Whoops - I missed that fan.

-jk

But the fan I had is not a good one and I honestly hadn't had it hooked up in some time. I hooked it up the other day just because I was inside the case adding the light kit. I know it was not a high CFM and even had one blade missing when I paid closer attention to it when I removed it yesterday! And I honestly don't remember if I had it configured as a pusher or puller.

I did ask and I got answers from other BMW owners which were of great help. I really wanted to know if it was only me.

It doesn't really make a load of difference which way it's pulling, especially with a small volume area like the empeg's case, as it's not going to create any significant vacuum or pressure, so either way you're still pulling in external air. And unless the fan itself is generating significant heat, which I seriously doubt, it's still going to do something positive if the external temperature is lower. (Obviously, if it's 1F lower it's not going to do much regardless, but you get my point.) In other words, if the fan makes it worse, a better fan is going to make it just as worse, if not more worse.

Of course... a bigger fan doesn't fix a larger problem.

My thoughts, though, are that I have not done enough research as to that fan's effects. I had not used it in any of the vehicles prior. I added it with the Integra but it was not attached to power for any length of time. I believe the fan is faulty. And my initial temperatur rising issue WITH the fan in place I didn't yield enough data to say "yay or nay" to a fan in general.

One thing I may not have clarified is that my initial post about the 59C shutdown in car DID NOT have the fan installed (it was there, but wires were not connected)

Thanks everyone for the help - unfortunately it seems if you haven't worked at Empeg sometime in your life or aren't part of a circle, you're thought to be clueless...

BTW... Renault Clio's are the cars that have the electric power steering motor I was the electro-mechanical designer on... I am a mechanical engineer, though, by degree. I have since left that company (actually I left prior to having built any Clio's with the motor installed) and I have heard that there are MANY problems with the power steering... our manufacturing plant did not liason with anyone well... and they fixed problems that arose with no input... sad really...

I am not saying that thinking I am better or worse than anyone else... only trying to point out that I'm not clueless or even uneducated as someone may have portrayed me.

Not sure what car you're running... but my old 1970 Pontiac Grandprix hit 180F on a bad day... somewhere in there temperature wise you have steam... circulating which is not a good thing...

And nice pun... hot topic!

Quote:
It doesn't really make a load of difference which way it's pulling,

It does, unfortunately: the air path through the empeg was designed for extraction, exiting through the lid. The inlets are purposely placed next to the PSU circuitry.

If you induct (blow into the case) through the lid, you will be (in this case) blowing hot air onto the disks. The folding of the cables and the position of the sled ensures there will only be circulatory airflow above the sled and not below it. Given the limited space behind the dash on this car, this could easily explain the overheating. I am not in the least bit surprised, to be honest.

I'm willing to bet the vent holes on the top of the case are close to the upper wall of the console column with very little space on either side of the sled - this was what it was like on the 325 I did. This is not in the least bit conducive to any kind of cooling.

Well, in a situation where the ambient temperature is already warm, as established, it doesn't make a lot of difference.

Hmm. Is it possible that he has a failing thermostat? With the electronic climate control, he'd still get the cabin heated properly, but it might be generating hotter-than-normal air.

He? If you're referring to me... I'm not a "he" by a long way...

I would think, though, that with all the monitoring crap done by the BMW OBC that if there was a thermostat issue, it would signal it... it signals everything else (stupid brake light circuit failure notice with no failure!)

I've never seen a thermostat with a sensor on it. That doesn't mean there couldn't be some other sensor that could indicate a failing thermostat in some way.

Dammit. Sorry. Every time I see you post, I think "that's an odd name for a guy," then I get reminded that you're not. In fact, I may have done this before.

BTW, I had that false brake light report, too, on my '87 325e.

Yes... blame my parents... It's french or something... no one can pronounce it either...

And to top it off, I'm an engineer which not many women are... I was just discussing a few minutes ago with my boss (who is also a woman) that it's so often to get canned responses to things saying "Mr." but with my name, I get it more than others

This problem can be solved without any engineering knowledge. Just common sense and empirical testing. Seems to me everyone's gotten off topic and completely skipped over one of the most important details. This is an E36 install.

The center console of the E36 has a double vent just above where the stock radio (or empeg in this case) is mounted.

Image from my install thread: http://empegbbs.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=install&Number=241048



Now, something you may consider convenient, annoying or just plain confusing, is the presence of a temperature dial just below the center vent (it's the dial on the left between empeg and vent). Most every other car I've ever seen has only a control to modulate air flow for a center vent (the dial on the right). This dial allows you to modulate (quickly) the effectiive temperature of the air coming into the cabin regardless of the thermostat setting.

If you have your thrmostat (either or both temperature zones) set high (hot) you can still dial the center vent to a center position to get neutral air or to blue for cooler air. The air duct behind the empeg is strictly for the center vent. Experiment with different dial settings and flow control (to meter the effect of the chosen temperature on the cabin temp). I normally leave mine set to center, but in the winter (if it's cold - I live in Canada near Toronto) I will dial it to max heat. I've never had a problem with empeg overheating in this car either way, but obviously YMMV.

I'm also running a 100GB Seagate drive and 30GB Fujitsu - can't say for sure, but some drive make/models may very well run hotter than others.

Bruno