Hot Hot Hot

[plevine1]

I bought the ebay setup. Rather then just use the fab assy I replaced the rad as well. Worked like a charm. I'm back in the saddle again.

[dakuhosu]

I can't see it being the actual fan, maybe a relay or temp sensor. I'd pull the connector and put 12 volts to it before I'd buy anything.

[plevine1]

So the setup currently being sold on eBay is for a 2001 Drifter 1500. My bike is a 1999. Will a 2001 work?

[Troll]

Check his feedback. Check for a store front. I just got a good used bevel drive from Florida for the price the dealer wanted for labor to rebuild my original.

[plevine1]

WOW, that is cheap. I have been searching for a fan assy all morning and the cheapest I found was $495. I am a bit worried about buying this on ebay.

[Troll]

I saw a whole radiator and fan combo on eBay really cheap...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-Kawasaki-Vulcan-Drifter-1500-complete-radiator-and-fan-assembly-/141054180874?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20d77bfe0a&vxp=mtr

[greenbarn]

Plevine:
SO, you've narrowed it down to the fan?  You're saying the fan motor WILL NOT run if you directly run 12 volts to it, right?  That's the best way to know FOR SURE the motor is bad.   Troll's diagrams are a great help on these issues.  You can't beat a good wiring diagram for troubleshooting.

Here's the diagram for a 2003 1500 at ron ayers:
http://www.ronayers.com/Radiator22-C392178.aspx
Not sure if it's the same on your year (?) you might want to check for sure.  They are expensive - maybe find one cheaper on Fee Bay?  Or maybe you can find just the fan motor, sans assembly.

[plevine1]

So all signs point to a bad fan. Anyone know the part number for this wonderful device?

[rawv]

It sounds like the same problem I had and it wound up being the thermostat you might want to check that out also.

[dakuhosu]

Believe it, they build these things to exact specs.

[Troll]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The temp light only goes on when I'm stopped. Once I begin moving it does go off. No issues with how the bike rides, nor smoke or smell.

I will say that sitting on the bike it does seem to be giving off more heat then normal so I really don't think it's a faulty light. I did plug the fan directly into power and it wont go on. Even if it is the fan I am just surprised that the fan can provide enough cooling to the engine to keep the light from going off.

How did you do that? The fan circuit is triggered by a sensor in the bottom radiator tank. It has 2 wires on it and connects power directly.  There is no relay, just a connection in the junction box.  Diagnostics are pretty simple. You jump the two wire switch on the bottom of the radiator, if the fan comes on, replace the switch, if not they say to check the fan fuse, then remove the fuel tank and check the wiring connectors, and then finally hotwire the fan directly

[plevine1]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The temp light only goes on when I'm stopped. Once I begin moving it does go off. No issues with how the bike rides, nor smoke or smell.

I will say that sitting on the bike it does seem to be giving off more heat then normal so I really don't think it's a faulty light. I did plug the fan directly into power and it wont go on. Even if it is the fan I am just surprised that the fan can provide enough cooling to the engine to keep the light from going off.

[dakuhosu]

Yea and if that doesn't work then tap a few relays

[greenbarn]

Depends.  Does it run hot going down the road at highway speed, or at stop/go/slow speeds.  There are 2 things needed to keep any (water cooled) engine cool.  1) Adequate coolant flow through the engine.  2) adequate air flow through the radiator.   Have you done any changes or modifications or maintenance recently that can affect cooling (more details below).  The other option, which is just as likely, is the temperature sender is going bad, reading high when it's not. That would explain the fan not coming on, assuming there's a separate sender for the gauge and another for the fan switch - I don't have a 1500 book, but I'm sure someone else can tell  you, Troll or somebody else prob'ly knows this off the top of their head.  An important question is "is it really running hot, or is the light lieing?"  any other signs of "hot"?  smell hot?

Some things I would look at:
Adequate coolant flow:
-You say all coolant levels are good - this means no leaks, and you verified coolant in the reservoir, but did you verify coolant level in the radiator as well?  The rad could be low, and still have coolant in reservoir.  This can be caused by a kinked/collapsed hose between rad/res or a bad radiator cap.

-water pump needs to be working good.  coolant needs to keep moving.  coolant all through the system should be hot.

-is flow adequate through the radiator?  You can check to make sure both rad hoses on rad are hot - one should be a little cooler than the other, but if one is "cold" then either water pump isn't working properly, or radiator is blocked.

Adequate Air Flow:  The fan only comes on when the natural air through the radiator will not take away enough heat to keep the coolant temp below the threshold temperature for the fan switch to kick it on.  I don't have a 1500, but from what I've read elsewhere on this forum, the cooling system is adequate enough that the fans rarely run on the 1500.  Like Dakuhosu said, check the fuses.  You SHOULD be able to manually make the fan run by unplugging the fan and running 12 volts to it (use a battery box, or jumpers from your battery) to test the fan motor.  Bottom Line:  If the "HOT" light comes on, the fan SHOULD be running to keep it cool.  I just don't think the fan USUALLY is needed on these unless you're going real slow.

- radiator can be plugged with dirt, bugs, etc. reducing air flow - needs to be cleaned out with a water hose/ compressed air.

- anything else blocking air flow?  Have you added any covers to the front or anything?

Unless you have something like a blown head gasket, (THIS IS UNLIKELY) pushing compression gasses in the coolant stream and causing es the coolant flow to air-lock, losing flow, it should be related to one of the above issues.

These are general things true on liquid cooled combustion engines.  Maybe the 1500 guys will have more details, and maybe some "known causes".  Hope this helps you figure it out.  Stay in touch.

[dakuhosu]

Yes, that fan is all important, i'd start with fuses.

[plevine1]

My 99 Drifter 1500 has 36000 miles. Recently it's been running hot. My temp light would come on after about 1/2 hour. All fluid levels are good. I can't seem to manually trigger the fan. The days the bike ran hot were not very hot. Could a non working fan cause the temp light to come on after only 1/2 hour? Should I be looking at something else? Anyone have a part number for a replacement fan?

Thanks