Another potentially silly question- fans

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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Agammemnon
Joined: Sun 25 Feb, 2018 20:00
Posts: 17

  Z3 roadster 2.2i

Another potentially silly question- fans

Post by Agammemnon »

On my 2002 2.2i I have an electric fan at the front of the radiator & a belt-driven one behind it.

Is this normal & is this necessary? I would have thought that the belt-driven fan saps power at speed when it's not needed so much & does less work when sat in traffic when its need would be greater.

Is it possible to remove the belt-driven fan & keep (possibly enlarge) the electric one?

One point that might be relevant is that I have aftermarket aircon.
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colb
Joined: Sat 05 May, 2012 22:46
Posts: 690

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU
Location: Newport South Wales UK

Re: Another potentially silly question- fans

Post by colb »

Your aftermarket air con fan will be in front of the condensor rad and will be the electric fan.
The engine cooling fan should operate via its viscous coupling in the centre of the fan blades, it will only run when the coolant reaches a set temp which causes the viscous unit to engage and spin the blades. The fan will only spin when the temp dictates it to.
The couplings can fail, search the threads on here to see how you can test its operation.
You may find further threads on here from people who have deleted the coupling and fitted electric fans.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=11_6214
Colb
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
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