection from the wires to the switching. All i was doing was holding the wire on the switch with my fingers. I mean the switch was getting power and lighting but it wasnt turning on the fan.

Does something have to be on(A/C)to get it to work? i got so damn pissed off that this stupid thing! maybe tomarrow with a fresh start will help! What else could be the problem? Im 100% positive that i was on the correct wire. Could it be the wire im using? All it is, is 14 guage wire that was right under the switchs at the store.

I grounded the switch the the bolt that holds the brown boot(?) in the shifter console. I mean the light on the switch was working so it was grounded and was getting power. I just dont know what the problem could be!

 

If the light on the switch works, you aren't doing what I told you. There should be no power hooked to the switch.

 

i connected the wire from plug #13 to acc. and also power and it still light both times. i dont know what else to connect it to. So review: ground wire connect to ground goes on the ground on the switch.. The wire from the ECU goes to..? power or acc.?

 

There is no power connected to it, look at the diagram.

Look back at what I wrote. I did not say ground wire to ground on switch. I said nothing connects to ground on switch.

The wire from the ECU connects to either power or acc. It doesn't matter. If you connect the wire from pin 13 to acc then power is connected to the car ground. If you connect the wire from poin 13 to power then acc goes to car ground. The ground pin on the switch is not connected to anything. No power is connected to the switch.

 

thanks a bunch man. I will defiently retry this 2marrow afternoon. Sorry for all the confusing.

 

SUCCESS! i got it 2day. Thanks Jime, for all the responses. I got it to work but only when the key is in the "on" position ( with all the lights on, on the dash. Will this drain the battery?

 

It is to use mainly when the car is running although it will work with just ign on. I turn it on at the end of the 1/4 and leave it on until I stage on the next run. I also run it in the staging lanes with the ign on if its hot.

You can also turn the heater on full blast to help cool it off, gets really hot but it does cool the engine down.

Glad you got it working you really had me worried there when you said the car wouldn't start I thought you hooked 12v to it and fried the ECU.

It will drain the battery eventually but for 10 or 15 mins its ok.

 

thats again! ill try it out 2marrow! im glad i got it working too!

 

I would like to add a third fan, regular temperature on Summer is around 110 F. How should i connect that fan?
thanks

 

This is awesome. Thanks Jime. I have been doing some experimentation with my dual channel intake temp gauge as well as placing an oven thermometer in my engine bay at various locations. At cruising speeds my oven thermometer reads at or slightly above ambient. Letting the car run for extended periods at low to zero mph, hood closed, the thermometer reaches 150^F +. I am dying to see the engine bay temp. reduction after doing this mod. I'll report back with my findings. Thanks again.

 

Jim was the guy that gave me the idea to ground the high speed cooling fans signal wire on the ECU.

I use these fans constantly on the street and on the track. I can keep my coolant temps exactly where I want them at all times just by flipping a switch. If it wasn't for the fans, you'd overheat while sitting in traffic. But if you have a coolant temp gauge,... kick the fans on and watch the temps drop incredibly fast!

I've been using this setup for several years now without any problems.

 

i get worried about using it when the car is running cause the fans come on automatically, and when i flip the switch it goes into like SUPER speed. like i think its over powered or something if you flip the switch while its already running.

 

You have this switch installed?

All you are doing is grounding the signal wire, which tells the ECU to kick the fans on. So if you flip the switch and ground the appropriate signal wire while the fans are running, it doesn't matter. You are just grounding a signal that already has 0V.

It will not go into 'super' speed. I can speak for the VE at least.

 

The VQ is the same Aaron, the only thing that could make the fans go faster would be if you are connecting the Hi speed signal wire to ground while the fan is operating on the slower speed. In that case it would change to the higher speed.

 

It didn't make sense to me either.
But it was going faster than it ever did when the car wasn't running and I turned them on manually.
Ill look at it again.
Either way, I want to thank jime for comin up with this, I love these little mods man.
Its too bad the fans don't suck the heat out of the engine bay though, they only blow onto it.

 

I am stoked to try this mod out because I think it will really help my Water to Air aftercooler lower my intake temps. Right now my intake temps are usually 10-20^ above ambiant at most - as long as I keep moving. Once I do stop-and-go City driving or, worse yet, turn off my car while I run into a store for 10 minutes, my intake temps fly up to 100^. And it takes a lot of high speed, no red light cruising to get them back under 100^. I think once my aftercooler's water heats up, it takes a while for it to cool back down. I think this mod will really help with that. Even though my front mount heat exchanger is in front of the fans, I think the outside air that the fans are drawing past the heat exchanger will help lower the water temp (thus lowering my intake temps). Can't wait to see!

Jime, have you ever considered adding additional 12V switched fans strategically placed in the engine bay? I thought it might be nice to have one placed right at the supercharger and/or at the intake piping, etc. Perhaps a fan aimed down or towards an external opening would help some of the heat escape from the engine. ?

 

That aftercooler is only for boosted cars?
I want to keep things cool with my car too..

 

chill, yes only for boosted cars. You wouldn't need one for an N.A. car. With N.A., your intake temps. never get too unreasonably higher above ambient. When I boost, my intake temp gauge litterally flies to 150^! N.A. would probably never see more than ambient + 10^.

I suppose you could install one on an N.A. car. With the water/ice reservoir I have, I can drop in ice to cool down the intake temp. I suppose if installed on an N.A. car, you could possibly drop the intake temps to below ambient!

 

I am going to do a couple of mods to reduce the underhood temp.

Check out this thread. I posted some urls to articles on aerodynamic drag reduction and further down on reducing underhood temps etc.

 

Where sir, where?? Link please!

 

Sorry, I knew I forgot something.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=448726

 

Hi JIME
I tried the manual radiator fan control result is good reduce from 105 degree C to 90 degree C, but now it can't manual control after usage for few month
Now it only control by ECU why ?

 

Check your wiring from the ECU to your switch and to ground. All the ECU does is ground that wire so it has to be in your switch or wiring. Use a meter to check the circuit.

 

Problem solve !!
Wiring from switch to ECU not working well
Should i using high grade wire for this ?
Thanks JIME

 

This is only a signal line so wire size is unimportant, it was probably your connection at the ecu or switch. I don't think the quality of the wire is that important but soldering is much preferred over any type of connector.

 

Can these pics be reposted please?