Kenlowe electric fan / Distributor advice

[lyons]

As I have bought a new Kenlowe fan can some give me wiring diagram on where to connect.

Also I would like remote switch inside to switch on if required, is this more difficult.

Secondly can any XK distributor be used with 3.8 engine.

[Dave K]

My advice is sell the Kenlowe on ebay and buy a Coolcat system. The Coolcat is far better, pulls less amps and you don't have a thermostat stuck up one of the rubber pipes that always leaks.
You also don't have to worry about wiring diagrams as there are only two wires on the Coolcat and they go to the relay where the old wires came out.

I sold my unused Kenlowe on ebay and got more for there than I actually paid from whoever I bought it from :D

Dave

[Heuer]

I have a Kenlowe on one car and just installed a Coolcat on another. The Kenlowe was installed in a Hotel car park on the 40th E-Type anniversary tour and has worked perfectly for the last 42,000 miles. The only thing you need to add is a 40amp fuse in the fan circuit. The Coolcat is good but relies on the Otter switch so changing that to the Coolcat otter is probably sensible. If you already have a Kenlowe stick with it as it also allows you to control the point at which the fan operates. Correctly installed the thermostat is not a problem and mine has never leaked. Having had a Kenlowe would I change to a Coolcat? Yes if I was concerned about being able to swap back to standard fan but otherwise it makes no odds. Personally I think the Kenlowe works better but my cars are so different it makes comparison difficult and I have only driven a couple of hundred miles with the Coolcat.

Wiring of the Kenlowe is as per the instructions but with a fuse added. I can take photos if you need them. Never seen the point of having a manual fan over ride switch. If the system is correctly installed it will work seamlessly without your intervention.

[christopher storey]

David : the manual override does have some advantages if your cooling is a bit marginal, as it is on my FHC which has the original fan . The critical situation arises where after a long fast motorway run and one then runs into heavy traffic e.g. going to Silverstone Classic ! where an enormous amount of waste heat is then dumped into a rad with not much air flowing through it . Since I put on a manual switch, I have found that the system behaves much better : when you know that the critical situation is arising, you stick the fan on straightaway and in the 5 minutes or so when you are travelling slowly but not necessarily stationary , a good deal of the excess heat is dissipated before the lengthy crawl occurs . Generally speaking, the Otter switches do not have a broad enough operating spectrum, and the manual override cures this

[Heuer]

The Kenlowe has it own adjustable thermostat so does not use the Otter. It is also hugely powerful and cools the car within seconds hence I have never had the need for a manual over-ride - even when crawling through Biarritz traffic at 41c!

[Dad]

I'm also installing a thermostatically controlled Kenlowe fan and got them to send me a wiring diagram. So far so good, but I'm unsure where the black and yellow leads go. The diagram says to the 'control circuit' - 'ignition switch controlled fused supply'. Can anyone advise as to how and where this happens?

Sorry for being such a newbie...

[Heuer]

I have wired mine as follows:

Thick yellow wire from relay goes to dedicated 50amp fuse mounted on mud guard. Brown wire on other side of fuse goes to permanently live terminal post near battery. This gives you a permanently live fused supply for the fan:


Use the switched ignition live green wire you removed from the original cooling fan to go to the thermostat. Black wire goes to earth. Red/black (in my case) goes from other thermostat contact to relay.


With ignition on and the thermostat detects over temp it makes a circuit between G and RB which operates the relay coil via the black earth lead. This makes a heavy duty circuit between yellow and blue causing the fan to operate. The other side of the fan (black wire) should also go to earth. I have found doing it this way stops potential engine 'run on' problems where with the ignition switched off there is still a voltage generated by the revolving fan allowing the engine to run for a few seconds.

[Dad]

Awesome. Thanks!

[Dad]

Last question. Promise. You have removed the original fan and replaced with a Kenlowe. I have a Kenlowe mounted on the grille in front of the rad in addition to the original which is still in place. As far as I can tell I've wired everything according to instructions, but the only two remaining wires I need to find a home for are supposed to go to the ignition switched circuit. My question is, where is that? I can't really tell from your picture - is it under the distributor?

[Heuer]

Not a good idea to keep the original as a) it is unnecessary for cooling and b) it could interfere with the air flow generated by the Kenlowe. Suggest you disconnect it, remove it and keep it on the shelf. The green wire going to the standard fan motor is switched - connect that to the thermostat.