QuestionI HAVE AN 86 V-65 THAT OVERHEATS AFTER 5-10 MILES. THE FAN WAS WIRED TO RUN WHENEVER THE ENGINE RUNS, BUT NOW IT ALMOST NEVER RUNS. PREVIOUSLY DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WOULD KEEP IT COOL. BUT NOW EVEN THAT DOES NOT HELP.COULD THE THERMOSTAT ALSO BE STUCK? REPLACING ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER TILL THE PROBLEM IS FIXED IS EXPENSIVE, CAN YOU SUGGEST A SEQUENCE OF THINGS I SHOULD DO TO ISOLATE THE PROBLEM.
THANKS,
TIM
AnswerI normally only deal with old Suzuki's - pre-1977 actually. Having said that, what I would check are the following:
- are you using anti-freeze or water as a coolant ?
- if anti-freeze, when was it last changed ?
- if water - then it will need to be dumped and replaced with proper coolant
- are the inlet and outlet hoses getting warm ? just looking to confirm that the water pump is circulating coolant
- does the fan ever start ? If not, then you will need to test the thermoswitch and see what an ohm meter says, but normally the fan switches are just that - switches. So open or closed. If you connect the switch to ground the fan should come on, if not then replace
- if the fan is starting and the inlet and outlet hoses are getting warm are you certain the gauge is reading correctly ? there is some sort of thermoswitch that it connects to and you will need to test it - again using an ohm meter - these are actually rheostats, and vary resistance with heat, so again, your manual should give the range that is correct for your year of bike
- pull the thermostat and test it - testing is easy - suspend it in a pan of water and heat till just under boiling and you should see it open. Your manual will tell the the correct temperature. If it doesn't open, replace it
- once all the above has been checked out, reverse flush the cooling system after testing the thermostat and before refilling with new coolant mixed to the correct freezing point for your machine - your manual will tell you what mix to use
Hope that helps !
