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Old 02-22-2016, 11:04 AM   #1
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1988 Pace Arrow 454

We just picked up a 1988 Pace Arrow on a P30 Chassis. It has a 454 with 66k miles. It has been cold outside so I haven't opened the dog house or crawled underneath it yet.

On the front of the Radiator is a dual electric fan and then a cooler (Trans or Oil, don't know yet). The fan comes on when the key is in the on or acc position. Is the electric fan usually stock, or did someone put it in?

If it is stock, I am assuming the temps sensor went out on it and they hard wired it to be on all the time. Where would this sensor be so I check and/or replace it? Is it related to the temp gauge on the dash? That is not working.
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Old 02-22-2016, 06:25 PM   #2
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Congats on your new old motorhome.
I have a 1985 PaceArrow on a P30 and I don't think the electric fans were original, they should have a clutch fan. my guess is the clutch fan went out and the PO added the electric fans.
What does the temp. gauge show when running ?
I don't have any experience with electric fans but I do think they should have a thermostat to turn them on and off
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Old 02-22-2016, 06:34 PM   #3
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The electric fans could be from the air conditioner system. Before doing too much, I'd certainly check that the standard radiator fan is in place and working properly. You could also trace the power leads to the fans and see if they are switched by just the ignition or a thermostatic control in the radiator or coolant system.
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Old 02-22-2016, 06:36 PM   #4
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The second fan comes on when the engine has been under load (up a hill). It makes a loud roar that can scare the pants off you when it kicks in. But it is perfectly normal, and is a good thing. It shows the extra cooling is doing its job.
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Old 02-22-2016, 06:37 PM   #5
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Welcome to IRV2 - Congratulations on the new toy - now learning begins and this is the right place to ask :>)

'Workhorse' under 'RV Forums' has a lot of knowledgeable Chevy folks for technical questions - Workhorse took over the Chevy RV chassis in about 1999.

I don't know the answer to your question, but someone should pipe in soon to assist. I have a 2000 P32 (454) and after working out the bugs it has been very reliable.

You'll need to post a picture when you have the time.
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Old 02-22-2016, 08:32 PM   #6
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I had a 88 Southwind 454, and it had a clutch fan and no Electric fans, I am not sure about the Pace arrow. I agree with the idea of tracing the wires back to see where they are tapped in. They should not run with the key on accessory. There is a temperature sensor in the front of the intake manifold near the thermostat housing for the temperature gauge, check to see if it is hooked up, then if it is still not working, change it. You can also get on the Fleetwood forum and ask your questions there. When you get things like you want them, I can give you some relatively inexpensive mods to make to give you slightly more power and better fuel mileage.
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Old 02-23-2016, 11:07 AM   #7
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Thanks for the input. When it warms up again I will check the system out.
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Old 02-23-2016, 07:21 PM   #8
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I have a 89 Winnebago Elandan, I have the 2 electric fans that are for the AC. As stated you will hear the clutch fan kick in when temp is called for it. I have an oil cooler but it is in the lower 4 coils of the AC unit. Who thought that that was a good idea. NOT. My transmission cooler is in the normal part of the radiator side tank.
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Old 02-23-2016, 07:35 PM   #9
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I had a 89 HR 454 and it had a engine driven clutch fan that roared when it cane on, sounded like the tranny had downshifted! It also had a BIG electric fan mounted in front of the radiator that came on when the engine got hotter than the clutch fan could handle, like 210 degrees. THAT LARGE ELECTRIC FAN SUCKED LOTS OF POWER, so much so that when I hotwired it to run continuously, (stupid) it depleted the chassis batteries in about six hours, and I started getting a whiney nagging sound from the copilot seat as the electric fuel pump quit. I un-hot wired it and installed a light that came on when the electric fan comes on, just for interest. The electric fan got power from a temp sensor mounted in the water jacket on the right side of the block.
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Old 02-23-2016, 10:53 PM   #10
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AtekorS,

I think the PO wired those elect. fan's that way for some reason? Who know's?
But I would start over, and do it right!
I installed elect. fan on my 1990 Overland with the 460 ford motor. The fan came with a sensor the mounted with a "wire tie" to the radiator. I also ran a toggle switch and a light on the dash to turn it on manually. It had the big clutch fan that worked good, and it would cycle on and off when the A/C was running, and I thought by adding the elect fan I would eliminate that. But what happened, when the elect fan kicked on and forced more air through the radiator, the heat would kick the clutch fan on! So I took it off, and just left it stock, and it worked fine, and I learned to live with the noise of the clutch fan. Sounded like a jet taking off!! Rail!
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Old 02-24-2016, 12:31 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cook elandan View Post
I have a 89 Winnebago Elandan, I have the 2 electric fans that are for the AC. As stated you will hear the clutch fan kick in when temp is called for it. I have an oil cooler but it is in the lower 4 coils of the AC unit. Who thought that that was a good idea. NOT. My transmission cooler is in the normal part of the radiator side tank.
That's the way my '93 P30 454 Flair is , except it has a large single electric fan. There is also a lot of noise made by the engine driven fan when it is engaged.

Just hope the radiator never leaks, because I can tell you that is one pain to replace.

Best of luck.

Steve
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Old 02-24-2016, 11:59 AM   #12
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My 1994 P30 manual identifies the electric fan as an "auxiliary cooling fan". According to the manual it is there to provide additional cooling at low speed operations and for AC, but also according to the manual it only operates when the ignition is on and is triggered by a coolant temperature sensor. My interpretation would be that the thing comes on anytime additional cooling is needed at any speed, which is what others have already said.

I'm in a straight up learning curve with ours as we've only had it a few months and I'm trying to get it ready for a 8k mile trip this Summer. As with every vehicle I've had I bought a factory shop manual for it which has helped a lot.

Best of luck with yours!

Steve
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Old 02-24-2016, 09:01 PM   #13
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fans are for the a/c, if you look you should find the power for them comes from a pressure switch on one of the a/c lines. They are not auxiliary cooling fans
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Old 02-24-2016, 11:21 PM   #14
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I only know what the GM Service Manual says.

It could be that GM used different methods of switching the fan in different years. I'll look at mine tomorrow.

Steve
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