[Slider]

A fan kicks on at low temperatures (180 degrees could be less). I have A/C but compressor is taken out so I can't use it.
As far as I know there are only 2 fans, the Main Mechanical one and the electrical one at the A/C evaporator(?)coil.
When the fan I'm speaking of activates why does it sound like it is coming from the EFI? Is there another cooling fan for the EFI system that I cannot find in the shop manual or anyother resource? Or is it just my old ears not able to pick-up the fan noise source?
Since I do not use the A/C (although if it wasn't so darn expensive to fix I would) I'm contemplating removing the entire A/C system, is there any mechanical disadvatage to this since I would be removing the electric fan along with the A/C system?
I will also post a thread question re: how to defog without A/C.

 

[the_sicilian]

theres no fan for the AC condensor.

you need to tell us your model-year to help you. theyre all pretty varied in specifics.

if your AC compressor is gone, completely removed from the car already, then youre done.

but if its still there, dont just assume its dead. usually a simple process of replacing the schrader valves (about 3$ a piece) replacing the Ether100 Oil (about 35$ for a little bottle) and replacing the R-12 Freon (normally now substituted by Freeze-12, the industry replacement, about 3 bottles equalling 40$) and ensuring the relay is setup and that thing will blow cold.

 

[Tifosi]

A fan kicks on at low temperatures (180 degrees could be less). I have A/C but compressor is taken out so I can't use it.
As far as I know there are only 2 fans, the Main Mechanical one and the electrical one at the A/C evaporator(?)coil.

Based on that, I'm going to throw a wild guess and say it's an S3.

When the fan I'm speaking of activates why does it sound like it is coming from the EFI? Is there another cooling fan for the EFI system that I cannot find in the shop manual or anyother resource? Or is it just my old ears not able to pick-up the fan noise source?

The only fan that should kick on with the AC is the one in front of the radiator, unless the blower fan inside the car is also on.

I'm contemplating removing the entire A/C system, is there any mechanical disadvatage to this since I would be removing the electric fan along with the A/C system?

The fan can stay if you like. There's a temp sensor on the radiator shourd that reads the air temp coming by, and if it gets too hot, will kick a relay that turns that very same AC fan on to try and help cool things down. (it'll even keep running after you shut down the engine and walk away, then once it senses it's cool enough, shut itself off)

However, it is an auxillary fan, so even on a good day it's not going to perform as strongly as an electric fan designed to cool an engine, but if you had one of those, you wouldn't need the pulley driven fan to begin with.

 

[Slider]

It is a 1985 spider.

So I'm getting some feeling that eliminating the Condensor Fan and Condensor unit in front of the radiator is possible without a determental effect to the cooling system. I do see in the manual that the Condensor Fan and condensor serves a latent function of providing addtional cooling ability but I see this more as a marketing phenomenon then a real function.
I see quite a bit of weight associated with these components along with their related hoses, (refrigerant which I have yet to drain ) and other devices that when entirely removed would also make servicabiltiy of the car easier.
I've seen another thread on this site where the discussion started by a Spider whose condensor fan runs on after the car is shut off. The conclusion seems to be that the Condensor Fan was faulty. With that said I still wonder if the fan I hear kicking on is the condensor fan and if it is inefficent and not necesary why keep it unless your a purest, which I'm not much of, or you desire to have an operational A/C system.

 

[Tifosi]

Well, it's easy enough to check the fan: wait til you hear it kick on, then look up under the bumper to see if it's spinning. (stop all forward motion of the car first though )

All the parts of the AC system, including what's up under the dash (which BTW will not affect the heating system as they are two seperate units) is a substantial amount of weight. (AC compresor alone has to push 20+ pounds and that fan is a good 5)

Still, removing it all doesn't really do anything to get you more room to work on things in the engine bay, but it's one less belt to mess with, and you can get behind the glovebox quite a bit easier. (like say you've got to work on those triple gauges)