kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Discuss Electrical problems here.
Forum rules
By using this site, you agree to our rules. Please see: Terms of Use
hughes
Minor Friendly
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:35 pm
Location: southampton
MMOC Member: No

kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by hughes »

I have the KENLOWE ELEC FAN KIT(ENGINE SIDE OF RAD) fitted to my car and the in line spade fuse blows every time the fan quicks in. It is a 10A fuse do you know if this is the correct rating. Or any ideas whats wrong
lambrettalad
Minor Legend
Posts: 2865
Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 3:15 pm
Location: Birmingham THE Second City & home of Aston Villa
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by lambrettalad »

hi have you contacted ken low ?
Cheers Alex
all thoughts are given in good faith but..." You pays your money and takes your choice"


[/color]
IslipMinor
Minor Legend
Posts: 2147
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 9:10 pm
Location: Oxford, UK
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by IslipMinor »

Have you checked that the fan is free to spin? At most I would try a 15A fuse as the inrush current may be a bit too much for a 10A.
Richard


hughes
Minor Friendly
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:35 pm
Location: southampton
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by hughes »

Sent an email to the Morris Minor Centre Birmingham (David Manners Group) as I have a receipt for the fan from there. A very nice and helpful gent has just phoned me after taking time to look up the information and get in touch with Kenlow. :D

The fan is supplied with a 25A fuse though should only draw 5A when running smoothly.

The fan does run freely and all earth connections appear to be ok but will double check.

Going to try slightly higher rated fuse if have one in the tool box.

Thanks for the help.
bmcecosse
Minor Maniac
Posts: 46561
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:24 pm
Location: ML9
MMOC Member: No

Post by bmcecosse »

The clue is in the 'fan is supplied with a 25 amp fuse'.........for a good reason!
ImageImage
Image
chrisryder
Minor Legend
Posts: 2217
Joined: Mon Nov 15, 2010 11:44 pm
Location: West Midlands UK
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by chrisryder »

Indeed!

The fan only runs at around 5A, but draws a lot more than that to start it from standstill. The higher rating is to allow for that impulse on starting.

I thought mine was supplied with a 30A fuse, but it could be a 25A, been a while since I looked at it.
hughes
Minor Friendly
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:35 pm
Location: southampton
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by hughes »

Blew the 25A fuse
hughes
Minor Friendly
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:35 pm
Location: southampton
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by hughes »

the car has had 10A fuse since I have had it and the paperwork that I have is useless. Found the above info from the Morris Minor Centre Birmingham
bmcecosse
Minor Maniac
Posts: 46561
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:24 pm
Location: ML9
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by bmcecosse »

Does it move at all when switched on?
ImageImage
Image
lambrettalad
Minor Legend
Posts: 2865
Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 3:15 pm
Location: Birmingham THE Second City & home of Aston Villa
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by lambrettalad »

looked this up on t'net one chap suggests 35 amp fuse another guy suggests 50 amp (land rover forum ).seems very high to me :-?

did this problem start recently? or have you just fitted it? What wattage is your fan

W / V = AMPS

bearings failing?
Cheers Alex
all thoughts are given in good faith but..." You pays your money and takes your choice"


[/color]
hughes
Minor Friendly
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:35 pm
Location: southampton
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by hughes »

The fan was fitted by the previous owner and to be honest I haven't notice come on since i've had the car. Only noticed it is not working because the car overheated. I have the receipt for it dated dec 2009 - according to kenlowe should still be ok.

Overheating prob easy fix - new radiator cap.

If you turn controller down to activate the fan it comes on and seems to run well for not more tthan 5-10 seconds then the fuse goes.

Will check earthing and wiring at weekend. Have to deal with kids (half term) till then.
bmcecosse
Minor Maniac
Posts: 46561
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:24 pm
Location: ML9
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by bmcecosse »

Is it running in the correct direction?? If it has to run against the normal flow of air running in to the car it will use high amps !!
ImageImage
Image
Declan_Burns
Minor Legend
Posts: 1956
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:32 am
Location: Düsseldorf, Germany
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by Declan_Burns »

There is probably nothing wrong with the fan. In industrial applications we always use a heavy duty motor starter for fans for direct on line starting. Inrush current is typically 6.5 to 7 times rated current. If you look at a typical fan torque speed curve it is quadratic. Thats why your fuse is blowing! Whoever suggested the 35 to 50 A fuse is probably not far wrong. I would try the 35A fuse first. You don't want to use a quick blow fuse either.

Regards
Declan


Regards
Declan
charlie_morris_minor
Minor Legend
Posts: 1989
Joined: Wed May 10, 2006 1:47 pm
Location: Aldershot
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by charlie_morris_minor »

this is more of a question rather than a statement..

but does not the fact that it runs for between 5 and 10 seconds suggest that the problem is not with the inrush?
Trickydicky
Minor Legend
Posts: 1565
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:53 pm
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by Trickydicky »

I think the issue here is that you cant say when it last worked as stated earlier in the post, you only found the fan at fault when you had a overheating problem.
It could be that the fan is actually faulty. I would disconnect it to test with higher rated fuses as you dont want to start a fire.
Richard

Opinions are like people,everyone can be different.
Matt
Minor Legend
Posts: 3824
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2004 1:30 pm
Location: Shropshire/Sussex/Cumbria
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by Matt »

does the fan spin freely by hand?
Serial Morris Minor Owner and Old Vehicle Nutter
www.facebook.com/transitionclassics
bmcecosse
Minor Maniac
Posts: 46561
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:24 pm
Location: ML9
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by bmcecosse »

I agreeb with Charlie - if it runs up for 5 to 10 seconds the 'inrush' is long gone.... Are you sure it blew a 25 amp fuse - maybe it was a 2.5 amp fuse?? 25 amps is a LOT - and they don't blow easily.....
ImageImage
Image
Rob_Jennings
Minor Addict
Posts: 749
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:33 am
Location: Rickmansworth / Watford (NW London)
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by Rob_Jennings »

agree with others

if the fan started and then ran for a short while I would suggest that it has a more serious fault. Probably something like brushes are a mess causing a sudden short and so popping the fuse. Time for a new fan I would guess as probably not user serviceable ;-(

it is never a good solution to keep upping the fuse to 'fix' a problem, esp if it has run fine for ages. Others are right that 10A sounds a little low as a starting point, but going over 25A sounds high risk.

its a moving part so it will wear out.
Rob
Lizzy 1970 Morris Minor Traveller and Noah 1969 Morris Mini Traveller
ImageImage
hughes
Minor Friendly
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:35 pm
Location: southampton
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by hughes »

Spent most of today on the car doing bits and pieces. Came to the same conclusion time for a new fan.
bmcecosse
Minor Maniac
Posts: 46561
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:24 pm
Location: ML9
MMOC Member: No

Re: kenlowe fan fuse blowing

Post by bmcecosse »

Just fit the mechanical fan - it works.......
ImageImage
Image
Post Reply