81 Caddy rad fan problem

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Thanks Max.

You need to buy a cheap running Truck - they come with a bucket of bugs - and token gifts of previous owners. lol

This 81 even came with 3 windshield squirter pumps.
The original dead one mounted to tank, the second dead one still mounted to strut tower, the third working one laying in the apron - with auxillary toggle switch for it mounted in dash above ashtray. And big crack in washer tank from top to bottom.

Yanked it all out.
Except the switch. Going to use it for now on the rad fan until after a couple cooling sytem flushes. Then put new thermostat - rad therm switch - and wire it all back to factory functions.

Hoping whoever toggle switched the squirter didn't realize they were supposed to pull back on the wiper stalk to engage squirters. The print on the stalks is long gone. Be nice if it still energizes. Going to strap it back to st whl with a bungee and check it after battery goes back in. Found the right wires for it.

The odometer has rolled over.
Reads 060,xxx.x
Has various stickers/decals from all across USA.
And found miscellaneous receipts from abroad.
Its been there, and back.

[maxfax]

I had a cheap running truck..  I kick my azz constantly for selling it..   Technically my first VW was a 1982 Caddy diesel..   160K miles no rust, a few dents, and the seats were junk..  I paid $125 put a battery in it and drove it home for some extensive service..  The condition with getting the truck so cheap is that I had to tow the 5 Rabbits and all their spare parts outta there..
 So outta the 5 Rabbits Frankenbuny was born and actually the first one I had on the road...  Then there was the '86 Jetta for $500 bucks and 300K.. Then the Silver bunny for 100 bucks and a bad engine..   IT was resurected from the orignal Rabbit parts cars..   Took it for exhaust and the exhaust guy sold me 3 parts cars 84 TD Jetta, 84 Rabbit, and 85 Jetta for $300..  I had a customer in the shop notice the abundance of dead bunnies around and he gave me the 84 Rabbit sitting in the back of his barn...  The damn things do multiply!!!   Out of the 4 I have had on the road (The Caddy, 2 Rabbits, and the Jetta) none gave me electrical problems..  Of course they made up for it on every other thing..

[Baron VonZeppelin]

You've probably got enough stuff to cut the roof off a sedan shell and fab a bobtail-mini-Sport-truck. That would be a wild one !

The squirter stalk does work on mine. :beer:
Someone needed an owners manual instead of a dash switch on that fix. I could use an owners manual myself lol.

Got the battery/cables/and most of the wiring plumbed up.

Thinking about one of those resistors that mk2dsl and jtang mentioned. Coupled to a 3-way switch. 1 click resisted and other click full-on.

[dieselherb1]

I had to work this weekend so I'll try the suggestions Monday A.M. I have 5 Caddies here I working on, 2 without engine or trans, 1 street-worthy, 1 rod broke I think. I have 2 TDI engines that will go into the best bodies. I need to test the speedo cables on 2 speedo doesn't work.

[maxfax]

Can't have just one I guess...   


Barron, I'll look around I may have an extra owner's manual...  I know several of the inital VW's had them yet....

I ultumately ditched my VW cooling ron for one out of a Probe (I think)..   Wanted something a bit less bulky and that sat flatter to the rad..    The one I have has 2 speeds built in, alothough I only ever use high..  Pulls quite a bit of air and doesn;t seem to draw quite the amperage...

[dieselherb1]

The probe(you think) fan, single?

[dieselherb1]

Got the fan working relay contacts rusty-dirty. Thanks for your help! Now on to the speedo.

[maxfax]

Congrats Herb, and good luck on the speedo!     And yes it was a single fan with 2 speeds..   Although the fan itself was large enough to cover about 2/3 of the radiator..   The side towards the alt and such is just shroud, which work out nice for clearance..     It was indeed a fan from a '94 Probe with the 4 banger..   Had to cut, trim, reform with a heat gun, but it doesn;t fit too bad. .   I should have scouted the junkyards for something that may have been an easier fitment, but I had this one laying here, and it was free...

[dieselherb1]

I got a Taurus fan for my son's S10 V8. It really pulls alot of air, everyone uses them on V8 conversions. Cheap too!

[maxfax]

The Taurus fans are impressive.. (At least there is one impressive thing about a Taurus)  I put a set on an early 90's Fireturd that we swapped an LT1 into..  I particular rad in that swap is a tad to the small side, but so far so good.. They are rather easily mounted to all sorts of things too..  I should start grabbing some of those at the bone yard before they start crushing again...

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Don't you just love those Free Fixes, Herb. 
Man i know i do. Way to go

My desktop crashed out Sunday. Super bummed deal.
Just got a hold of a laptop to get by with on the web at least.
Latest updates.

I tried AdvAuto and Carquest on the Taurus rad fan resistor - they couldn't do anything with it. Told them to check early to mid 90's. What year models had that resisitor/switch ?

What year models are you guys talking about on getting the Fan Units from too ??

Did get lucky (i think) at Carquest and bought a generic rheostat/switch for an HVAC blower motor. OFF + 3 speeds.
For $15 ... the dash already has a hole ... so... gonna make some good use of it.

Should i put my 30amp self-reset breaker/relay between the supply and the switch - or between the switch and the fan - to be best ?

Or would a 20 amp self-reset be better/safer ?
Gonna wire it up tomorrow.

The driver tailight went to joggling betwen fixed and not fixed - just sitting in the driveway.
This time i think its really going to stay.
Even put the lense back on.

Going for another test run after fan deal gets going.
Supposed to be scoring a nice set of Sflake wheels for it Saturday.

Go gettem Herb. :thumbs up:

[maxfax]

I think the resistor was used on pre-"jellybean" Taurus's (Tauri??)  ANything '95 and back..  I used the fans from a Jellybean Taurus, but I believe the early 90's ones were just as good...     

30 amp shoudl be fine, but it may pay to check the rating of your switch.. I'm kinda partial to relays myself...  You can keep the high amp loads out under the hood and close the power supply...

 Generaly the fuse/breaker is between the supply and the switch..  That way if there would be an issue due to the switch or the wires too it'll cover everything...

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Decided not to use the universal 3spd heater fan switch.
So returned it.

Did a test run mock-up before installing it in dash (plastic dash - plastic everything in that area). The resisitor bar just gets too hot for my comfort to be couped up right underneath the plastic a/c vents housings.
But it worked great- fwiw.

Going a whole different direction now anyhow, since i'm getting a new radiator for it.
Going with a used mk2 2spd fan, and a new 2spd rad therm switch.
160 t-stat. New mk2 exp tank and coolant level sensor, wired to a blink light indicator/alarm from Oreillys in the dash.

[maxfax]

That ought to work dandy..     

Those fan resistors are normally mounted out under the hood on the radiator support, or in the path of the fan to keep them cool.. Under the dash would probably be bad juju eventually..   If the resistor didn;t burn out I'm sure it coudl start to melt things...

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Looks like it was right idea to start looking for a new radiator.
There was a small puddle of green liquid under front this morning and green droplets hanging off the front valance panel.