[DeTomaso] cooling fan blowing fuse

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/1/10 19 02 19, mazdastuff at yahoo.com writes:


> Thanks Doug, Orville, and J.  Looks like I have some work ahead of me.  
> Oh well,
> weather is getting cooler so it will be more fun to work on.  J mentioned 
> some
> relays that might also be damaged due to the way they are mounted on the 
> car.  
> I am aware of the cooling fan relays under the dash on the passenger 
> side.   Are
> there others mounted in the front?
> 

The later cars (1972 and later) mounted the fan relays immediately behind 
the radiator on the passenger side, attached to the front of the front trunk 
compartment sheetmetal.   The 1971 cars like yours mounted these same relays 
on the relay panel under the dash, behind the glovebox.

There is no philosophical distinction; the relays function exactly the same 
in either case.   There's no risk of damage by having them in the cabin; 
they are just less convenient to work on.

The later cars powered the fans by fuses #11 and #12; #11 was 15 amp and 
#12 was 25 amp (it also had some other jobs to handle at the same time).   The 
early wiring diagram shows both fans powered by a single fuse (it appears 
to be fuse #14, which would be one of the window fuses?); I don't see a fuse 
power rating listed however.

Methinks your problems may be associated either with more-powerful fans, or 
fans that are degraded and thus have a higher-than-normal amperage draw, 
combined with the flawed philosophy of powering both fans on the single fuse?

Mike