SPF Electricals - - Page 3

madmaxx · #1 (**permalink**) 01-12-2009, 11:44 AM

Blas,

I will definelty look closer, have never driven the car in the rain and only washed 3 times. I would imagine the engine campartment would turn to mush in rain with the hood scoop wide open. At best these cars are hardly fog proof in my opinion. I will check the connections tonight on the temp switch and check across the temp switch, you guys were a real timesaver. I started looking at the owners manual wiring diagrams but had other things to do.

Heidelberg · #2 (**permalink**) 01-12-2009, 04:08 PM

Madmaxx,

I experienced the same problem with my fans coming on and not turning off about 2 weeks ago!

I had just finished washing my car and was sitting down to have a cold drink and to admire my nice clean Cobra when the fans came on...I had'nt started the car for about 30 mins, it was a hot day (approx 38 degrees C), but the engine was cold. The only way I could get the fans to stop was to pull the connections off at the back of both fans!

The next day, I reconnected the fans and they still wanted to run even though the car was cold.

Thinking that the issue was water related, I reconnected the terminals after the taking the cobra for a drive and confident that the engine bay was completely dry and the fans have been fine ever since!

I like the idea of applying some grease to the terminals...

Regards.....Paul

Blas · #3 (**permalink**) 01-12-2009, 04:13 PM

Interesting that's 2 people now...
Paul your car is #2792
Madmaxx what's your car number?
I'm going to track this issue by car # and see if it's localized around any car numbers in particular for furtue reference.
You can get back to me offline if you like.

madmaxx · #4 (**permalink**) 01-13-2009, 07:39 AM

I checked mine last night, everything is fine. I am 99% positive water shorted the radiator temp sending unit after I washed it. It is kinda hidden, I can see it easily when I have the car on the lift but it is difficult to access. It is simply two non-weather proof terminals, a couple drops of water spanning the switch post and it will short to ground kicking on the fans. I beleive if you put some die electric tune up grease on the post and terminals it should fix the problem for a "splash" proof car. The real fix would be a weatherproof connections.

Blas · #5 (**permalink**) 01-13-2009, 08:10 AM

You mean to say that ther is no shielding on the 2 brass wire connectors? No clear or black insulator?

madmaxx · #6 (**permalink**) 01-13-2009, 12:35 PM

No sheilding, it is identicle to what you would find on a car speaker mounted inside the trunk on most cars and I do not think they are brass.

Blas · #7 (**permalink**) 01-13-2009, 01:48 PM

Was the fiberglass wheelwell directly to the left (drivers) side of the switch on the radiator cut-up for access to the radiator switch? Usually looks hacked up if it was modified for access (odd cutout with white lip fiberglass) I'm just wondering if it was from the factory like that or if the switch was replaced and the wires modified somewhere along the line...

madmaxx · #8 (**permalink**) 01-13-2009, 02:12 PM

Brand new car not touched by anyone but performance engineering and dynamic motorsports. The switch is where you describe but to access it appears you would have to remove some fasteners. I can guarantee the switch nor wires were ever replaced. I will try to snap a picture.

Got the Bug · #9 (**permalink**) 01-13-2009, 02:32 PM

Thread hijack alert....Stop washing your cars.

I've always just used detailer or wet paint and it looks great.

madmaxx · #10 (**permalink**) 01-13-2009, 02:41 PM

I definetly try to avoid it, like I said these cars are splash proof at best. I could not imagine the amount of water that would get on the engine via the hood scoop if you drove it in the rain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Got the Bug

Thread hijack alert....Stop washing your cars.

I've always just used detailer or wet paint and it looks great.

PANAVIA · #11 (**permalink**) 01-14-2009, 02:04 AM

I like a little dirt on mine, road spray if you will. --completes that British Look....

madmaxx · #12 (**permalink**) 01-14-2009, 06:53 PM

It appears my sending unit is going bad, today the fans came on at 180 and turned off at 175 then 190 then 180. Then I park the car and they came on all by themselves, car bone dry with 18% humidity. What is the secret to repalcing the sending unit on the raidiator? I have no desire to cut any plastic but when I remove the washer bottle, it just lifts out it appears there may be enough room from the top.

Blas · #13 (**permalink**) 01-14-2009, 07:42 PM

It's not uncommon for the fans to come on after parking the car. There is still a lot of residual heat in the engine and radiator. The important thing is that they turm off after a few mins. Replacing the switch is fairly straight forward. If you send me your email address offline I'll send you a photo of the typical cutting required to get at the switch.

You can also get one with a lower temperature activation set point...
Opens at 160 insstead of 180.

madmaxx · #14 (**permalink**) 01-15-2009, 07:38 AM

I'll shoot you my email. Mine are comming on with the car off at 80c, I verified with an infered gun. Also when it was 95F last summer and I drove the car the fans never came on after the car was shut-off so the switch or something is bad. I prefer the 180 so the oil get up to temp quicker, looks like I get about a 20f drop across the oil cooler. thanks

mudhenk27 · #15 (**permalink**) 01-26-2009, 07:17 AM

Hi Blas,

My old SPF023 has an electrical gremlin causing the battery to go dead when the car is not used for 2 weeks.

I'm a real dummy when it comes to electrical stuff, so I have no clue how to try to track it down. Past experience with another car makes me reluctant to give it to a shop...lots of hours of labor without being sure they'll find it...so for years I've been disconnecting the battery when I won't be driving for more than a week or so.

Any suggestions...electrical trouble shooting for dummies?

Thanks.....Bill

Blas · #16 (**permalink**) 01-26-2009, 08:31 AM

Your first move would be to check the battery out. I would pull it out and have it load tested, which is ususlly a free service at a parts store. Be sure to clearly mark the positive and negative wires. I recommend that if the + side wire is not red, put red tape on the wire. Sometimes, when battery cut of switches were added to the + side, they came with a section of black wire. An accident waiting to happen, if not for you then for the next owner.
If the battery checks out ok:
Easiest thing to try, which also costs nothing but time, is to pull fuses - and try to isolated the circuit the power drain is on. After you have done that, then do the detective work. Start by pulling half of the fuses. Keep us posted. I'll bet it's a bad cell in the battery...

mudhenk27 · #17 (**permalink**) 01-26-2009, 01:02 PM

Blas, thanks for the suggestions...and quick reply! It would be nice to eliminate this irritation...it's the only thing that really bugs me about my beloved SPF023 besides the fact that Charlie Ponstien put a 289 in it instead of a 427!

I have a multimeter, but don't really know how to use it. When I pull fuses to isolate circuits, how can I tell if there is still a current drain?

Sorry to be so ignorant...I was taking drafting classes in high school when I should have been taking auto shop. If it's too much to explain, maybe you could point me to somewhere for info.

Bill

Blas · #18 (**permalink**) 01-26-2009, 02:24 PM

This site spells it out beautifully....

www.automotivemileposts.com/garage/v3n2.html

mudhenk27 · #19 (**permalink**) 01-26-2009, 02:59 PM

Thanks Blas.....that's exactly what I needed!

Bill

Alex Donghi · #20 (**permalink**) 02-04-2009, 12:38 PM

Thanks for this. I have a boat that discarges it battery. I disconected a radio that had memory and clock still went dead. I will try this out
http://www.automotivemileposts.com/garage/v3n2.html
My Cobra has a Southern 427. The amp meter at idle will peg full + then go back to a regular charge then peg etc every few seconds. Its pretty noisy. If I throw on the lights it stops. any ideas?