Starcool II Condenser Fan

HA

hardwire

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2023
Posts
13
Hi all,

I picked up a 95 Ford SMB (not sure on the model) late last year and have been working on it ever since. It's only got 66k miles, but sat for 15 years and you know how bad that can be on any vehicle. Especially an RV!


Anywho, I have a Starcool II system that actually seems to work pretty decent for the most part. 12v is great and 110 mode is a little weak, but I've read that's pretty common. Some mickey mouse mechanic worked on this thing at some point, and it looks like they just deleted the Starcool condenser fan when they replaced the radiator.



From what I can tell in the manual, this older model just uses the factory condenser and kicks on a 12v fan when in 12v/110 mode. Is this correct? If so, does anyone have a photo of how the original fan is actually mounted? I assume I can just stick a fan on there and hopefully find the original wires for it. Seems simple enough, but I'm a visual learner and a picture would help me out a bunch. Thanks!
 
My original fans were mounted with sheet metal screws into the frame of the condenser. When I replaced them, I used some flat stock screwed to the frame and then mounted the fan to it because the fans I found were a different size. There are plenty of fans available online, so pick one that has mounting holes near where you need them. One thing I didn't count on was that the new fans were really loud, so you might see if you can compare the sound level of what ever fans you look at. As for the wires, I can't help you but look for any dead ended wires near the fan location. If you can't find them you can always just run a manual on off switch and wire pair.
 
Hardwire -- are you meaning the StarCool fan - mounted under the driver door area - facing outward NOT facing to underside of van ? I'd take a photo of mine for you if I can send via iPhone - send me a private message if you want that photo ?

I can hear mine running when I lower the driver window - it does seem loud - but hey - after 22 years it's still working !! Fingers crossed too !
 
doublevan2 said:
Hardwire -- are you meaning the StarCool fan - mounted under the driver door area - facing outward NOT facing to underside of van ? !
Click to expand...

I'm talking about the fan you want to replace where you can't find the wires. Did I misunderstand what you are trying to do?
 
doublevan2 said:
Hardwire -- are you meaning the StarCool fan - mounted under the driver door area - facing outward NOT facing to underside of van ? I'd take a photo of mine for you if I can send via iPhone - send me a private message if you want that photo ?

I can hear mine running when I lower the driver window - it does seem loud - but hey - after 22 years it's still working !! Fingers crossed too !
Click to expand...

From what the drawings in the manual are showing me, there is no separate condenser under the van. I even crawled underneath to verify and couldn't see anything but a compressor, even while tracing the lines. As far as I can tell this system just uses the factory condenser behind the radiator, which still seems a little odd. The only thing that is cooling it at the moment is the engine fan. No electronics fans at all.
 
arctictraveller said:
My original fans were mounted with sheet metal screws into the frame of the condenser. When I replaced them, I used some flat stock screwed to the frame and then mounted the fan to it because the fans I found were a different size.
Click to expand...


Was that the regular condenser behind the radiator? Or a separate small one mounted elsewhere? It seems everyone else has a smaller one under the van somewhere. I was expecting that on mine too but was surprised when I didn't find one anywhere. Not sure if that's an older starcool thing or someone has monkeyed with it.
 
Not sure if I have two fans - theres so much stuff crammed into my engine bay ! I have a small condenser fan under driver side door - just haven't had time to get to my van (in storage) to take a photo yet -
 
doublevan2 said:
Not sure if I have two fans - theres so much stuff crammed into my engine bay !
Click to expand...
There are normally two condensers, the original factory one in front of the radiator and a second one located under the van near the drivers door. The added 12Vdc fans are used since when on shore power, there would be no airflow across the condenser, because the van is not moving.
 
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Yup -- that's my StarCool set up was well - 2002 E350 ExtB. Still blowing about 55 degrees after 22 years ! Ooops - just jinxed myself !!?
 
arctictraveller said:
There are normally two condensers, the original factory one in front of the radiator and a second one located under the van near the drivers door. The added 12Vdc fans are used since when on shore power, there would be no airflow across the condenser, because the van is not moving.
Click to expand...

On mine the 12VDC fans run when using the engine-driven compressor, too -- they're tied in to the same circuit that normally controls the compressor clutch.

My system works OK when there's refrigerant in it. It has a leak and I can't get anyone to look at it because it's too complicated. They don't want to look at anything that isn't stock.
 
BrianW said:
In case it helps, I've uploaded pics of the Starcool parts that were under my (now sold) 1998 SMB. These are all on the driver's side, which AFAIK is where SMB usually mounted them. https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/forums/members/5023-albums1669.html


Also, years ago I uploaded the manual for my 1998 Starcool, which may be of some use: https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/f...arcool-ac-manuals-c1998-19048.html#post197452
Click to expand...

These are perfect, thanks! I crawled underneath mine again and there's only a compressor. I guess that confirms that the older Starcool II unit uses the factory condenser and an electric fan to operate on 110. Now I just have to find the damn wires that went to the now removed fan. Haven't seen anything yet!

Thanks again for all the help, you guys are awesome :d8:
 
hardwire said:
These are perfect, thanks! I crawled underneath mine again and there's only a compressor. I guess that confirms that the older Starcool II unit uses the factory condenser and an electric fan to operate on 110. Now I just have to find the damn wires that went to the now removed fan. Haven't seen anything yet!

Thanks again for all the help, you guys are awesome :d8:
Click to expand...


Ah, didn't notice you had a 95 van and so the older Starcool. Sorry!
 
I'm sure someone has already tried a Google search and have come up empty, but is it possible either Sportsmobile or Field Van have a copy since they installed them back in the day?
 
Scalf77 said:
Does anyone actually have a Starcool II manual? Pre 09/96 when Starcool III went into production.
Click to expand...

I have one. In fact I've got the complete manuals for all of the systems on this van. When I get some time I will get those scanned and uploaded or just posted here so you guys can save and share them appropriately.
 
I have a manual for what I suspect is StarCool I, in my 1990. It doesn't cover anything except basic operation, though.

I also traced out most of the wiring and made a wiring diagram. It's a clever but complex system that's pretty invasive in terms of the rewiring they did to the stock HVAC wiring harness. One interesting tidbit is the dash blower fan always runs off the house battery, even when the van is running and the engine-driven compressor is in use.
 
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