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Radiator Fan

13K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  slumberjer 
#1 ·
OK, does anyone know at what temp the fan is supposed to come on at? I don't think I have ever seen of heard it come on. Yesterday it was 97 here and riding home it was a little hot, to say the least. At each stop, I looked down and it wasn't on. Any ideas/suggestions?
 
#4 ·
Mine comes on in the 80-90's as well. You really ought to have it checked.
 
#6 ·
First, remove the left side cover and open the fuse box. Locate the fuse for the cooling fan and check that it's OK. Next do what the dealer will do with it. Finish your ride and park the bike with the engine running. If the high temperature light comes on before the fan then you know there's a problem.
 
#11 ·
I guess my advice wasn't THAT bad......lol.
It's how I check MY fan....you can't "bake" the engine....sheesh, there are lots of air cooled engines around.......
However, trouble-shooting the fan is prolly a better idea....
 
#7 ·
Take it for a ride.....stop at a location and have a smoke,,,,,and let it idle for ten minutes. If the fan doesn't come on it's not working. My fan RARELY comes on.....if at all! But, it will when i let it idle on HOT day. We do have a temp light on our bikes.....is it ever on?..sheesh, i think we do....fi, oil and temp?
 
#8 ·
before you try to overheat your bike. check the fuse, then the fan is very simple two wire setup. grab some old speaker wire or any wire you have really and run voltage(from battery) directly to the fan. It should spin. if it does you know that it good and you can go on to check your temp sensor and other connections. I dislike the idea of prolonged idling with not knowing the condition of the fan. It is hard on the engine and if it really isn't working you may cause damage even if shut down when the light comes on as you aren't circulating any coolant at that point it will sit and bake when shut down.
 
#10 ·
before you try to overheat your bike. Check the fuse, then the fan is very simple two wire setup. Grab some old speaker wire or any wire you have really and run voltage(from battery) directly to the fan. It should spin. If it does you know that it good and you can go on to check your temp sensor and other connections. I dislike the idea of prolonged idling with not knowing the condition of the fan. It is hard on the engine and if it really isn't working you may cause damage even if shut down when the light comes on as you aren't circulating any coolant at that point it will sit and bake when shut down.
(better advice)...lol.
 
#9 ·
I had the same problem a few years ago. Bought a fan motors for her off ebay, installed it two years back just because I was paranoid. Turned out I had a good reason to be, the new fan comes on all the time when it hits the mid 80's to 90's here. When she is running the temp is fine, but at idle that fan should kick on fairly quick in that temperature range.
 
#13 ·
OK, I have an '05 800B. To check my fan, I read someplace, to just pull the connections off the raditor temp switch / jumper them, and the fan should run. I've done it and it works on mine. This doesn't test the temp switch itself, but it does verify the balance of the system.
 
#22 ·
My fan died last fall. I tested it using the wires to the battery method. Picked one up on ebay. Pretty easy job if you are somewhat mechanically inclined. My undying thanks to Sojourner for all his help during my hour of need! Heres a link to my thread on this. This should help you out with most any questions you can think of.

http://www.vulcanforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21141
 
#26 ·
The plug end is under the tank on the backbone with other plugs. You would need to remove the tank to test it directly off of the battery. Easy enough to remove the tank. You can be sure the dealer will use the easiest way to test the fan. I've already posted what they will do.
 
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