[1409Lauren]

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It started with my 85 GL1200I overheating. Found the coolant was low....so refilled the system with all new stuff. Just before draining and filling the cooling system I noted that when the cooling fan comes on it kicks down my electrical system. The lights drop to about 2/3 of their normal intensity. Is this a bad fan motor? Or something else electrial?



Could I also have a bad thermostat or water pump. My bike "Old Blue" just started overheating....not to the point of loosing water out of the radiator or water pump weep hole leaking just the gauge going into the red zone.With the refillof coolant the bike wasfine until I get off the freeway and idlecausing the fan tocome on. It still seems to get too close the redzone even with thechanging of the coolant.



What say you tech wizards. My biggest problem is diagnostics. :?:?:?

 

[jlparker77]

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I am not sure about the electrical draining. Someone will be able to help with that. Did you "burp" the cooling system? If you don't do that then a air lock can develop and you will only fill the coolant maybe half full. If you don't have this situation, I would sure look at the thermostat. A faulty pump generally will still cool, but the bearings and/or seal fail causing leaks.

 

[oldbaldfat69]

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My 77 GL1000 gave me fits showing that it was running hot. Like yours not loosing coolant or actually acting hot. After changing Stat coolant and hoses some of the great minds on here suggested the 7 volt regulator that controls the gauges and guess what. They were right. Picked on up on E bay and all problems were solved.



The advise that I was given was Check the voltage at the fuel gauge it should be really close to 7 volts. Mine was showing three.



Good luck. I am sure someone with a lot more knowledge will come along shortly with more good ideas for you.

 

[k1w1t1m]

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I'd suggest checking the stator and regulator. They could be the cause of all the problems.

 

[Bagmaster]

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I'll go along with the "burping" not done right. Also may indicate that the radiator may need rodding out. Do not use antifreeze with silicates in it!

 

[1409Lauren]

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Thanks so much for the feedback. I have heard of "burping" exactly how do I do it?

 

[1409Lauren]

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thanks for the feedback. You don't think it could be a short or the fan motor pulling too many ohms?

 

[1409Lauren]

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Yes thanks. I had thought it could be a possible bad guage, but it was very low on coolant.

 

[Big Cahuna]

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When your fan is running, raise the idle to over 2000 rpms. your lights should get brighter. at idle the chargeing system isn't putting out much power, needs to be over 2k to start making juice.,,

 

[chris in va]

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My voltage drops about 1v when the fan kicks on. Sounds pretty normal to me, especially if the bike is idling.

When I did the timing belts and changed the radiator hose, I thought you could fill up the overflow tank and let the radiator suck in the coolant like in a car. Wrong. The gauge stayed in the red, never did draw coolant. It seems the temp sensor is at the top of the radiator and if coolant doesn't reach it fully, the hot air or steam inside will crank that sucker over to hot really quick.

Burping the coolant...with a cold engine take off the radiator cap, fill to top and squeeze the radiator hose repeatedly until no more bubbles come out, then recap and fill overflow to mark.

 

[L8ndeb]

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Just curious, do the fans turn fairly free when not called upon? If not, they could be pulling more than necessary when being called on. I had that situation on my '95. Fan would not rotate even one turn if turned by hand.

 

[1409Lauren]

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You could be the miracle worker. I checked out the regulator. It failed all tests (as per Clymer). Is the continuity tests (yellow/green, etc) a good test for the regulator?

 

[1409Lauren]

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Thanks for the info. I will "burp" the system before finishing this project. Thanks.

 

[1409Lauren]

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Thanks for the input. I replaced the thermostat, but it proved not to be the issue. The water pump seems to check out ok. The next is the radiator, but you mentioned the guage regulator...where is that located?

 

[oldbaldfat69]

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Not exactly sure on yours. On my 77 it is located under the left false tank cover (as you are sitting on the bike).Small square box with 3 wires inset into the frame.Check the voltage from the fuel gauge to ground, should be really close to 7v. Fuel gauge is located under the seat on mine. If you need the regulator it is avalible on e-bay or the local honda shop. E-bay about $30.00 cheaper shiped in 2 days.

 

[2Dahorizon]

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Bagmaster wrote:

I'll go along with the "burping" not done right. Also may indicate that the radiator may need rodding out. Do not use antifreeze with silicates in it!

don't know if this is cool but i'd like to know what is "burping" and how it is done.

2Dahorizone


OOOps, just saw that chris in va already added burping instructions