Hi guys so I've added 2 flex a lite 30186 fans and they work but when I turn on the AC the rpm's drop to 500 and just shuts the car off. When the AC is off the car never shuts off. So I took the car to autozone and they told me the alternator is OK but the battery was bad. Luckily I still had a warranty on the battery and got a new one. So my question is are the fans need more power or what is needed for the car to not shut off. I do have a k and n cold air intake with a ground kit installed.

 

If the battery was bad then the larger reserve in a new one shouldn't cause the voltage drop that you were having with the old crappy one.

I can't see the Flexalite fans having significantly larger amperage draw than stock

The car should also learn new idle trims after the battery re-install wiped the memory...so drive it for few cycles and it should idle better

 

What fan kit do you have exactly? Myself and several locals run the 420 setups for years and one guy runs the 490 (higher CFM) and no one has had any issues. How exactly did they test your alternator?

 

I know this isn't gonna help but... did you check the coolant temps after installing them?

 

This is the set up, crazy, yes but its how i did it and the coolant temp is fine. Until this morning with the ac on on the expressway when that little tick moved slightly to the right....pull over in seconds. Waiting now to cold down. I checked under the hood and both fans were on, cooling the car down, and there was no coolent leak anyway???

 

WTF,

 

If the needles moves *at all*, coolant temp is not fine. I think you better start over and think this through, this setup is asking for trouble. Starting with the frayed and unsecured power wiring going into the fans.

 

I don't get it. Is the second pic the fixed position of the fan kit?

 

The second pic is when we were installing it. So far its been good, in fact, its been driving pretty good and smooth even in a very hot day. Until i turn on the AC and then shut down. I dont understand why it overheated yesterday or why it shuts down after a few minutes when it's in a stand still. When it overheated i was moving around 50 mph or so. Again it only overheated once and shut off several times when the AC is on....

 

Do you have the splashguard under the rad? You need that for effective cooling at speed. Silly question, but are the fans turning in the correct direction?

Shutting down with A/C on isn't so much an issue of heat but of engine being able to sustain the extra load A/C puts on it at idle. Does it restart easily when that happens?

 

I think that's a great question

 

That was going to be my question too, along with "why did you install these in the first place?" Was it already having problems with heat?

 

I do have to wear glasses now these days .. so
Why does one fan have 5 blades and the other 7?

 

All RX8s have that configuration.
Its a balance between airflow and noise.
The 5-blade (fan 1) is what normally runs at lower speed/airflow to reduce noise.
Then the 7-blade (fan 2) comes on for additional flow.

 

Yes, i have the splashguard and its in good condition. The reason I did this was because the car was over heating when I put the AC on, the oem fans were feeling sluggish so I decided to replace them with the flex-a-lite.

Well after consulting with my local rotary expert he told me to just get rid of it and put the OEM fan motor and to put an additional fan around the condenser or something like that. He than told me to replace the radiator for an aluminum one and replace the radiator cap for a 18 pound cap, that's what he recommended.

 

Okay, something else is wrong then. It shouldn't be overheating with the ac on. For one thing I'm worried there's a lot of resistance in the compressor, which could stall the engine at idle and put a lot of extra load at highway speed. Is there a noticeable lack of part throttle power? Keep in mind the compressor shuts off at full throttle so you'd only feel it at part throttle. Are the fins on the condenser all banged up or anything? No coolant bubbles in the system? Proper coolant mixture (too much glycol reduces cooling efficiency)? Thermostat operating properly? If you have an OBDII scanner I'd be curious what your normal operating coolant temperature is...

 

His suggestions make sense. What part of the world are you in and how hot is it? In general the stock cooling system should be able to handle all but the most hot/humid tropical climate.

Here's the thing: overheating at idle in a tropical climate I can understand. Overheating at speed makes less sense, at 50mph you're moving more air through the rad than the fans ever will -- if everything is working properly.

Here's my suggestion: have the cooling system pressure tested. If it's not able to pressurize to an internal leak, a bad rad cap, loose connector or cracked reservoir, it definitely won't be as effective at cooling.

 

Thanks Jon,
I've never noticed this before.
I suspected that was the reason.
My Seniors moment.

 

Well I live in Miami,FL USA and it gets pretty hot here. So far in the 2 years I've had this car it has only overheat with the AC on during very hot days. At night with the AC on it has never over heated. All my cooling issues have happened during the day.

 

If everything is working as it should, it should not overheat no matter where you live. I live in south Texas, we have over 130 days a year over 100F. You are missing something and need to troubleshoot the issue properly.

 

Overheating during the day at idle in hot weather is very real. I live in the tropics and my car hits 220F easily in 95F weather ONLY during the day. Not at night. I think it's because the sun heats up the road and the car itself. Mine is black so kinda explains it. What color is yours lol.

Like Loki said, overheating at 50mph is bad. Unless, you were stuck in traffic for ages and gunned it to 50mph, and then overheated. That makes more sense that it's a fan issue. After changing the fans, did you burp the cooling system to let all air out?

You need to pressure test the system. Take it to any radiator shop and ask it to test it. They should do it for free

Both fans turn on low speed together, and they go on high speed together.

 

I think the overheating that happened the other day was because the fans were off and taking power for the AC compressor. It was blowing cool air. Now the car doesn't shut off anymore but now the AC compressor doesn't want to turn on and if it does its only for a few seconds. Fans are blowing at full speed "supposedly", as far as overheating it hasn't since that day.

 

Well keep guessing and assuming, you will get it eventually. Or not.

 

Car doesn't shut off? Say whaat?

Your fans are off when moving. They only turn on when you're idling, or moving very slowly. So no, the AC compressor can't suck the power the fans get. Not at 50mph at least.

What do you mean the AC compressor stays on for a few seconds? If it's not hot outside, the compressor cycles on and off every few seconds. It's supposed to be normal.

When you overheated, were you traveling at 50mph for an extended period of time? Or did you just get out of traffic and get up to 50?

You really need to pressure test the cooling system man. You need to rule it out first.

 

We made the mistake with the fan set up. The fans were pushing when they were suppose to be pulling....yikes. Drove around for about an hour and there was no more issues. The car runs good now, thanks everyone.