Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
Ideally, you would either use the engines existing coolant temperature or an additional one very close to it just to measure the actual engine coolant temp. I chose to splice in the sensor after the thermostat as the best easy option from an installation and universal programming standpoint. All the controller needs to know is, is the engine coolant hot enough to open the grill? Yes/No. I don't see why you'd need a second sensor to answer that question. The hysterisis is programmed into the arduino code.
|
That's why I suggested putting the temp sensor after the radiator, or at least right before the exit of the lower hose. You want some type of feedback for the coolant coming out of the rad - it keeps you from finding out after the fact that the engine is getting too hot.
That is the way that most aftermarket electric fan assemblies use - temp at the rad. Ideal placement of the probe is within 4-6 inches vertically and 1-2 inches horizontally of the radiator outlet.
Putting it after the rad is perfect, as it gives you right then temps on whether or not there is sufficient airflow through the rad. Not after it makes a trip through the motor and heats up even more. I think this would make for more accurate control.
There was a great write up on stuff like this from an engineer, but alas the website is gone. That same engineer markets and sells aftermarket fan controllers that work with pulse modulation/infinitely variable speeds (I have one on my mustang).
Granted, you could pull the temp information from anywhere and figure in the difference, but there will still be some time delay involved.
My two cents worth. :-) Hopefully it makes decent sense, as I typed rather quickly and didn't review it before posting.
