Every year as we are approaching summer, many of us will be experiencing hot temperatures for the next few months on a regular basis. For us performance automotive enthusiasts, this is a wonderful time of year. As the temperature increases, our performance engines become more reliant upon the cooling system.
Many of us have modded our cars while maintaining a balance between our budgets to provide the necessities of life along with attempting to maximize our disposable income to provide as many go fast and look good parts for our vehicles as possible. Most of us have sacrificed items that increase the durability and reliability of our vehicles for parts that provide the instant gratification of an increase in speed or a more appealing appearance. Everything is great until you encounter a failure at the most inopportune time.
I personally have had a fuel pump fail while stuck in traffic during a local cruise and have had a cooling fan fail while stuck in rush hour traffic driving home from work one evening. There is nothing more miserable than hearing your fuel pump dying a slow death and watching your fuel pressure drop or seeing your engine temperature increase and realizing that the cooling fan is not turning on while being far away from your home. If this occurs, the thoughts run through your mind include "but I bought the best fan for the money or I purchased the best high volume fuel pump available, WTF????".
When we install these parts, many of them also require high quality support items. As an example, this is due to the fact that high volume fuel pumps and high flow fans draw more amperage than the original equipment components do. These items require heavier gauge wires and relays which will support the draw of higher amps. One of these items that applies to both electric cooling fans and fuel pumps is Spal's fan relay harness. This assembly consists of a 40 amp relay, heavy gauge wires, high quality connectors and an inline spaded fuse terminal which will support up to a 30 amp fuse. You must be certain to use the proper amperage fuse that the component that you are wiring this into requires. The relay included in this kit allows you to choose between key on power, a manual controlled switch power (such as a rocker or toggle switch), or a temperature controlled sending unit switch that you can purchase separately. Although the fuse terminal is water resistant and the relay is waterproof, I personally believe in spending a little time to mount these items in a dry location just to be safe. Splashes of water, coolant or fuel will usually not cause an issue, but you will want to mount the relay and fuse in a location that is not constantly exposed to moisture. If you are installing this kit for use with an electric fan, always avoid mounting electrical items beneath or near air conditioning lines and components as while the A/C is activated, they will condensate and drip while stationary or spray when the vehicle is moving at speed.
