RS Fan

[WisconsinDavid]

Anyone encounter issues with the radiator fan? Mine has 8k on the clock and had the skins off to install some new lights. It had run warmer than usual Saturday on a ride with my wife. The temp went above its normal position. Let it idle in the garage... bars move up but fan never comes on. I checked the fuse at the frunk fuse panel and it looks good (15amp). Any guesses on what might be amiss? Thanks.

[Jeriatric]

Pull and reseat the fan relay. If that doesn't work, swap it with one of the other relays to see if the fan comes on.

If you need relay part numbers for a replacement. Check back. I have a list of them stored away.

[WisconsinDavid]

Swapped relays ... no go. Runs up to five bars and shut it off to not get it too hot. Maybe a dead fan?

[Jeriatric]

Swapped relays ... no go. Runs up to five bars and shut it off to not get it too hot. Maybe a dead fan?

Sure sounds like it. I'd pull the connector at the fan to see if it is getting power. If so, while disconnected and if you can, test the fan with an alternate power source.

[WisconsinDavid]

Ok.. i'll try that next. Thanks for the help. Hope it is just a fan to replace and hope I don't have a lot to tear apart to get at it. Grrrrrrr.

[Peter Aawen]

........ Maybe a dead fan?

Certainly possible... But if you had the tupperware off immediately prior to this over-heating & no fan stuff occurring, I'd reckon it's more likely to be a pulled plug or damaged wire! Hey, it could even be something to do with how or where the power for the lights got connected in!

Might be worth your while to go back over what was done to connect up the lights, and check all the wiring for the fans as well, before committing to that 'dead fan' corrective action. Good Luck!

[Jeriatric]

Ok.. i'll try that next. Thanks for the help. Hope it is just a fan to replace and hope I don't have a lot to tear apart to get at it. Grrrrrrr.

Nothing on a Spyder is hard..........unless you're in a hurry. If I'm in a hurry, I walk away, until I'm not.

[WisconsinDavid]

Was able to get the fan to spin up with power from my 12v battery charger. I replaced the 15amp fuse in case it only looked good. Swapped a known working relay in. The fan plug seats well in its socket. Still nothing. Oh... and this heat issue started before the skins were off... on a ride yesterday. I was exploring why it was running warmer than normal... heat from the left side too.

[Jeriatric]

Was able to get the fan to spin up with power from my 12v battery charger. I replaced the 15amp fuse in case it only looked good. Swapped a known working relay in. The fan plug seats well in its socket. Still nothing. Oh... and this heat issue started before the skins were off... on a ride yesterday. I was exploring why it was running warmer than normal... heat from the left side too.

Uncouple the plug at the fan and put a meter on the relay side to see if power is getting that far.

[WisconsinDavid]

Thanks... I'll go further tomorrow... today has some other stuff to accomplish Thanks for the help... so far so good.

[WisconsinDavid]

I was able to put the meter on it before I have to scoot and nothing was coming through at the plug... bad wire or plug or....

[Jeriatric]

I was able to put the meter on it before I have to scoot and nothing was coming through at the plug... bad wire or plug or....

When you next have time. Pull the relay and test for continuity of each leg(hot side & ground) between the relay plug pins and fan plug. If all tests Okay.

With the Spyder running and the relay removed, check the fixed pins, the relay plugs into.

#30 should be - always HOT, #85 should be constant ground, #86 should become hot when the fan is signaled to come on, #87 would become HOT when #86 closes to turn the fan on(when the relay is plugged in), & #85 is the ground side of the #85/#86 relay triggering circuit.

[WisconsinDavid]

Placed a jumper between b10 and c12 and it forces the fan to run. The next step it says is to replace relay... but using a different relay out of the fuse block (swapping) does not cause the fan to operate correctly. Now more stumpified.

[Jeriatric]

Placed a jumper between b10 and c12 and it forces the fan to run. Says to replace relay... but using a different relay out of the fuse block (swapping) does not cause the fan to operate correctly. Now more stumpified.

Makes me wonder if the relay switch is getting power or seeing ground? Almost has to be on that side if you can run the fan with a jumper. My apologies about the pin id #'s. Working off of old school memory.

[Chupaca]

I have an RS 2012 sm5 and the fan does not come on till I am well over the 5 bars which in the california heat is about normal. In cooler weather will run 4-5 and in cold weather here will run 3-4. I know it looks scary to be that high on the chart but the fan will bring it back down.

[Haikanko]

What gives the initial signal for the fan to come on - temp sensor somewhere???

[WisconsinDavid]

Thanks for the heads up on how far up the temp gauge before any fan. I'll watch it. It just felt warmer than usual. Normally, sitting, it is mainly heat coming from the brake side. Saturday, it felt like I was sitting on a pretty hot fire on both sides. The gauge was hitting 4-5 and no fan. No fan when sitting at stop waiting for lights to change. Just seems strange that no fan cooling comes on when the engine is that hot. It was a low 80s temp outside, so not a particularly hot time to be running around. Thanks for the help everyone.

[Mikey]

What gives the initial signal for the fan to come on - temp sensor somewhere???

some thing to check out, if the relay isn't being told to kick in, no power to fan!

[WisconsinDavid]

ECM via a temp sensor on engine head/block? Where is the sending unit for heat that supplies the signal to kick it on? I can check there too. Also, if there was a problem with the sensor ... wouldn't the Spyder brain be bright enough to throw an error code?

[WisconsinDavid]

Buttoned it back up and will be watching for a fan to come on at 5. Thanks for the help everyone.

[Jeriatric]

Buttoned it back up and will be watching for a fan to come on at 5. Thanks for the help everyone.

Am hoping Chupaca's wisdom nailed it and nothing is wrong.

Once you know, and if you would, come back to this post and let us know.

[WisconsinDavid]

I let it idle in the garage today and build up heat .... at 6 bars, the fan came to life. Still surprising that it climbs that far on the gauge, but I guess that is normal. I will keep watch on it though... don't want to overheat an engine. Thanks for the help... hopefully alls well that ends well. Plus, I got to dig out the multimeter and the battery is still good in it

[dpetrick]

Glad you got it sorted out. My 2009 RS runs up to 6 bars in town, but drops to 4 when running on the highway. One thing I have noticed is that when I am riding into a headwind it usually runs 1 bar cooler than when riding with a tail wind.
I have been trying all summer to find time to take a ride to Nelson, WI.

[wickedicey]

I have a 2009 gs and are having a overheating issue and the bike will go into limp mode. I noticed that the fan only comes on when it hits 5 bars or higher and before I know it the bike is overheating and coolant is flowing from the overflow. I am new on here and from what I read I need to wire up a bypass switch to my fan and controller it manually when I am at stop and go traffic. Does anyone have any install pics of how to wire a bypass fan up or a push fan in front of the radiator?

[Freddy]

If the bike is overheating and coolant is flowing from the overflow as you say, there's a deeper problem that needs to be identified and rectified. Do you get an overheating warning on the display?