Altima Fan Conversion - Issues with Ground Thermo Switch - Infamous Nissan

hstuder · 12-23-2021, 03:13 PM

First post here, just been reading and lurking since the summer, when I got my '90 king cab. I'm 99% complete my Altima fan swap, pretty much following Tally's guide (http://www.infamousnissan.com/forum/...ad.php?t=26858) from back in 2013. Made my own wiring harness instead of buying a fan controller, since I have the relays, wire, loom, etc. sitting around already.

My issue is: the ground thermo switches I can find, suck or just don't work for what I need them to do. What I've done is tapped my upper rad hose with one of those water temp sensor tees. That's also where I've tapped for my aftermarket coolant temp gauge...so I can get an accurate reading of what temp the fan circuit is "seeing".

Bought a 190F-on-175F-off ground thermo switch from American Volt, via Amazon Canada. Put it in the truck, drive it to my buddy's shop for some unrelated suspension work, and noticed my cooling system wasn't acting like it should. Fan was turning on late, and once it was on, it would never turn off. Removed the sensor, and tested it on the stove, hanging in water, with a temp gun and a digital thermometer. That switch turned on at 204F and turned off at 154F. Not exactly what I'm looking for and won't work for my application.

Went back to Tally's guide, and searched again for that Borg Warner WT622P part. Can't find it anywhere in Canada. So I searched up equivalents/cross references. Found Beck Arnley 2011530 looked to be an equivalent, from this website (http://www.autoecat.com/pies/0002774999BORGWT622P.html). Got one of those off Amazon as well, and tested it on the stove before installing it...it's not what I need. It's not a binary on-off switch. It has a high resistance through it at ambient temps, and that resistance just slowly goes down as the sensor heats up. So basically this sensor is more for a factory temp gauge in your cluster, and not an on-off fan switch. I installed it anyways to test it out. Fan turns on around 150F and turns off again once it's below 150F. So again, not useful.

Who has successfully completed this fan conversion using an on-off ground thermo switch? I'd like to aim for 190F on, 175F off, or even as high as 200F on, 180-185F off. What exact part did you use? Everything else works 100% on my conversion, it's just this damn switch that's making me lose my mind, and also making me not able to drive my truck lol. Any help is appreciated.

Reserector · 12-23-2021, 05:35 PM

I used two of these adjustable units set to different temps. I basically had a redundant system that would fail safe to one of the two fans.
TorqFlo #733653

Cost is around $20.00 US

AutoZone sells the kit.

To install, you take off your inlet hose, stick the probe (or probes) in the inlet, form the tubing around and over a piece of foam that comes in the kit, and then reinstall your inlet hose over all of that. Yes, it will seal just fine.
Alternatively, you can poke the probes into the radiator fins, but they are not consistent that way. I don't recommend that method.

Adjust as it is warming up. When it reaches the temp that you want the fan to kick on at, slowly turn the adjustment until it switches on. When the temp drops below that, it will shut off.

I have mounted them in the engine compartment and in under the dash. They hold up great in either environment, so it is a matter of convenience, where you choose to mount it.

hstuder · 12-23-2021, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reserector

To install, you take off your inlet hose, stick the probe (or probes) in the inlet, form the tubing around and over a piece of foam that comes in the kit, and then reinstall your inlet hose over all of that. Yes, it will seal just fine.

Hey, thanks for the help. Can you explain that install procedure you used again? Not sure I follow.

It sounds like you're taking the lower rad hose off where it meets the tstat housing? Setting the probes in the tstat housing neck, and then putting the rad hose back on, with the probe wire sitting between the metal neck and the rad hose?

jp2code · 12-24-2021, 03:21 PM

Sorry I wasn't able to help you in a Private Message.

Maybe Reserector can take a few pictures to show what he did - they might even be on one of his posts linked in his signature.

Those are some huge threads, though. lol

hstuder · 12-24-2021, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp2code

Sorry I wasn't able to help you in a Private Message.

Maybe Reserector can take a few pictures to show what he did - they might even be on one of his posts linked in his signature.

Those are some huge threads, though. lol

Yeah I think I got something figured out...just gonna take some time for it to ship to me. We don't have the same parts availability here in Canada compared to the US. So that TorqFlo part that was mentioned, just isn't available here. I ended up paying $50 CAD for a Hayden 3651 fan controller. Since I've already made my own working harness, I probably won't use all the parts in the controller, but it should let me create the functionality of turning on at a high-ish temp, like 200F, and turning off at a lower temp, say 185F.

rbourgeo · 12-24-2021, 07:45 PM

Following as I’ll be doing the conversion. I bought Hayden 3647.

hstuder · 12-24-2021, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbourgeo

Following as I’ll be doing the conversion. I bought Hayden 3647.

Should be the exact same thing as the one I ordered, it's just your temp probe goes in your rad fins, and mine goes in the coolant tee that I installed in my upper rad hose.

cadillacdude1975 · 12-26-2021, 01:21 AM

The hayden radiator probe sensor is garbage. Mine never worked.

hstuder · 12-26-2021, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadillacdude1975

The hayden radiator probe sensor is garbage. Mine never worked.

I'm also not a fan of rad fin probes. But I'm also not a fan of actual temp switches that are completely defective and don't switch at the temps they advertise lol

cadillacdude1975 · 12-26-2021, 07:48 PM

I have a 16 inch hayden fan with an all aluminum radiator. I wired it to a switched constant 12v fed through a relay. It got warm a couple of times in traffic last summer. It might have been the lack of a fan shroud. As spring rolls around, i will do the sentra dual fan swap.

12-23-2021, 03:13 PM	#1
hstuder Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: St. Albert, Alberta, Canada Posts: 60 Vehicle: 1990 King Cab 2.4 RWD 5spd Thanks: 10 Thanked 11 Times in 7 Posts	Altima Fan Conversion - Issues with Ground Thermo Switch First post here, just been reading and lurking since the summer, when I got my '90 king cab. I'm 99% complete my Altima fan swap, pretty much following Tally's guide (http://www.infamousnissan.com/forum/...ad.php?t=26858) from back in 2013. Made my own wiring harness instead of buying a fan controller, since I have the relays, wire, loom, etc. sitting around already. My issue is: the ground thermo switches I can find, suck or just don't work for what I need them to do. What I've done is tapped my upper rad hose with one of those water temp sensor tees. That's also where I've tapped for my aftermarket coolant temp gauge...so I can get an accurate reading of what temp the fan circuit is "seeing". Bought a 190F-on-175F-off ground thermo switch from American Volt, via Amazon Canada. Put it in the truck, drive it to my buddy's shop for some unrelated suspension work, and noticed my cooling system wasn't acting like it should. Fan was turning on late, and once it was on, it would never turn off. Removed the sensor, and tested it on the stove, hanging in water, with a temp gun and a digital thermometer. That switch turned on at 204F and turned off at 154F. Not exactly what I'm looking for and won't work for my application. Went back to Tally's guide, and searched again for that Borg Warner WT622P part. Can't find it anywhere in Canada. So I searched up equivalents/cross references. Found Beck Arnley 2011530 looked to be an equivalent, from this website (http://www.autoecat.com/pies/0002774999BORGWT622P.html). Got one of those off Amazon as well, and tested it on the stove before installing it...it's not what I need. It's not a binary on-off switch. It has a high resistance through it at ambient temps, and that resistance just slowly goes down as the sensor heats up. So basically this sensor is more for a factory temp gauge in your cluster, and not an on-off fan switch. I installed it anyways to test it out. Fan turns on around 150F and turns off again once it's below 150F. So again, not useful. Who has successfully completed this fan conversion using an on-off ground thermo switch? I'd like to aim for 190F on, 175F off, or even as high as 200F on, 180-185F off. What exact part did you use? Everything else works 100% on my conversion, it's just this damn switch that's making me lose my mind, and also making me not able to drive my truck lol. Any help is appreciated.

12-23-2021, 05:35 PM	#2
Reserector the Flaming Marshmallow Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Laurel, MS Posts: 2,099 Vehicle: '86.5 Nissan HB KC 4x4 5.3V8 Thanks: 127 Thanked 590 Times in 463 Posts	I used two of these adjustable units set to different temps. I basically had a redundant system that would fail safe to one of the two fans. TorqFlo #733653 Cost is around $20.00 US AutoZone sells the kit. To install, you take off your inlet hose, stick the probe (or probes) in the inlet, form the tubing around and over a piece of foam that comes in the kit, and then reinstall your inlet hose over all of that. Yes, it will seal just fine. Alternatively, you can poke the probes into the radiator fins, but they are not consistent that way. I don't recommend that method. Adjust as it is warming up. When it reaches the temp that you want the fan to kick on at, slowly turn the adjustment until it switches on. When the temp drops below that, it will shut off. I have mounted them in the engine compartment and in under the dash. They hold up great in either environment, so it is a matter of convenience, where you choose to mount it. __________________ Becoming the Flaming Marshmallow * SAS * V8 Conversion * The FM "Z71 Conversion" Explained Vid * Ride-Along Vid

12-24-2021, 03:21 PM	#4
jp2code Software Developer Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Longview, TX [USA] Age: 52 Posts: 11,129 Vehicle: 94 LB 2x4 Manual VG33e Thanks: 1,825 Thanked 1,783 Times in 1,555 Posts	Sorry I wasn't able to help you in a Private Message. Maybe Reserector can take a few pictures to show what he did - they might even be on one of his posts linked in his signature. Those are some huge threads, though. lol __________________ Joe (not a mechanic!) • Don't have an account? EMAIL ME Factory Service Manuals: https://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Hardbody/ Walk-through: Checking Nissan Trouble Codes 1994 VG30E to VG33E with H256 Cams

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12-24-2021, 07:45 PM	#6
rbourgeo Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 171 Vehicle: 1996 D21 Thanks: 55 Thanked 37 Times in 27 Posts	Following as I’ll be doing the conversion. I bought Hayden 3647.

12-26-2021, 01:21 AM	#8
cadillacdude1975 The Gear Jammer Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Chattanooga, TN Age: 50 Posts: 10,686 Vehicle: 87 VG33 Pathfinder SE 4x4 & 87 D21 SE Thanks: 459 Thanked 1,403 Times in 1,268 Posts	The hayden radiator probe sensor is garbage. Mine never worked.

12-26-2021, 07:48 PM	#10
cadillacdude1975 The Gear Jammer Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Chattanooga, TN Age: 50 Posts: 10,686 Vehicle: 87 VG33 Pathfinder SE 4x4 & 87 D21 SE Thanks: 459 Thanked 1,403 Times in 1,268 Posts	I have a 16 inch hayden fan with an all aluminum radiator. I wired it to a switched constant 12v fed through a relay. It got warm a couple of times in traffic last summer. It might have been the lack of a fan shroud. As spring rolls around, i will do the sentra dual fan swap.