A few Questions bout my cooling system

Well guys I didnt realize that I even HAD radiator fans, until reading a few threads here. The reason why is because mine dont come on. My temperature gauge is also inop. Could the two be related? I know that if the fans didnt come on at some point, it could have got hot and fried the sender to the gauge, at least with an auto that stuff happens all the time.
SO I investigated the thermostat housing and found a wire eletrical-taped onto a sender of some sort. Does this go to my fan or my gauge per chance?
And where is the sender for the other located?
Thanks for any help!

 

Now I am utterly confused

So I took off the T-stat housing, to see where that wire went to. It goes up to the blinker? My blinker on the frnt rt has two wires, my blinker on the frnt leftt
has wto plus this one spliced in? Wierd. Also where this wire was taped onto the sending unit on the tstat it is spliced with another wire that goes somewhere else. Disconnecting it from my fnt blinker makes my back blinker stop working. Someone really rigged this thing.

 

well for all I know it is a replacement wire from the real thing so here is what I have done. Took the splic out of the center. so now the mystery wire coming from the rear of the blike travels along ( no longer connecting to the thermostat ) and makes it up to where it was, the frnt left...now all blinkers work, and the sending unit from the tstat has no wire. I need to find where that wire goes, whether it fixes my fan or the temp gauge. anybody know?

 

Found the fan switch on the lower radiator, took the wire off and jumped it straight to the frame, fan kicked right on. So that may be the culprit. But maybe it isnt bad, with no temp gauge I cant tell if it is coming on at the right time. and now I am not sure if that thing on the t-stat is even a sender, there wouldnt be a t-stat petcock on the upper AND lower half of the t-stat housing would there? and then the question still remains... where is the temp gauge sending unit located? argh

 

Well still working on a solution for myself, and I am documenting it so that it may help someone else in the future.

I went to bikebadnit.com where they have diagrams.

the bottom radiator electrical thingie is the fan switch only

the temp sending gauge unit is located on top of the thermo housing and it almost resembles the petcock on the lower half of the t-stat housing

*** This is differant then the vf500f I was looking at that diagram and they are not the same ***

 

I found a severed wire in the right place. On my way to get get some splicing tools, with any luck I will have a temp gauge tonight.

 

Well looks like I need a few parts. This bike has been overheated and I think that the senders are both bad. Bypassing the fan switch the fan kicks on, so I think I need a switch.
Bypassing the temp sending unit and grounding directly to the frame puts my temp gauge all the way to the top, so I know its functioning.
I was going to pull the thermostat, but after running for a few minutes, both the upper hose and the lower hose are very hot, so I am assuming that the t-stat is opening ( if not always open ). WIll look more into that after I get the switch and temp sensor working.
Anyone have any ideas if I am jumping to conclusions or not?

 

i think getting both a new fan switch and temp sending unit as well as a new thermostat would be a good start. it might be a little pricey but i think if do that wired accordanly it will get rid of a lot of variables in figuring out this problem. maybe fix it all together :biggrin:

 

Well, I just took it out for a ride, with a passenger and I did see the temp gauge move. Barley thoagh. The heat of the engine definatly felt like operating temp ( on my legs as well as my hands after the ride ) I didnt touch the engine, it was hot... hot enough that the exhaust was making that ticking sound after we parked.

My ride to work is as small as my budget
I think I will have to do one at a time. It takes me less then 6 minutes to get to work, so I am not in danger of overheating as long as I only drive to work and back.

I am just trying to figure out what to do first. It is a never ending cycle that is hurting my brain.

If the t-stat is bad, perhaps there isnt enuff flow to get the fan to kick on, or move the gauge.

Or if the t-stat is good, maybe I am not overheating, but the fan switch and the temp sending unit are bad.

Maybe all three are good, and I need to ride it longer then 15minutes on a chili night.. althoagh I really think that should be good enough to get the gauge to go higher then 1/12th even if the fan never kicked on.

My fear is that I spend 150$ and 4 hours hours just to find out I misdiagnosed the problem. I am liking the above advice cause it was my first thoughts, but I am hoping for a few more people to respond, maybe play devils advocate here. Ok thanks guys. If I dont here from anyone else I am just gonna replace all three on my next day off. Of course after that I will be too broke to fix a differant problem if there is a differant cause.

 

keep in mind if your bike is anything like mine the fan will usually only kick on after 30 minutes or so of stop in go traffic when its 85 degree outside... (engine temp 225)

 

Well following this guide CoolingSystem - SabMagFAQ ( that I found in this forum ) I was able to track down the parts I needed from autozone for about 55$

Replaced the t-stat ( had to make a gasket out of a manila folder tho, but the guide suggested it anyways )

Replaced the fan switch

Replaced the temp gauge sending unit

Only problem, it is too late now to start my bike in my garage cause I live in a duplex.

So I have to wait til the morning to start her up and Test for leaks ( as well as bleed the system if it doesnt leak ).

Will report tomorro.

 

Holy crap! In case you did not read Mello Dude's message on the second post. CONTACT Jamie Daugherty as he is an expert on these bikes.

 

I did contact Jamie. What part of my post did you find alarming?

 

I think it did fix it altogther. I let lher sit and idle for a half hour ( including bleeding time ) and it gets to a little bit above halfway and stays there.

 

All right here comes the test ride I will let ya know!

 

Not too shabby rode for about 45 minutes no probs!