Ignition switch for aftermarket fan

[55 ledsled]

Hey everyone,
I have a 55 Cadillac with a polished brass radiator and I refuse to pay what they want for a re-core and a direct replacement because they must be coated in gold. My car runs a bit warm. I decided to wire up an electrical fan to assist in cooling when driving slow. My question is, does anyone know what color wire on the ignition switch is a good one to tap off of so that the fan will shut off when the car is off? Or any other tap under the hood? my diagram does not show this. There's not much electrical in these cars to choose from so just thought I would ask the experts.
Thanks

[J. Gomez]

Hey everyone,
I have a 55 Cadillac with a polished brass radiator and I refuse to pay what they want for a re-core and a direct replacement because they must be coated in gold. My car runs a bit warm. I decided to wire up an electrical fan to assist in cooling when driving slow. My question is, does anyone know what color wire on the ignition switch is a good one to tap off of so that the fan will shut off when the car is off? Or any other tap under the hood? my diagram does not show this. There's not much electrical in these cars to choose from so just thought I would ask the experts.
Thanks

Adam,

Are you planning on adding a temp sensor switch for the fan or just direct wiring the fan?

Either or I would suggest adding a relay to your layout so the relay coil would get switched +12V power (from any of the pink wires) and the fan would get the +12V from a direct feed (i.e. body feed red wire) via the relay contacts. A fuse for the fan is also a must, just as FYI.

You need to check the wiring diagram to see the wiring layout so you can tapped onto those for the relay and fan.

Good luck..!

[55 ledsled]

Pink you say! Awesome. Yes, I have the temp sensor/relays/breaker all hooked up. I have been using it but I attached my ignition wire from the relay to the battery so I have to unplug the battery every time to turn it off so I am ready to hook it up to the ignition on/off now. Thanks. I will look for the pink wire. Thanks!

[J. Gomez]

Pink you say! Awesome. Yes, I have the temp sensor/relays/breaker all hooked up. I have been using it but I attached my ignition wire from the relay to the battery so I have to unplug the battery every time to turn it off so I am ready to hook it up to the ignition on/off now. Thanks. I will look for the pink wire. Thanks!

Adam,

Yes the “pink” at the ignition switch is the one that powers the accessories at the fuse block, just one note the same wire color can be found at either side of the fuses so it may be confusing finding which side is which at this location.

If you tapped it at the one on the ignition switch side it should be no problem to go at the relay coil side.

Good luck..!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

If you want your engine to run cooler, the best thing to do is paint the radiator Flat Black, as per original manufacture.   Black dissipates heat a lot faster than polished brass/copper.

Bruce.

[Daryl Chesterman]

My radiator shop man says to not paint the core because the paint acts like an insulator and holds some of the heat.  He said the bare brass fins and tubes would radiate heat better than if they were painted.  When he rebuilt radiators for farm tractors and industrial applications, he would only paint the upper and lower tanks, unless the customer asked him to paint the core.

Daryl Chesterman

[55 ledsled]

Update:
I connected to the pink wire at the porcelain ballast by the coil, fused of course. Works great. As for my radiator, it is an old brass unit and I have soaked it in radiator cleaner several times but I think its just too old and corroded needing a re-core. Problem is, they want $500. I am torn because I can get an aluminum replacement for $230 but my old brass unit is nice and polished looking like gold. I'll probably replaced it with an aluminum unit and one day get the old one refinished. 

[bcroe]

I have a 55 Cadillac with a polished brass radiator and I refuse to pay what they want for a re-core and a direct replacement because they must be coated in gold. My car runs a bit warm. I decided to wire up an electrical fan to assist in cooling when driving slow. My question is, does anyone know what color wire on the ignition switch is a good one to tap off of so that the fan will shut off when the car is off? Or any other tap under the hood? my diagram does not show this. There's not much electrical in these cars to choose from so just thought I would ask the experts. Thanks.

I upgraded the cooling on my older cars to late 70s equipment,
clutch 7 blade fan with baffle, and over flow tank.  But the most
important was to make up a 4 row radiator to replace the 2 or 3
row it came with, the mounting brackets were slightly modified
to fit.  In one case I went from vertical to cross flow. 

Lately US Radiator has made up nearly custom to fit for me,
not cheap but I have no tolerance for cars that overheat. 
good luck, Bruce Roe