Hydraulic fan

Design and function

Student booklet
Preface
This training package gives a basic
introduction to the coolant fan system.
There are a number different hardware and
software variants, the variant being
dependent on the model and how the bus is
specified.
In addition, a different hydraulic pump
variant was introduced at the end of 2002. A
fan revolution counter was also introduced
at the same time.
The changed components are the fan
motor, the radiator core, and the coolant
fan.
Service work and special tool handling is
described in Volvo’s service literature.
Contents
1 Introduction ..................................................... 3
2 Hydraulic tank ................................................. 4
3 Hydraulic pump ............................................... 5
4 Pump control plate .......................................... 6
5 Control valve ................................................... 7
6 PWM-signal .................................................... 9
7 Hydraulic fan motor ....................................... 10
8 Rotational speed sensor ............................... 11
9 Hydraulic oil filter ........................................... 12
10 Rotational speed ........................................... 13
11 Circuit ........................................................... 14
 6

4 1

1 Introduction
1 Hydraulic pump 4 Rotational speed sensor 7 Leak oil line
2 Pressure line 5 Oil cooler 8 Hydraulic oil filter
3 Coolant fan 6 Return line 9 Hydraulic tank

The coolant fan system is electro-hydraulically controlled and gives stepless regulation of the
coolant fan. The system is designed to give optimal control of the fan’s rotational speed, the
objective being to reduce the power consumed by the motor and therefore the effect on fuel
consumption.
The engine’s control unit receives information on the engine’s temperature from the coolant
sensor. The hydraulic pump capacity is controlled by a pulse width modulated signal (PWM) sent
from the engine control unit to the solenoid valve on the hydraulic pump’s control valve, and the
hydraulic pump’s oil pressure drives the coolant fan gear wheel motor.
There is, in addition, a rotational speed induction sensor on the coolant fan, which reads the fan’s
actual speed and returns this information to the engine control unit. Where necessary, the output
signal to the hydraulic pump is adjusted so that a correct rotational speed is maintained.
The correct fan speed is therefore maintained in accordance with the engine thermostat and the
programmed parameters.
The hydraulic system’s oil cooler is positioned horizontally along the radiator’s lower edge on
B12B/M. On B7DD and B9TL, the oil cooler is located vertically along the radiator.
Notes
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 +15
1

2
CM

CECM

3 BIC

2 Hydraulic tank
1 Hydraulic tank 2 Oil level sensor
3 Connection to oil level warning light

The hydraulic oil tank, which the power steering and the hydraulic fan system share, is located in
the engine compartment.
The oil tank is subdivided into an upper and lower chamber which are separated by a diaphragm.
The oil tank can be compared with a cyclone tank. The return oil circulates inside the upper
chamber and passes through a hole in the diaphragm to the lower chamber. This eliminates air
bubbles in the oil. This means that the total oil volume is minimized to 4.5 liters in the tank.
When the oil level in the tank is above the lowest level, the oil level sensor will close and a current
of +15 is sent to the CM (Control Module). When the oil level falls below the lowest permitted level,
the sensor opens and the current signal to the CM is broken. The CM is connected to the CECM
(Central Electronic Control Unit) and the BIC (Bus Instrument Cluster) via the data link. An error
message is sent to the BIC which displays the error message in the display.
Notes
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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12

3 Hydraulic pump
1 Drive shaft 6 Pump piston 11 Control plate-Yoke
2 Spring 7 Valve plate 12 Front bearing
3 Control piston 8 Rear bearing
4 Control valve 9 Spring
5 Solenoid 10 Pump housing

The hydraulic pump is, on the B12M/B, mounted on the top of the engine. On the B7 and B9DD it is
mounted on the left side of the engine (rear). All models are driven by the engine transmission.
The pump pressure is controlled by the control valve’s (11) solenoid (12), via PWM signals from
the engine control unit. This releases requested amounts of hydraulic oil which increases or
decreases the control plate angle (10). This in turn means that the pump piston (5) has longer or
shorter strokes, which increases or decreases the oil pressure.
Notes
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 B

A
3 4 5

2
C

9 8 7 6 D

4 Pump control plate

1 Inlet 4 Pump piston 7 Control plate
2 Outlet 5 Valve plate 8 Front bearing
3 Control piston 6 Fan shaft 9

When the motor is starts, the movable units inside hydraulic pump housing rotate.
A When the control plate is vertical, the oil remains stationary in the cylinder barrel. This means
that no oil is forced away, i.e. no displacement.
B The angle of the control plate means that the pistons move forwards and backwards in the
cylinder barrel when the rotating unit turns. This means that pumping starts.
C The amount of oil can be varied, dependent on the control plate’s angle. The larger the angle,
the greater the displacement and the higher the pump pressure.
Notes
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 4 3 6 5 7

10

12 11 2 9 8

B P A T
High pressure

Control pressure

Pilot pressure

Case drain pressure

Suction pressure
S L1 L

5 Control valve
1 Adjuster screw, main pressure 5 Spring 9 Piston
2 Spring 6 Restriction 10 Setting of standby pressure
3 Longitudinal hole 7 Control chamber 11 Plug
4 Check valve 8 Solenoid valve 12 Control valve

B Pressure for hydraulic fan motor A Control pressure

S Suction line from hydraulic tank L Return line to hydraulic oil tank
P Feed of check valveT Return line

The fan speed is regulated with a PWM signal from the engine control unit activating the solenoid
valve on the hydraulic pump regulator valve. The regulating valve contains two different valves; one
control valve (12) and one check valve (4. The solenoid valve and the two valves control and check
the pressure to the pump control plate, which regulates the amount of oil passing to the fan motor
from the hydraulic pump.
Control valve
The adjuster screw (1) and the spring (2) are pretensioned against the control pressure when the
solenoid valve (8) is not active. This makes it possible to set the system pressure at connection
(P).
When the solenoid valve is activated, the piston (9) is pressed against the pretensioned spring (2).
With this opening pressure, the control valve pressure can be reduced to the correct control
pressure, depending on the pulse width to the solenoid valve and the system pressure is set.

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Check valve
The control valve (12) controls the upper valve. The longitudinal hole (3) and the restriction (6) in
the check valve make it possible to build up the system pressure (P). This pressure acts against
the pretensioned spring (5).
The restriction (6) increases the system pressure in the control chamber (7). Depending on the
electric signal to the solenoid valve, a control pressure is obtained that moves the main valve (4) to
the right. This affects the connection P to A. The pump control plate rotates until the requested
pressure P is attained.
If the pressure P drops, the valve (4) will move back to the left of the spring assembly (5). This
opens the connection from A to T, the pump control plate rotates back until the requested pressure
P is attained once again.
Coloured boxes in illustration:
Red High Pressure Yellow Control Pressure Green Drain Pressure
Orange Control Pressure Blue Suction Pressure

Notes
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 40%

100%

75%

100%

6 PWM-signal
The PWM signal is an exact and efficient method for achieving a variable voltage or earth.
The hydraulic pump control valve’s solenoid is supplied with a constant 24 V voltage and is
controlled via an earth signal from engine control unit pin 21.
The earth pulse length varies dependent on coolant temperature and engine rpm. This gives a
variable pulse length.
The output pulse length is also divided into on and off, at a rapid rate, and in this way controls the
current strength to the solenoid.
If the PWM signal to the hydraulic pump control valve’s solenoid is lost, a spring holds the pump’s
control yoke at the max angle and max cylinder volume is therefore maintained. This means that
the hydraulic motor is supplied with max oil pressure and the fan therefore runs at max rotational
speed.
The system is therefore fail-safe.
When the PWM signal has a frequency earth signal, the control valve counteracts the pressure
from the spring and reduces the pump capacity.
Notes
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 4 32 1 4

7 Hydraulic fan motor

The hydraulic motor is a gear wheel type motor and is supplied in two different versions dependent
on the bus’s specification.
The oil pressure from the hydraulic pump is forced between the motor’s two gear wheels and
starts the hydraulic motor.
The hydraulic motor alternative for B7DD B9DD and DH12D 340 has an idling speed of 1120 rpm,
and a maximum rotational speed of 3000 rpm. Max rotational speed is reached at an engine speed
of 1200 rpm.
On the rear of the hydraulic motor, there is a leak oil line whose function is to remove any air
pockets and return excess hydraulic oil to the return line.
The hydraulic motor alternative for DH12D 380/420 has an idling speed of 750 rpm and a max
rotational speed of 1950 rpm. Only when engine speed reaches 1200 rpm is the fan speed
maintained above 1800 rpm.
Part.no. B7DD, B9DD and DH12D 340 20479526
Part.no. DH12D 380 420 20489463
The hydraulic motor in principle consist of a pair of gear wheels (1) which are mounted in bearings
in the bushings on the shaft. The shaft is mounted in (3) the housing and held in place by the front
and rear lid (4).
Notes
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 2
8 Rotational speed sensor
A rotational speed induction sensor is located by the coolant fan and continuously reads the fan’s
rotational speed.
The rotational speed is sent to the engine’s control unit. Where necessary, the output signal to the
hydraulic pump is adjusted.
The correct fan speed is therefore maintained with respect to the engine thermostat and the
programmed parameters.
Notes
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 2

9 Hydraulic oil filter

1 Pressure switch
2 Leak oil line

The hydraulic system oil filter is located in the engine compartment, and filters the oil on the return
side.
The filter cartridge, which is the ‘in-line‘ type, is shared with the power steering system.
The pressure switch (1) is threaded into the filter housing. There is a by-pass valve in the filter
housing. If the filter becomes blocked, the switch closes at around 1.25 bars and an error
message is shown in the display on the instrument panel.
At the same time, the by-pass valve opens and oil is led past the filter via a ‘bypass’ channel in the
filter housing.
The leak oil line (2) from the hydraulic motor is located immediately in front of the oil filter.
Notes
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 rpm
3500
3000

2500
2000

1500
1000

500

0
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 ºC

10 Rotational speed
1 Hydraulic pump

A specific engine coolant temperature is aimed for. This temperature is controlled by the coolant
thermostat.
The engine’s coolant temperature sensor measures the engine’s coolant temperature. The
temperature difference between what the value should be and the actual temperature is shown as
a deviation (Cool-Sys-Ctemp-error) which determines the fan speed.
This deviation is read on the X-axis of the diagram.
The example shows a B7DD equipped with a thermostat which is fully open at 86°C.
The parameters for this vehicle specification mean that the fan speed begins to increase at 88°C,
and full fan speed is achieved at 92°C.
Notes
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 +30
+15

F45 FBOX 2
KBOX 2:1
RL17
6115

21
9070 EB

EA
6

7074 1 2
n

11 Circuit
The fan control cabling is integrated wit the engine’s cabling.
Relay 17 in K-box 2 draws ‘+30’, and the hydraulic pump solenoid (6115) receives power via ‘+15’
and fuse F45 in fuse box 2.
The pump capacity is controlled by a pulse width modulated earth signal (PWM) which is supplied
via pin 21 on the engine control unit (9070) to the solenoid (6115) on the hydraulic pump control
valve. The requested fan speed is therefore maintained.
The hydraulic fan rotates normally at its lowest speed and increases via the PWM signal being
changed via pin 21 on the engine control unit. The signal reaches the hydraulic pump control valve
solenoid and the requested coolant fan speed is maintained.
The coolant fan speed is controlled by the fan speed sensor (7074) via a returned input signal to
pin 6 on the engine control unit.
Where necessary, the output signal from the engine control unit is adjusted.
Notes
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12 Bleeding
The hydraulic system is bled in two steps.

Step 1.
The hydraulic system pressure side is bled by connecting a fill hose and fill pump to the
hydraulic pump measurement outlet. The fill pump is started and oil is pumped into the system
until the hydraulic tank is filled to the maximum level.
Step 2.
The hydraulic system suction side is bled by holding the hydraulic pump bleed nipple open until
only oil (and no air) flows out.
The power steering is then bled by starting the engine and turning the steering wheel forwards and
backwards repeatedly.

Fill hose part no. 999 8636.

Fill pump part no. 999 8634
Notes
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© Copyright 2003.07 Volvo Bus Corporation

GT2200043eng