Overheating & fan not running

[jkingston]

After dropping my bike & snapping a mirror while trying to push start it last week, I thought I'd take the time waiting for my replacement mirrors to do a little maintenance, including replacing the coolant, checking the tappets, and synching the carbs.

(Curiously, I dropped my bike to the right & managed to break off the left mirror. Still trying to figure that one out.)

Tappets were good... replaced the gasket & put back on the valve cover

mounted the radiator, hooked up 2 hoses on the right & one on the left... hooked up the fan plug & sensor plug along the right side of the frame... filled the radiator with Peak 50/50 (didn't really bleed it)

did the carb sync

reattached the airbox, including 2 hoses along the left and the two covering the carbs

then I ran it around the block for a little while without the fairings... felt like it was running with the choke on... overheat light(!)... adjusted the idle speed downwards to 12-1300 with the plasic throttle screw

let it cool... ate a burger... smoked a cigarette... took it back out on the road... idle felt better... overheated again... babied the engine into garage, hit the kill switch and noticed that the fan wasn't going.

let the engine chill for 20, double-checked all hoses and wires, oil and coolant levels... took it out again and verified at a stop light that when the overheat light was lit the fan was not spinning.

I'm currently letting it chill so that I can properly bleed the coolant, but while air in the radiartor would exascerbate the overheating problem it would appear to be unrelated to the fan problem.

So, my question is... WHAT am I missing? Because everything was working before I did the maintenance, I'm not inclined to think that the fan, the sensor or the thermo are bad.

(Apologies to the squirrel for stealing his trademark ellipses)

[DOC]

Check wiring connections, could be loose, also fuse.
DOC

[jkingston]

checked both the wiring and the fuses. disconnected and reconnected all of the fuses and the two radiator wires as well.

[DOC]

What temp. is it running at?
DOC

[jkingston]

Originally posted by DOC
What temp. is it running at?
DOC

No idea. It's an '01 so all I have is the little red light.

[D.T.]

I'd say you have to get possible air out of the system. Air could be surrounding the OT/FAN sensor. Try bleeding the air out. Losing prime at the water pump?

[EviL]

Check the sensor. Somethign may have come between it and the radiator.
Check the fan for continutity.

Without the fairings the fan doesnt run very often.
Though something may be wrong with your pump..

:confused:

[jkingston]

Originally posted by D.T.
I'd say you have to get possible air out of the system. Air could be surrounding the OT/FAN sensor.

Air is bleeding as we speak... or at least my bike is sitting in the garage with the rad. cap off.

I am operating under the assumption that the same sensor that turned the little red light on would be the same sensor responsible for turning the fan on before it got that hot.


Losing prime at the water pump?

I didn't touch it so I sure as hell hope not.

[EviL]

I have asses bigger than that fan. Something else is up. I cant remember the last time my bikes fan turned on.

Dumb question:
How did you gauge when the radiator was full?

[D.T.]

OT lamp should come on at 239 degrees, and go out @ 226 degrees.

Fan should come on at 206 degrees and go off @ 195 degrees.

Is your OT lamp on all the time? Fan should come on before OT lamp comes on.

Still unsure how air around the probe tips, and how it would effect operation. I'd pull the cooling fan thermo switch and get the air out. Make sure it closes when the temp goes up.

[jkingston]

Originally posted by EviL
I have asses bigger than that fan. Something else is up. I cant remember the last time my bikes fan turned on.


Mine doesn't turn on often, or at least I only seem to notice it running when I park in my garage after a high speed jaunt on the freeway, but one time that I would definitely expect it to be on is when it's overheating.

Originally posted by EviL
Dumb question:
How did you gauge when the radiator was full?

Perhaps not such a dumb question. I could easily have f'd it up.

The manual said something about pouring it in up to the neck and waiting for it to trickle down, then repeat the process until the fluid shows between the lines in the yellow tank along the right side of the trellis. When I poured it in, though, it never seemed to back up near the neck. It flowed in smoothly so I just poured what felt like a quart and a half, waited a bit, then verified that the level was between the lines.

[racinteach]

remove the cap and and turn on the motor...when the bike is cool. add fluid and see if it flows....could be several things, did water actually come out of the it?if it did that is overheating. if not just a malfunction light. It may just be a signal light to let you know the fan is malfunctioning or the wrong wire may be attached to the wrong place ....check once again very carefully...

[jkingston]

I decided to drain the bike and try again with the coolant, as suggested by someone over here: SVRIDER (http://www.svrider.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=320641#320641)

One important detail that I noticed after draining the "old" coolant is that what I thought was the fluid level was actually just some sort of internal stain on the overflow tank. Errr... ummm... oops.

I'm refilling with a closer eye towards the manual's instructions... will update later. Thanks so far to all.

[Kurt'sSV]

I can sell you new radiator fan. :)

[jkingston]

Thanks, but I don't need the fan. I need a brain. I'm an idiot. After all the care and precision that went into the tappet checking I was eager to get the radiator on so I could do the carb sync. I rushed through that section without reading the manual closely, assumed that the overflow tank was the fill line, saw the appearance of something in there and called it done.

i went out and wailed around the corners for a bit. With the exception of being still partially disassembled, the bike's running great.

Kurt... do you still have that spare left mirror I saw mentioned a few months back (I think it was you)? If so, I may want to buy it off you if the ZX6 mirrors arriving next week don't fit.

[EviL]

:D

[jkingston]

Originally posted by EviL
:D

Almost. It's certainly a better situation than I was in a few hours ago, but....

It occurred to me a little later that after I had set the carbs the engine had shut itself off for no reason. At the time, I figured that it was just running poorly because the airbox was off while I was doing the carbs and the intake airflow would be too free. In retrospect, it probably overheated itself and couldn't continue to run. The last time I had an engine die due to overheating was in my short-lived PoS Buick. That one cost me $500 in repairs to get it home and was donated shortly thereafter when I discovered that it would have cost another 1500 to make it semi-reliable. Engines dont like being abused like that.

I think the term I'm looking for is cautiously optimistic.

[Paulp90]

I have a question..... can you guys HEAR the fan when it turns on?


Because I've had my bike up to 220 and I've never once heard the fan...


My bike usually runs at about 180-190, but sometimes on hot days at lights it gets up above 210, I know on my friends R6 the fans are LOUDDDDDD! so I was just wondering if mine have never came on? or you just cant hear them?

[hornet]

i can't hear mine when it's running but when i turn it off with the red switch i can.

[orangetrak]

Originally posted by jkingston
Almost. It's certainly a better situation than I was in a few hours ago, but....

It occurred to me a little later that after I had set the carbs the engine had shut itself off for no reason. At the time, I figured that it was just running poorly because the airbox was off while I was doing the carbs and the intake airflow would be too free. In retrospect, it probably overheated itself and couldn't continue to run. The last time I had an engine die due to overheating was in my short-lived PoS Buick. That one cost me $500 in repairs to get it home and was donated shortly thereafter when I discovered that it would have cost another 1500 to make it semi-reliable. Engines dont like being abused like that.

I think the term I'm looking for is cautiously optimistic.

Did the engine lock up mechanically from the heat, or did the electronics shut it off? usually, you will blow a head gasket/warp a head prior to it actually heating up to the point where it melds the rod/crank or pistion/cylinder.

If you have steam pouring out of the exhuast after it is fully warm( coolant in the combustion chamber through a bad head gasket ) or milky oil ( coolant in the oil through a bad head gasket ), you will have some work to do. How long was it driven with the overheating light on?

I would change the oil as you may have cooked it pretty completely; this will allow you to inspect it also.

Good luck....Is the bike running well now?

Cheers, Doug

[racinteach]

Originally posted by Paulp90
I have a question..... can you guys HEAR the fan when it turns on?


Because I've had my bike up to 220 and I've never once heard the fan...


My bike usually runs at about 180-190, but sometimes on hot days at lights it gets up above 210, I know on my friends R6 the fans are LOUDDDDDD! so I was just wondering if mine have never came on? or you just cant hear them?

on the 03's the fan kicks on about 211...(that's when mine does anyways) usually you can't hear it...

[jkingston]

Originally posted by orangetrak
Did the engine lock up mechanically from the heat, or did the electronics shut it off? usually, you will blow a head gasket/warp a head prior to it actually heating up to the point where it melds the rod/crank or pistion/cylinder.

If you have steam pouring out of the exhuast after it is fully warm( coolant in the combustion chamber through a bad head gasket ) or milky oil ( coolant in the oil through a bad head gasket ), you will have some work to do. How long was it driven with the overheating light on?

I would change the oil as you may have cooked it pretty completely; this will allow you to inspect it also.

Good luck....Is the bike running well now?

Cheers, Doug

I believe that the engine locked up mechanically, but I don't really know. What I do know is that it was idling along in my garage while I was playing with the carb sync then the engine ran rough for a few seconds then stopped altogether. I hit the starter a few times, but since I was happy with the carb balance I just took a break to let it chill before I put on the airbox. There were none of the violent symptoms that I had with the Buick (also a radiator issue).

Fortunately, it was idling, rather than doing 65 on the freeway as in the Buick, so the engine probably escaped unscathed.

It seems to be running OK. Once it's back on commuting duty I can be more than just cautiously optimistic

[Paulp90]

Originally posted by racinteach
on the 03's the fan kicks on about 211...(that's when mine does anyways) usually you can't hear it...


Ic, thanks :D