Lower Grill block that can open and close

[Weather Spotter]

I want to make a lower grill block for my car, It must be operable from the drivers seat. I want to be able to have it closed at start up to speed warm up. But once the engine is up to temp I want to be able to open it as much as I feel is needed to keep the fan from coming on. I have a scangauge with which I monitor the temp.

I am looking for DIY ideas!

What I have thought of (might or might not work but gets some ideas going).

Make the grill block have louvers (like in a forced air grate or building vent). Connect 2 or 3 to operate off the same rotational input.

1. Using a wiper mooter (or other small motor) to electricity open and close the grill block. (how would I wire this up?)

2. Using a cable to pull/ push the grill block open.

Here is my current lower grill (pic is from last winter):

[Weather Spotter]

Here is a better pic of my lower grill.



Please post up ideas! I have a trip coming up next week so I want to make something before then.

[Daox]

Well, you can go with manual or electronic actuation. A while back I had designed an automatically actuated block for my Matrix. Unfortunately, I had some fitment problems and never got it on the car before I got my Prius. I can say that the opening method I had didn't work very well. It bound up, especially once you put it on the car which made it bow.

Arduino controlled actuated grill block

[Weather Spotter]

Would you happen to have the parts left over? I would rather do a manual operated one, but I need the actuator. I can buy a set of door lock ones for $22 off ebay: POWER CENTRAL LOCKING SYSTEM 2 / 4 DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS: eBay Motors (item 390216125867 end time Sep-03-10 12:43:53 PDT)

[Daox]

Yep, I have the whole thing sitting on my bench in the garage waiting for me to have time to do something with it.

BTW, you can get them cheaper. Here is one for $5.25 shipped.

Universal Power Door Lock Actuator (2 Wires): eBay Motors (item 320579651247 end time Aug-29-10 08:33:14 PDT)

[Weather Spotter]

How much force do these put out?
What is the length of actuation?

I am thinking of a sliding door with slots (but that is just at the moment).

[Daox]

They slide about 1". I have no idea of the force, its not wimpy though, its a little motor geared waaaay down.

[Weather Spotter]

so I can make slots about 1" wide....

If I make 2 slotted doors, I can open or close all or half of the lower grill.

[Weather Spotter]

Is this how I would wire it up for manual operation:

[Phantom]

You could make the slots smaller or larger and adjust the amount of movement by using a simple mechanical arm that would be configured like so.
_
..\_

The top line would be the actuator the \ would have a pivot point in the center and the bottom line would be connected to the sliding portion. By adjusting the pivot point and length of the \ you could change the amount of movement for opening the grill. (Ignore the .. it was used for spacing since I can't create an image now at work.)