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Electrical advice?
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:52 am
by Merlin
I am going to wire in my new ventilation fan for my track car. It only draws 12V & 2.5amp. Is it worth powering it via a relay or will that amount of power be OK through a switch?
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:24 am
by 4thgenphil
Is the existing fan on a relay and if ao could you splice it into that circuit?
Also is it a 3 or 4 incher?
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:36 am
by Merlin
Yeah the OEM blower would be on a relay but tapping into the wiring for it may get messy and complicated. But I will investigate anyway.
I am using a 3" fan (Flow Rate 130CFM / 3690L/MIN). Fingers crossed it will blow a lot. I may adapt it to blow at my face when not needed to clear the screen. Last Sunday I was sweating buckets
This is a potential stop gap until I want/get a T7Design mini heater matrix (for which I have already installed the fixings for).
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 12:21 pm
by Merlin
The switch I am using says it is 20amp. Does that mean that it can handle up to 20amps without issue? So it would be safe to run my main power through the switch?
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 12:30 pm
by indigolemon
Yep - that would be my understanding. In-line fuse, then switch, then fan.
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 12:37 pm
by Merlin
Awesome sauce. That makes thing much easier and requires less wiring

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 2:32 pm
by wurlycorner
Yep, there's no need to run that through a relay.
The standard one is only on a relay so it switches off with the ignition.
When the ignition is on, the blower motor has a permanent live feed to it blower and is switched on by closing the circuit to earth. For the lower speeds, this is through resistors (to drop the voltage and make the fan run slower) but when in high speed it's dropped straight to earth through the fan control switch, so the full current goes through the switch.
2.5 amps is not a lot of current...
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 2:36 pm
by Merlin
Thanks for the confirmation.
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:09 am
by wurlycorner