Radiator Fan Hack

[stanigu]

My Boxster runs hot in the recent heatwave in my area. Search on google brings up some sort of a "hack" by using jumper wires to force the fans to turn on before things start to get too hot.

Unfortunately it links to a board that no longer exists (ppbb). Here is what the poster said:

That is my DIY for the radiator fan on PPBB (new link - Porsche Pete's Boxster Board :: Archives of PPBB).
With this hack, the fan will go on automatically; no need to fuss with a switch. The procedure is identical for the 996. You remove the relay, put in a jumper wire, reinstall the relay.

Does anyone have this procedure from now defunct board documented?

Much appreciated!

[Anker]

That's not going to help. When it too hot the fans are at peak speed and doing all they can. You need to clean out the radiators, and possibly add a third radiator of your's is a base.

[steved0x]

Search for Been006 thread on radiator fans, he has a solution to run the fans on-demand either low or high. If you jumper the relays the fans will run all the time which you probably don't need or want.

In Ben's thread he adds some extra relay extensions but I just ran a wire to the relay pin and hooked it to a switch, so if I want I can turn the fans on high. I mostly use it on track or if I get stuck in stop and go traffic and things start to get too hot.

However for any sort of normal driving, I have never used it, even when the outside temps are approaching 100F.

I like the switch, but you may want to check and clean your radiators, if you haven't done it, there is probably a lot of stuff jammed up in there...

[Lew]

I have cleaned out my three radiators and only found leaves, some pine needles, cigarette butts, and a small piece of paper. My car is not driven in the rain. My radiators look like new. Some pictures on the forum you can easily tell if cars are driven in bad weather. The radiators are clogged full of dirt/mud. A circular pattern in the center is where most of the dirt is seen in the pictures.

[Quadcammer]

I wired a manual fan switch for the high speed fans. Works good and in the off position, it runs the fans as it normally would.

[Anker]

I would also check the water pump. If it isn't circulating fast enough you also get overheating.

[stanigu]

Thanks for the replies. I did remove the bumper previously and got rid of all the gunk...and cleaned the radiators with a dedicated foam cleaner. But in 100 degree heat in traffic, the car runs uncomfortably hot. If it's moving, it's ok.

I found the link for Ben006. For those interested, here it is: http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/61513-diy-manual-radiator-fans-control.html. I think I'll give it a try...