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Old 07-01-2008, 03:14 PM   #21 (permalink)
Gregte
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 117

GMC Sonoma - '94 GMC Sonoma
90 day: 36.97 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ebacherville View Post
...when id shut the car off in a slight wind blowing and the car faced into the wind it would stay running as the fan was being spun by the slight wind and powering the ignition cloil..
This is very interesting!

In fact, since I can barely, or not even, hear my new electric fan, I wired a small light bulb across its power terminals and mounted the light bulb on my dash so I could monitor when the fan is running and thus be able to adjust its thermostat for best efficiency. Well, having done this, the first thing I noted is that the fan spins with the incoming air from vehicle motion, enough so that it lights the bulb, however dimly.

Actually, I am thinking that it is not desirable to have the fan spin when not being powered because that is putting undue wear on its bearings and brushes. I could configure a relay to put a dead short across the fan's power terminals when it is not being powered. This would greatly reduce its ability to freely spin, thus saving bearing/brushes wear.

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