ninjette.org - View Single Post - fun with cooling system, and wiring a fan switch

marc_previtera · June 17th, 2013, 02:51 AM

ok folks, - re : 1988 GPX 250

as a disclaimer against all that follows, I realise there will be many a stoopid thing I have done in this thread! but here's hoping the crew of experts on this site can guide me in the right direction!!!

ok so the story goes like this........

-Sitting in traffic at the lights
- temp is getting close to the red line
-Poof! , bike explodes into a steaming mess
- pull over the side of the raod, wait till she cools down ( and traffic dies down) and I nurse her home by keeping out of traffic, and allowing airflow to come in now that the traffic is gone.

I get my girl home, and the hose from the thermo to the engine block is blown, and I realise that I was only running water instead of coolant mix ( stoopid mistake #1)

so I replace the hose, bleed the water out, and replace with proper 50/50 coolant mix,,

Now I hook her back up, and despite it taking a LOT LOT longer to heat up ( funny how coolant makes a differnece) the damn Fan wont come on ( prob why it blew in the first place)

Now I draw my attention to the fan fan switch on the radiator, i pull the power wire off and SNAP - off comes the terminal with it! ( crap!) - stoopid mistake #2

ok, fair enuf, so I assume the fan switch wwas boken and decide that bypassing the radiator switch is a much better idea

and go out and buy one of these switches with a LED light
http://www.quicksales.com.au/ad/6205...at-12v/5873888

I like it, I drill a hole and mount it on the left handside top fairing - looks cool + I tell my wife and little girl it's a turbo switch

- pnly prob is that the LED isnt working on the switch

Now when I ride, the coolant seems to be so good, I barely even need to use the fan at all! I only bother with it if im really stuck in traffic, but temp guage never goes over 1/2 which is really cool!!!

Now the problem is - that worked well for day 1, but next day the fun starts - I try to start the bike and there's zero charge in the battery - couldnt even clutch start the mongrel it was that dead!!!!! ( wife isnt impressed at this point, and immediate calls to get rid of poor old betsey start to come in)

I get a jump start, put some charge in the battery, and the next time I ride to work I decide to unhook the fan whilst im at work

I get ready to go home, and hook the fan back up - hey presto - battery is fully charged, no problems at all!

So this leads me to conclude that because the fan switch wire is always hot, even with the switch is in the off position, it could be drawing amps from the battery and draining it ( am I correct?) - if so, how do I fix it?

and I forgot to mention, I've wired the switch so tha it turns on/off, but havent got the light working - do I need to get the 3rd prong on the switch to the same power source wire as the fan?

June 17th, 2013, 02:51 AM	#1
marc_previtera ninjette.org member Name: Marc Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): GPX250rII Posts: 20	fun with cooling system, and wiring a fan switch ok folks, - re : 1988 GPX 250 as a disclaimer against all that follows, I realise there will be many a stoopid thing I have done in this thread! but here's hoping the crew of experts on this site can guide me in the right direction!!! ok so the story goes like this........ -Sitting in traffic at the lights - temp is getting close to the red line -Poof! , bike explodes into a steaming mess - pull over the side of the raod, wait till she cools down ( and traffic dies down) and I nurse her home by keeping out of traffic, and allowing airflow to come in now that the traffic is gone. I get my girl home, and the hose from the thermo to the engine block is blown, and I realise that I was only running water instead of coolant mix ( stoopid mistake #1) so I replace the hose, bleed the water out, and replace with proper 50/50 coolant mix,, Now I hook her back up, and despite it taking a LOT LOT longer to heat up ( funny how coolant makes a differnece) the damn Fan wont come on ( prob why it blew in the first place) Now I draw my attention to the fan fan switch on the radiator, i pull the power wire off and SNAP - off comes the terminal with it! ( crap!) - stoopid mistake #2 ok, fair enuf, so I assume the fan switch wwas boken and decide that bypassing the radiator switch is a much better idea and go out and buy one of these switches with a LED light http://www.quicksales.com.au/ad/6205...at-12v/5873888 I like it, I drill a hole and mount it on the left handside top fairing - looks cool + I tell my wife and little girl it's a turbo switch - pnly prob is that the LED isnt working on the switch Now when I ride, the coolant seems to be so good, I barely even need to use the fan at all! I only bother with it if im really stuck in traffic, but temp guage never goes over 1/2 which is really cool!!! Now the problem is - that worked well for day 1, but next day the fun starts - I try to start the bike and there's zero charge in the battery - couldnt even clutch start the mongrel it was that dead!!!!! ( wife isnt impressed at this point, and immediate calls to get rid of poor old betsey start to come in) I get a jump start, put some charge in the battery, and the next time I ride to work I decide to unhook the fan whilst im at work I get ready to go home, and hook the fan back up - hey presto - battery is fully charged, no problems at all! So this leads me to conclude that because the fan switch wire is always hot, even with the switch is in the off position, it could be drawing amps from the battery and draining it ( am I correct?) - if so, how do I fix it? and I forgot to mention, I've wired the switch so tha it turns on/off, but havent got the light working - do I need to get the 3rd prong on the switch to the same power source wire as the fan?