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Off and on radiator leak and overheating - any suggestions?

David Mitchell

New member
I have a couple of strange issues going on with my 2014 Can-Am Spyder RT. First, a few weeks ago, it started to overheat. I had just parked after driving for about 20 minutes and steam came off of the engine. I looked underneath and saw fluid gushing out, but couldn't determine from where. So I let it cool down and then took it back home where I put it up on a rack and ran the bike to get it to overheat again. It didn't. I tried driving it around over and over again but it still did not leak. However, the temperature gauge spiked all the way up to the ninth bar and I turned it off. After further investigation, it seems that the fans, which were working when it first overheated when I was driving it, are not working anymore. I checked the relay and it seems to ohm out correctly (is there something else I'm supposed to test on the relay?) As long as I ride it and don't stop for long, it'll stay at four bars on the temperature gauge and it does not leak any more. Now the only thing I have done is I flushed it and replaced the fluid.


As for the fan I'm guessing somehow the temperature gauge went bad about the same time it started to leak. However, not sure what to do to find the leak that doesn't exist anymore.

Suggestions? Thank you in advance for your help
 
Check to make sure your radiator cap is on tight and right on the bottle. it's hard to make sure it goes on straight, and it also has like a two-step hook on it, make sure it is all the way on! Ask me how I found that out! 🫣
 
Two summers ago I had a coolant problem like yours. It turned out to be a small crack in the Coolant Reservoir. In my case, the temp would only spike when I made "left hand turns"! Drove me nuts trying to track that down. It was impossible to see, only way to identify was with a pressure check of the system.
 
Did you purge the cooling system to remove all air pockets after changing the coolant?? :unsure:

Gushing fluid when it gets hot like that, especially if soon after a coolant flush and change sounds like you had an air pocket that expanded and forced coolant out of the overflow reservoir; while the overheating and fans not working since, with you shutting things down as soon as it gets hot again/the temp spikes suggests you might still have an air pocket in there that needs to be purged. I know Spyder's cooling systems are supposed to be self purging, but I've found a LOT that are not, and seen very few that actually do self purge after filling with new coolant! 😣

To purge properly:

  1. Raise the front of your Spyder a little on blocks under the wheels or on axle stands;
  2. Check the coolant level in the overflow reservoir and fill up to the top mark with coolant and leave the cap OFF;
  3. Start and run the engine at or just above idle for about 30 minutes, making sure that the coolant level in the overflow reservoir remains above the ADD level all the time, letting it overflow if it wants to and keeping an eye on the bubbles coming out - big bubbles, no troubles, but they should gradually slow and eventually stop bubbling out, while lots of small foam like bubbles suggest you've got gasket &/or head problems;
  4. During the 30 min idling time, watch/listen for the thermostat to open/close and the fans cycle on/off at least twice before shutting the engine down with a full overflow reservoir and putting the pressure cap back on the reservoir, making sure that it passes the first tight feeling latch position and gets to the final 'lock' position;
  5. Let the engine cool and as it does (occasionally, anyway) watch to ensure that the coolant level in the overflow reservoir doesn't go below the lower ADD mark as the cooling/contracting coolant gets sucked back into the radiator/s, topping up as necessary to keep it above that mark;
  6. Lower the front of the Spyder;
  7. Test ride for long enough to ensure it goes thru at least two fan on/off cycles, keeping an eye on the temperature to make sure it remains within acceptable bounds and making sure that, even if some coolant is expelled from the overflow reservoir, the level doesn't go below the lower ADD mark as everything cools down again.
  8. Repeat the entire process as necessary to ensure that you've got ALL the trapped air pockets out of the cooling system and that the level of coolant in the overflow reservoir (which will likely get quite high and possibly overflow when everything is hot!) doesn't go below the lower ADD mark when everything cools down again.
Once you've done all this and coolant level is remaining above the lower ADD mark once everything's cold again, you should be good to go.
If your cooling system still persists in spewing out a lot of coolant when it gets hot and there's lots of bubbles appearing in the overflow reservoir, check the size of those bubbles - big bubbles mean there's still air working its way out, repeat the purge process as necessary; while jlots of small, foam like bubbles &/or excessive pressure in the reservoir mean you've got a gasket &/or crack problem somewhere. And if your coolant is draining out overnight so that it's always dropping below the lower mark on the reservoir, maybe leaving a puddle under the Spyder or a sign of a leak on the engine, radiators, or in the plastic trays under the engine upon inspection the next morning, then yeah, you've got a leak. :confused:

Good Luck! (y)
 
Did you purge the cooling system to remove all air pockets after changing the coolant?? :unsure:

Gushing fluid when it gets hot like that, especially if soon after a coolant flush and change sounds like you had an air pocket that expanded and forced coolant out of the overflow reservoir; while the overheating and fans not working since, with you shutting things down as soon as it gets hot again/the temp spikes suggests you might still have an air pocket in there that needs to be purged. I know Spyder's cooling systems are supposed to be self purging, but I've found a LOT that are not, and seen very few that actually do self purge after filling with new coolant! 😣

To purge properly:

  1. Raise the front of your Spyder a little on blocks under the wheels or on axle stands;
  2. Check the coolant level in the overflow reservoir and fill up to the top mark with coolant and leave the cap OFF;
  3. Start and run the engine at or just above idle for about 30 minutes, making sure that the coolant level in the overflow reservoir remains above the ADD level all the time, letting it overflow if it wants to and keeping an eye on the bubbles coming out - big bubbles, no troubles, but they should gradually slow and eventually stop bubbling out, while lots of small foam like bubbles suggest you've got gasket &/or head problems;
  4. During the 30 min idling time, watch/listen for the thermostat to open/close and the fans cycle on/off at least twice before shutting the engine down with a full overflow reservoir and putting the pressure cap back on the reservoir, making sure that it passes the first tight feeling latch position and gets to the final 'lock' position;
  5. Let the engine cool and as it does (occasionally, anyway) watch to ensure that the coolant level in the overflow reservoir doesn't go below the lower ADD mark as the cooling/contracting coolant gets sucked back into the radiator/s, topping up as necessary to keep it above that mark;
  6. Lower the front of the Spyder;
  7. Test ride for long enough to ensure it goes thru at least two fan on/off cycles, keeping an eye on the temperature to make sure it remains within acceptable bounds and making sure that, even if some coolant is expelled from the overflow reservoir, the level doesn't go below the lower ADD mark as everything cools down again.
  8. Repeat the entire process as necessary to ensure that you've got ALL the trapped air pockets out of the cooling system and that the level of coolant in the overflow reservoir (which will likely get quite high and possibly overflow when everything is hot!) doesn't go below the lower ADD mark when everything cools down again.
Once you've done all this and coolant level is remaining above the lower ADD mark once everything's cold again, you should be good to go.
If your cooling system still persists in spewing out a lot of coolant when it gets hot and there's lots of bubbles appearing in the overflow reservoir, check the size of those bubbles - big bubbles mean there's still air working its way out, repeat the purge process as necessary; while jlots of small, foam like bubbles &/or excessive pressure in the reservoir mean you've got a gasket &/or crack problem somewhere. And if your coolant is draining out overnight so that it's always dropping below the lower mark on the reservoir, maybe leaving a puddle under the Spyder or a sign of a leak on the engine, radiators, or in the plastic trays under the engine upon inspection the next morning, then yeah, you've got a leak. :confused:

Good Luck! (y)
Thank you for the detailed information. However, I've already done that, but the real issue is the fans are not coming on. After it overheated and I let it sit for a day I then drove it back to the house and that is when I noticed that the fans were not working. However, they were working the day before. So I ohmed out the relay and it's fine so I suspect it's the temperature sensor? I don't have BUDS, so I am a little blind here. Would you by chance be able to tell me where the sensor is located, and how to test it?
 
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