DIY: How to install DiF Dual Fan Controller - S13 KA24DE

[onosqv]

Title: "Worry Free Control Freak..."

Ok, so I've actually installed this fan controller almost 2 months ago, but I wanted to make sure it lived up to standards . Has survived lots of daily driving in hot & cold weather, light and heavy traffic. Most recently, a double practice autox weekend. Holds up like a champ!

You can get this unit from Phase2motortrend.com - DiF Fan Controller. I originally had the Greddy MSS, but thinking of either selling that or using it to control another input on the car. The DiF unit is tons easier to install (no need to wire relays) & sets up w/ just 2 dials since it only controls fans and is specific to Nissan cars.

A little speal about using fan controllers:- Those of you running your fans all the time via ignition/fuel pump bcs "your ka-t/sr/turbo heats up plenty" are just asking for trouble! Electric fans are not made to be run all the time (especially altima & flex-a-lites); you will put a lot of extra strain on the motors and destroy your fan in no time - don't come crying on the boards when you overheat and warp your head because you were too cheap to buy a quality fan controller (if at all).

- Of course, I only have a stock ka24de. During my 12 mile commutes, the fan only turn on if I hit traffic for a few minutes (nismo thermostat, koyo radiator, nismo radiator cap, 75/25 coolant mix w/ redline water wetter) - most of the time, it doesn't turn on at all. This was true with both the Greddy MSS & the DiF controllers.

- I have asked local guys who also run this who have KA24DE-T & SR20's; consensus is the same - for most daily driving, the fan doesn't turn on until after sitting in traffic for a while. For trips less than 10-15 minutes, the fan doesn't turn on at all.

Quick Comments about Controller:- It is a quality unit and seems to be doing the job great! However, my main complaint is that I cannot physically see any indications that a fan is turned on/off (like I could w/ my Greddy MSS). However, I know I can just run LED's inline w/ resistors, but I'd rather not hack it. I was told that the controller does support this option and a kit for monitoring fans' on/off status may be available later as an add-on plug-&-play unit. Of course, for now, I can hear the fans go on and off when sitting through traffic after work.

Total Project Time:- About 1 hour - most time spent taking pictures and making sure everything was wired correctly.

Equipment:- 8mm, 10mm sockets and ratchet

- Wire stripper and crimper

- Electrical tape or heatshrink tubing

- Razor blade or similar tool to separate some stock wiring harness cover

- Double-sided tape (3M heavy duty tape used)

- Ohm-meter/Multi-meter to verify continuity of connections





Preparation:- First and foremost, since this is an electrical install, disconnect the battery by removing the negative terminal. Completely removing the battery from the engine bay provides more room to work. Next, remove the stock intake tubing if you car has it. This will allow easier access to the coolant temperature sensor on the intake manifold.

- If you wish to make the wires neater, you can intertwine the white and grey wire from the DiF controller together, and the black wires for the manual switch. One way to do this is to insert one end of the wires into a cordless drill; then power the drill until the desired tightness is reached.







Placement of Fan Controller:- I chose to mount the fan controller on top of the engine fuse box cover. This location is convenient for wiring and reconfiguring the DiF controller (if necessary). Alternatively, mounting the fan controller behind the passenger headlight area between the frame and battery provides for a stealthier and cleaner install. Feel free to mount it anywhere you find to your liking.



- A small strip of double-sided tape can be attached to the bottom of the fan controller for simple mounting. It is easier to just attach the tape to the fan controller and leave the other side of the tape unpeeled. This will allow moving the DiF controller to a more suitable spot/orientation later during the install.

Wiring the Engine Bay: - Connect the negative wires of the electric fans to a clean chassis ground area or directly to the negative terminal of the battery. If using a chassis ground, it is recommended to sand the area down to bare metal and using dielectric grease, which will help prevent corrosion and moisture build-up. Connect the positive wires to the supplied white wires via butt connectors or soldering.



- The coolant temp sensor is located on the upper intake manifold near the upper radiator hose inlet.







- On the KA24DE, it can be identified by a red 2-wire plug held on by a clip. Remove the clip and pull the plug. Once the plug is out, use a razor blade to remove some of the harness cover shielding to allow room for tapping the wires.





- The blue wire w/ tracer is the positive coolant temperature wire. The black wire is the negative coolant temperature wire. After shielding has been removed, you can either tap the wires with the supplied t-taps, or strip and solder the connection.



- Once the wires are tapped, continuity should be verified with an ohm-meter. Place one probe into the sensor plug and the other onto a metal part of the t-tap. If there is no connection, 0 will be displayed; if there is continuity, a 1 should be displayed.











- Lastly, connect the negative and positive wires for the fan controller. Again, either choose a clean chassis ground for the negative wire or connect it directly to the negative terminal on the battery. For the positive wire, connect directly to the positive terminal on the battery. I used the supplied ring terminals and connected directly to the battery for this install.





- Optionally, the 2 black wires for the witch sensor plug can be wired up to a manual turn-on switch (not included) at this point. Reinstall any parts removed from the engine bay, such as the stock intake tubing and battery.

- For all connection points, installing heat shrink tubing or at least electrical tape to prevent any shorts in the future.

Configuring the DiF Fan Controller:- The optimal operating temperature for KA’s is approximately 160F to 190F. Since this particular vehicle has a Nismo thermostat installed, which opens thermostat at 143.6F instead of the stock 169.7F, I set the first fan to turn on at 174F (number 6) and the second fan to activate at 186F (number 9). For stock thermostat, I would set fan one and two to power up at 178F and 190F, respectively.

Testing the Fan Controller:- Once everything is reinstalled and setup, start the car and allow the engine to warm up. Depending on your particular setup, location, and weather, it may take many minutes before the fans activate. A simpler way to test the fans are to use the manual switch and/or set the adjustment dials to a lower setting, such as 0.

[ricebike]

nice write up! i mean, the wiring diag is simple enough to follow, but having a pictoral POV is helpful for the "visual" learners...

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Side note: haha, noticed u got a cracked overflow coolant tank as well... someone leaned on it like what my mechanic did??? i had a pic of the same duct-tape fix, but yours is in better shape than mines...

side note 2: gotta clean that throttle body valve; i c some carbon buildup!

[onosqv]

nice write up! i mean, the wiring diag is simple enough to follow, but having a pictoral POV is helpful for the "visual" learners...

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Side note: haha, noticed u got a cracked overflow coolant tank as well... someone leaned on it like what my mechanic did??? i had a pic of the same duct-tape fix, but yours is in better shape than mines...

side note 2: gotta clean that throttle body valve; i c some carbon buildup!

Yea, it really doesn't need instructions, but I was in my "let's do some diy's cuz I know someone will ask" mode... hehehe, if you notice, I've had a few writeups lately.

Coolant tank was like that when I bought it. Guy was cleaning his car, and bam!

Good eye on the tb, I've been lazy, hee hee.

Speaking of broken coolant tanks, did u see the latest thing that's gonna come up on phase2's site?

[oki_bum]

Does your fan turn on about 5 seconds after you start your car? Im thinkin my DiF is running my fans all the time when the cars on. I'll hear it turn off, but it will only do it for about 2 seconds. think i got my wiring wrong?

[onosqv]

Does your fan turn on about 5 seconds after you start your car? Im thinkin my DiF is running my fans all the time when the cars on. I'll hear it turn off, but it will only do it for about 2 seconds. think i got my wiring wrong?

Mine takes several minutes before turning on. Something's definately fishy. So did you set the dials correctly? And did you check your coolant temp sensor to make sure it's good - when I took mine out a few months ago to clean it up, it was totally gunked up w/ carbon buildup.

[oki_bum]

i bought a new one from phase2. my dials are set on 5 and A. Did you wire in a manual switch? (I didnt) Im gonna go recheck my wiring this weekend and try to clean it up.

[ricebike]

Yea, it really doesn't need instructions, but I was in my "let's do some diy's cuz I know someone will ask" mode... hehehe, if you notice, I've had a few writeups lately.

Coolant tank was like that when I bought it. Guy was cleaning his car, and bam!

Good eye on the tb, I've been lazy, hee hee.

Speaking of broken coolant tanks, did u see the latest thing that's gonna come up on phase2's site?

OFFTOPIC ALERT! ya but too much $$$ for a tank...

some other NICOnaut did an offtopic post that has one of the OEM plastic tanks, but my searching skillz can't find that member! all i know is he replied in genchat or 240sx gen... & from the state of Washington.

if you are reading this, i can trade my mag subscription of Sutff until July 2010 for this shipped to me @ 08034

thanks!

[ucantstopthebick]

does anyone have any opinions to what electric fan they use or prefer? i'm looking for something trustworthy..does the job..and has good fitment and easy install....

[onosqv]

does anyone have any opinions to what electric fan they use or prefer? i'm looking for something trustworthy..does the job..and has good fitment and easy install....

I've had my altima fans for around 2 years now, works awesome to this day. You can do a search and see how everyone likes other ones (like flex-a-lite, etc).

[onosqv]

i bought a new one from phase2. my dials are set on 5 and A. Did you wire in a manual switch? (I didnt) Im gonna go recheck my wiring this weekend and try to clean it up.

Just asked another local who installed his controller on his sr. The sr has 3 wires, as opposed to the 2 on the ka's. Did you tap into the correct wire? Which colors did you tap for positive & negative? That could explain it...

[Florida240sx]

Any other sponsors make a similiar unit for less?? I think They'll be receiving a call this week from someone

[S13FX]

Now the two black wires for manual switch. Those are only optional so you can turn the fans on and off at your own request right.

[onosqv]

Now the two black wires for manual switch. Those are only optional so you can turn the fans on and off at your own request right.

Well, not really "off" @ your own request. In off mode, it just lets the controller do its thing. In on mode, it overrides the controller & turns everything on.

[S13FX]

ahh ok but thats only optional right. I can just tape those off and not worry about it.

[onosqv]

ahh ok but thats only optional right. I can just tape those off and not worry about it.

Yea... it's all in the included instructions when you buy it

[S13FX]

Thank you, yah im waiting for mine to come in heh. One last question you said it takes the temp from your stock sensor, can I use my autometer sensor, and jsut ground the negative coolant wire? cause that way it just makes it easier to wire into

[onosqv]

Thank you, yah im waiting for mine to come in heh. One last question you said it takes the temp from your stock sensor, can I use my autometer sensor cause that way it just makes it easier to wire into

I'd seriously doubt you'd want to... this is made specifically for nissan oem sensors, and I'm pretty sure the autometer one sends voltages differently. However, feel free to experiment.

[S13FX]

Ahh gotcha didnt know it was made specifically for nissan heh, kinda cool now I have an SOHC but shouldnt make a difference right and did you use your coolant sensor from the ECU or the one from the dash or does it specifie this. Also I will try the Autometer one since it's so easy for me to access, and I will report back .

[Fenvy]

which side of of the radiator did you let the fan spin up 1st? colder or hotter side?

did you ever plug in a rj45 cable and play with it? I bet we can tap a led through there when one of the fan turns on

[onosqv]

which side of of the radiator did you let the fan spin up 1st? colder or hotter side?

did you ever plug in a rj45 cable and play with it? I bet we can tap a led through there when one of the fan turns on

I have it spinning on the hotter side first.

Haven't played w/ the RJ45 yet.

[amolao]

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