What is a fan clutch?

The fan clutch is one of those parts that are used in all cars, as the name suggests, this part is used to cool the engine. The fan clutch should be considered the low-consumption champion in the car's power generation system. When a car is moving, its engine heats up in high-performance mode. The car fan clutch is a part that releases all the stress put on the engine. An overheated engine can endanger the driver and cause serious damage to the vehicle.

What is a cooling fan?

You also should know the difference between a cooling fan and a fan clutch. The cooling fan is the part that helps the engine cool down when the air under the hood gets hot. But fan clutches of various types play a key role in powering cooling fans.

What types of fan clutches are there?

There are two kinds of automobile fan clutches: mechanical and electric. In modern cars, an electronic fan clutch is usually used. There are two types of mechanical fan clutches: thermal clutches and non-thermal clutches. Each of these fan clutches has its pros and cons as well.

Generally, these fans include the following types:

Hot fan clutch：

One type of automotive fan clutch is called a hot fan clutch, which responds to the temperature under the hood or the trim of the air. When the heat sink generates hot air, the metal spring is gradually heated by this air. As the metal spring heats up, it opens the fluid valve and releases silicone into the clutch chamber.

Now, in this case, using the hot fan clutch is a metal spring and silicone that engages the cooling fan and creates the amount of cool air needed to keep the temperature down. As the temperature under the hood cools, the temperature spring contracts, allowing the silicone to close.

This type of car fan clutch senses the temperature of the air behind the radiator to change the fan speed. It then provides two speeds:

High speed (bonded): Provides maximum capacity cooling
Low Speed (Disengage): Provides noise reduction and fuel monitoring for cars (reduces fuel consumption)
The important thing to know about hot fan clutches is that they are more efficient than non-hot fan clutches.

Non-thermal fan clutch：

Another type of automotive fan clutch is athermal. The non-thermal fan clutch is always on and uses metal springs to act as thermal conductors. As the engine temperature increases, the non-thermal clutch fan expands. This process opens the fluid valve, which then releases the silicone into the chamber.

Now depending on the cooling needs, the fan clutch silicone is activated and shrinks once the desired temperature is reached. One of the significant advantages of a non-thermal fan clutch is its lower price compared to a thermal fan clutch. This type of car fan clutch is always in working condition, its rotation speed is 30% to 60% of the water pump.

Electronic fan clutch：

Another type of car fan clutch is the electronic fan clutch. The advantage of the electronic fan is that it does not reduce the engine power. On the other hand, they will start to run when the car needs it. Whereas the thermal fan and non-thermal fan only run when the engine is running.

Electronic fan clutches, unlike thermal and non-thermal clutches, do not shorten water pump and ball bearing life. On the other hand, it doesn't reduce the truck's drag coefficient or propulsion power.

In this type of automotive fan clutch, the mechanism to lock and engage the clutch is electric and is done by a temperature sensor. In thermal and non-thermal mechanical fan clutches, a heated temperature spring causes operation to begin. But in this type of fan clutch, the task of heating the spring is performed by the car's current.

In the operation of the car electronic fan clutch, this part is completely adhered to the radiator and covers 70% of the total area of the radiator, absorbing more air volume at low speed. This way, hot air is converted to cold air faster. Interestingly, the electronic fan clutch makes it easier to suck in hot air when the engine revs past 2400 rpm.

What are the symptoms of a fan clutch failure?

If the clutch fan is too loud, there is a problem. Sometimes, when the motor oil does not work or the motor system overheats, it can cause a lot of disturbance to the host. In fact, this can cause the vehicle to heat up, and on the other hand, the fan itself can make noise or squeal.
The fan's power and acceleration are completely reduced. This is when you need to keep an eye out for the engine cooling fan clutch, which can cause this interruption several times. It's a common saying that the fan's clutch isn't working and needs repair.