overheating please help
#1
overheating please help
ok so today i road the bike to work and back. No problems , bout 15 miles riding plenty of time for bike to get to max operating temp, after work i decided to go to the post office and half way there i looked down and temp was almost in the red, i pulled the bike over right away .....my reserve was completely full of antifreeze and leaking out the hose at the top of the reserve. could my thermostat be bad and it is causing all the antifreeze to go other places than the engine ive never had anything overheat so i dont know what to look for
#2
Is your fan working?
"Completely full" or full to the line - as manual directs.
Tighten your hose clamps & see if you're still getting leaks. If your bike has the original coolant hoses, it may be time to get new replacements. Coolant spraying everywhere while you're riding is no fun!
Hope we can get this figured out quickly for you.
"Completely full" or full to the line - as manual directs.
Tighten your hose clamps & see if you're still getting leaks. If your bike has the original coolant hoses, it may be time to get new replacements. Coolant spraying everywhere while you're riding is no fun!
Hope we can get this figured out quickly for you.
#3
the fan is working i hear that kick on and stay on when gets to hot.......the reserve is full all the way to the cap ....would push cap off if not for run off hose......im not sure what to think.....all hoses are fine,,,,,,there is no spraying antifreeze ony lleaks from reserve after running a few minutes,,,,,,,,,,,,also antifreeze was full in radiator and in reserve to designated full line
#5
There are several things that can cause this. To make things simple and not a novel, I think I'll just list them. The leaking is most likely the overflow from the overflow bottle.
1. Thermostat stuck in a closed position. You can test your thermostat by putting it into a pot being heated on the stove. Make sure thermostat is not touching the pot sides or bottom. Measure the water temp with a thermometer and make sure it doesn't touch the sides or bottom of pan as well. The thermostat should open up at a certain temp. I don't have the manual on hand, but could look it up if needed. If you don't have one, I recommend downloading one.
2. Old coolant. Coolant should be changed out every couple years.
3. Cooling fins on your radiator. If you have a substantial amount of your cooling fins on your radiator crushed and not allowing air to pass through, it will not have the ability to remove excess heat from the coolant.
4. I'm sure you would notice this, but excessive clutch slipping can create excessive heat in the engine.
5. Fan not working, but you said it was kicking on.
1. Thermostat stuck in a closed position. You can test your thermostat by putting it into a pot being heated on the stove. Make sure thermostat is not touching the pot sides or bottom. Measure the water temp with a thermometer and make sure it doesn't touch the sides or bottom of pan as well. The thermostat should open up at a certain temp. I don't have the manual on hand, but could look it up if needed. If you don't have one, I recommend downloading one.
2. Old coolant. Coolant should be changed out every couple years.
3. Cooling fins on your radiator. If you have a substantial amount of your cooling fins on your radiator crushed and not allowing air to pass through, it will not have the ability to remove excess heat from the coolant.
4. I'm sure you would notice this, but excessive clutch slipping can create excessive heat in the engine.
5. Fan not working, but you said it was kicking on.
Last edited by marc0011; 06-23-2011 at 07:11 AM.
#6
antifreeze was just changed maybe 3 weeks ago and was full untill yeasterday when it over heated
the cooling fins dont look to bad......but i dont see why that would be the problem considering a week ago there were no problems......riding in 90 degree wheather , stop and go traffic all day and never once overheated.
i dont think it is clutch slipping cuz it happens while only cruising also
im guessing its the thermostat stuck shut.
Possibly water pump. i sure hope not
the cooling fins dont look to bad......but i dont see why that would be the problem considering a week ago there were no problems......riding in 90 degree wheather , stop and go traffic all day and never once overheated.
i dont think it is clutch slipping cuz it happens while only cruising also
im guessing its the thermostat stuck shut.
Possibly water pump. i sure hope not
#7
What else was done when the coolant was changed? If everything was fine before the change, and now it's overheating, then something happened at change time. For example:
Was 50/50 (water/antifreeze) used, or just pure antifreeze (coolant)? Straight coolant would make it overheat.
Was the thermostat touched or replaced? It's always possible to get a new bad one, or to install one incorrectly.
Was the cap reinstalled correctly? May sound silly, but sometimes we don't get them on straight, and that will overheat you fast.
Also, please elaborate on this statement:
This, combined with what you answered gotcbr, above, makes me think you filled the overflow bottle completely full when the antifreeze was changed. While that won't make it overheat, it will make it spew coolant everywhere even when it gets up to normal temp. Only fill the overflow bottle to the full mark.
Was 50/50 (water/antifreeze) used, or just pure antifreeze (coolant)? Straight coolant would make it overheat.
Was the thermostat touched or replaced? It's always possible to get a new bad one, or to install one incorrectly.
Was the cap reinstalled correctly? May sound silly, but sometimes we don't get them on straight, and that will overheat you fast.
Also, please elaborate on this statement:
antifreeze was just changed maybe 3 weeks ago and was full untill yeasterday when it over heated
Last edited by MZ5; 06-23-2011 at 08:39 AM.
#8
the fan is working i hear that kick on and stay on when gets to hot.......the reserve is full all the way to the cap ....would push cap off if not for run off hose......im not sure what to think.....all hoses are fine,,,,,,there is no spraying antifreeze ony lleaks from reserve after running a few minutes,,,,,,,,,,,,also antifreeze was full in radiator and in reserve to designated full line
#9
The issue with the fins crushed is that air can't pass through the radiator which prevents it from effectively dissipating the heat from the coolant.
Being how this issue is a recent problem, crushed fins on the radiator is probably not the cause. I would test the thermostat based on the assumption there is enough coolant in the cooling system. It's something that you can do and still reuse the rubber gasket around the thermostat (although not recommended) if you're really in pinch for cash.
If the coolant was replaced with coolant from a shop (Honda coolant, wetter water, etc), you don't have to mix anything because it comes premixed.
Being how this issue is a recent problem, crushed fins on the radiator is probably not the cause. I would test the thermostat based on the assumption there is enough coolant in the cooling system. It's something that you can do and still reuse the rubber gasket around the thermostat (although not recommended) if you're really in pinch for cash.
If the coolant was replaced with coolant from a shop (Honda coolant, wetter water, etc), you don't have to mix anything because it comes premixed.
#10
i did burp the system when i changed the coolant and yes i did use honda coolant. im kinda curious about what mz5 said ......my radiator cap i can hear hot air coming out of it and antifreeze trying to.....but intead of coming out there it goes to reserve .......could it be something as simple as the radiator cap needs replaced because of not a good enough seal