Radiator Fan Motor
If you have noticed, every time you drive your car on a hot day you will hear a fan motor come on when you are at a stop light or when you are going through a drive through where your car has to sit and idle for awhile. The fan motor you hear come on is the radiator fan motor. A radiator is used to cool all kinds of internal combustion engines. The engines can be in cars, trucks, boats and airplanes. When the engine is in operation it heats ups and creates and can become very hot.
The radiator contains a mixture of coolant and water that goes through the engine to keep it running cool. To operate efficiently the radiator needs a fan to draw air towards it to cool the air around the radiator and the coolant inside. The fan is especially useful when the vehicle has stopped traveling and no air is moving through it. The fan on the radiator needs a motor to operate it. The radiator fan motor causes the fan blades to turn and it runs on electricity. If the radiator fan motor stops working the engine can overheat. If the engine begins to overheat it can seize up on you and cause a great expense for repair. This is why it is important to make sure your radiator fan motor is keeping the fan working properly.
Most radiator fan motors operate by sensors that cause the fan motor to turn on and off depending on the engine temperature. If the fan motor is on constantly it can cause your vehicle to get poor gas mileage. It will also cause unwanted noise and can drain the car’s battery. Keeping your engine cool is the primary use for the radiator fan motor and it needs to be operating efficiently. The radiator fan normally comes on when the coolant temperature in the radiator reaches 195 to 210 degrees. The fan usually stays off if the coolant’s temperature is less than that.
The radiator fan motor causes the blades to spin and produce more air that can be circulated through the radiator so you car’s engine can remain cool. The common radiator fan normally has 4 blades on it. The radiator fan motor causes the blades to rotate rapidly and is usually located between the engine and radiator. The radiator fan motor starts the blades turning and keeps them turning as long as the fan is on. The fan motor needs to have enough power to run efficiently. If it is not producing enough power to run the fan it will need to be replaced.
If you are a do-it-yourself type person you can usually replace a bad radiator motor very easily at home in your own garage. These fan motors are simple to replace and you will not have to spend a lot of extra money to have a professional replace your fan motor for you. All you have to do is remove the fan assembly that is attached to the radiator. Then remove the motor from the fan blades and replace it with the new one. Once that is done you can re-attach the fan assembly to the radiator. You can replace your regular fan motor with a high performance radiator fan motor so that your vehicle can operate with less horsepower. These more efficient radiators are great for this. If you are going to replace your radiator anyway it is well worth the little bit of extra money it will cost for a high performance radiator fan motor. You can find high performance and regular fan motors for sale on various internet websites and in your local auto parts stores.
