5 Things You Must Know About What Is Fan Clutch
What is a fan clutch?
The fan clutch is one of the pieces that is used in all cars, As the name implies, this piece is used to cool the engine. The fan clutch should be considered a low- consumption champion in the car power generation system. When the car is moving, its engine heats up during high performance. A car fan clutch is a piece that relieves all the pressure applied to the engine. Overheating the engine can endanger the safety of the driver and cause serious damage to the vehicle.
What is a cooling fan?
You should also know the difference between a cooling fan and a fan clutch. The cooling fan is a piece that helps the engine cool down when the air under the hood heats up. But various types of fan clutches play a key role in providing energy behind the cooling fan.
What types of fan clutches?
Car fan clutch has two types: mechanical and electric. In modern cars, an electronic fan clutch is commonly used. Mechanical fan clutches are classified into two types: thermal and non-thermal. Each of these fan clutches also has its pros and cons.
What do fans include?
Generally, these fans include the following:
>Thermal fan clutch
One type of car fan clutch is called a thermal fan clutch which reacts to the temperature below the hood or the decorative degree of air. When hot air is generated from the radiator, a metal spring is gradually heated by this air. When the metal spring heats up, it opens the fluid valve and releases the silicone gel into the clutch compartment.
Now the use of a thermal fan clutch, in this case, is that a metal spring and silicone gel engage the cooling fan and produce the amount of cool air needed to lower the temperature. When the temperature under the hood decreases, the temperature spring shrinks and as a result, the silicone will be closed.
This type of car fan clutch senses the air temperature behind the radiator to change the fan speed. Then it provides two speeds:
- High speed (engaged): provides cooling to the maximum capacity
- Low speed (disengaged): provides noise reduction and fuel monitoring (fuel consumption reduction) of cars
The important point to know about thermal fan clutches is that they are more efficient than non-thermal fan clutches.
>Non-thermal fan clutch
Another type of car fan clutch is the non-thermal type. The non-thermal fan clutch is always in operation and acts as a heat conductor using a metal spring. As the engine temperature increases, the non-thermal clutch fan expands. This process opens the fluid valve and then releases the silicone gel into the chamber.
Now according to the cooling demand, the fan clutch silicone gel is activated and will shrink as soon as it reaches the desired temperature. One of the significant advantages of a non-thermal fan clutch over a thermal fan clutch is its lower price. This type of car fan clutch is always in operation and spins at a speed of 30 to 60% of the water pump.
>Electronic fan clutch
The other type of car fan clutch is an electronic fan clutch. Electronic fans have the advantage of not reducing engine power. On the other hand, they start operating when the car needs it. While thermal and non-thermal fans only operate when the engine is running.
Electronic fan clutch, unlike thermal and non-thermal ones, does not reduce the lifespan of the water pump and ball bearing. On the other hand, it does not reduce the drag coefficient and propulsion power of trucks.
In this type of car fan clutch, the mechanism of locking and engaging the clutch is electrical and is done by a temperature sensor. In thermal and non-thermal mechanical fan clutches, heating the temperature spring causes the operation to start. But in this type of fan clutch, the task of heating the spring is done through the car's electric current.
In the operation of a car electronic fan clutch, this piece fully adheres to the radiator and covers 70% of the total radiator area, absorbing more air volume at low revs. In this way, hot air is transformed into cool air faster. It would be interesting to know that when the engine speed exceeds 2400 rpm, the electronic fan clutch can intake hot air more easily.
What are the symptoms of fan clutch failure?
If there is excessive clutch fan noise then there is something wrong. Sometimes, when the motor engine oil does not work or the motor has an overheated system, it can cause a lot of disruption to the main machine. This in fact can cause the vehicle to heat up and on the other hand, emit noises or squealing sounds from the fan itself.
There is a complete decrease in power and acceleration of the fan. This is when you need to keep a lookout at the engine cooling fan clutch which can cause this disruption more than once. This is a common way to say that the clutch of the fan is not working and that it is needed to be fixed.
