GEN IV E38 Holden Commodore Cooling Fans

[CRFaig]

Hi Forum,
New guy here who needs advice. I've just transplanted an L98 into a Nissan Patrol and am running a dedicated wiring harness with an E38 from a VZ Commodore with the VATS removed.

Problem is I cannot get the cooling fans to operate when the coolant temp gets to the preset level. The fans are set to 'Discrete' in EFILIVE and the high and low speed fan relay drive wires are connected to pins 17 and 58 of the E38 respectively.

Any advice?

[Taz]

Hello CRFaig,

What OS is your E38 running ?

Did you apply the “Cooling Fan Operation Range Patch” (B9904) ? You won’t see this patch unless you have the V2 connected to your Laptop prior to opening the tune file.


Regards,
Taz

[CRFaig]

Thanks Taz,

Firstly, it's great to see a Canuck with an Aussie nickname.
Ok, I don't currently have efilive at my disposal but the E38 has been flashed using it. So, I don't know the the operating system my E38 has.
The supplier gave me a new E38 and now I have the low speed fans operating........Immediately after start-up and they stay on. High speed fans will not come on. I don't know if the supplier is using V2 and don't know if they have applied the B9904 patch. It's one of those situations where I don't want to tell them what they should be doing until I'm fully informed.

[gmh308]

B9904 wont make any difference. Whoever disabled your VATS could have fixed this for you. If they didnt, then maybe there are some other revisions required too. When we set an ECM up for a conversion we supply a calibration that has all the revisions for a conversion. Your tuner appears to be using EFILive, so they can fix the problem :).

[DMAX403]

Hey mate, who did the conversion? and how much roughly? Always wanted an L98 in a patrol.

[CRFaig]

Hey DMAX,

The conversion fit was done by myself with the parts kit and engine supplied by Marks 4WD in Dandenong, Victoria.

Cost............Including everything aside from labour, the bill is up to approx $23000.

[DMAX403]

Cool man, Had it on the dyno yet? How much does Marks charge for the engine?

[CRFaig]

No dyno time yet. It has a twin 2.25" primaries through the two cats to a very small 2.25" single through 2 mufflers. I don't think there would be a dyno out there that could read such low figures. Very congested exhaust. It still goes well though. The exhaust will be opened up after the engineering certificate is written. Then the grunt should appear.

Marks charged $8300 for the L98 crate engine which included the A/C compressor, alternator, power steering pump and all bracketry (all brand new with GM part #'s). From what I can tell, the L98 is a VE Commodore manual engine.

Marks conversion kit is pretty good but I've struggled with a few other aspects of the conversion as a result of what had been supplied unfortunately.

[DMAX403]

Are you a member of the Patrol forum? Would love to see pics of it all. I was going to go with the same engine before I went with a Duramax/allison combo, but still love me ls motors.

[CRFaig]

Not a member but it could be good to upload some pics. Will wait to all is finished; i.e. the cooling fans work as they should, the A/C is functional and the exhaust is corrected after the engineers goes through.

Still at a loss with the cooling fans........

[doubledip]

take it to Mark's 4x4 he should fix it if you bought the kit off him - its an easy fix

[CRFaig]

Thanks Doubledip.

Yes, has been back to Marks (or at least the ECU's have) It's on its fourth ECU. The first one didn't drive the fans at all. No ground and faulty. The second made the fans come on low speed straight after start-up. Mark reprogrammed another ECU with the percentages changed in the fan control parameters and we did the swap over. Put it in, no start and no tester communication. Swapped it over for another ECU and everything works but, as before, the fans come on immediately after start-up.
Mark has been really helpful with the ECU probs (came into his work on Saturday to swap over the dodgy ECU) and let me know that it looks like he's had a small run of faulty remanufactured E38's.

So....I've heard it's an easy fix. I've also been told that an EFILIVE reprogrammed E38 cannot run low and high speed as per the factory tune.

Is this true?

[doubledip]

I use the 'others' software when programming the ECU's and they can control the fans high and lo no problem. I have never used EFILive to program a E38 and control fans but are 99% (not 100 cause never done it :) ) that EFILive can drive both high and low fans independantly on temps

[CRFaig]

Thanks Double,

Yeah, Marks 4WD seem to think that the high and low cannot be controlled. Unfortunately, they're the ones that have to sort it out so I'm at the mercy of what they say.

[doubledip]

do you have a copy of the tune at all.. i guess not seeing you have to take it back to them ... just asking.. cause i could take a look and see if it is the problem i think it is

[CRFaig]

You're right, Mate.

Yes. They have the info, unfortunately. Thanks for the offer though. I may ask them for a copy of the tune when they take the car.

[doubledip]

how did you go... get it all sorted?

[CRFaig]

how did you go... get it all sorted?

Yes mate. The vehicle was sent to the Horse Power Factory and, after about 10 mins work, the fans came on at the desired temp. Dual-stage fan control does not appear to be used after changing the OS to EFILive though.