I was doing some work on a 2000 929 RR. Just general maintenace: Plugs, Oil, Coolant flush, Air Filter. When I put everything together, it fired right up but...

I was waiting for the water to go down from the from the resevoir into the radiator.. but it didn't happen.. I also notice the fan never went on... 180F ->200F -> 25x.. and it started blinking.

I realize it will definitely not come on. I checked the fuse (by battery) and it is fine.
Any ideas? Are there any plugs in the area that I could've tripped?

Additional info:
Must fan and radiator work simutanously? (either both work or both do not)
The water I put in was not going down with the bike on but after letting it sit overnight, the water is done (either it was evaporated or it went in)[/align][/align]Please help.. it's stuck sitting there...
Thanks you for your exdpertise![/align]

 

Maybe a bad thermostat? Did everything work before you started doing your maintenance? I would check the thermostat by doing this procedure:
1. Remove the thermostat from the bike.
2. Put a pot of water on the stove, and turn the stove on low.
3. Allow the water to heat slowly.
4. Check the water temp with a good thermometer. It's best to use a thermometer like the ones they use in organic chemistry labs.
5. Put the thermostat in the pot when the water reaches approximately 100*F.
6. Slowly increase the heat of the water.
7. Monitor the temperature on the thermometer until you can see when the thermostat opens.

Obviously, the goal here is to see if the thermostat opens at the temperature for which it's rated. You want to heat the water slowly so you know you're getting an accurate measurement with the thermometer. If the thermostat fails to open, replace it and try to run your coolant again. If the thermostat is OK, and your fuse for the fan is good, your fan motor might be bad. Any other opinions?

 

Did you bleed the air out of your cooling system???

 

PS- the fan and radiator work independently of each other. The radiator is not electric; it's a simple exercise in physics. The fan, which happens to be attached to the radiator, is only there for moral support, and only comes on when high temps are reached. The radiator system itself should be flowing all the time, as long as your thermostat is good, and the coolant has reached a temp high enough to open said thermostat.

 

It is ususally a simple item so I won't go into the water pump assembly. The radiator fan should come on by itself when it reach a predetermined temperature. On my F4i, the magic number is 227 F, so in all reality, the fact that yours only reached 200 before you got worried in not a big deal. Look in your manual and see if it says which temp your coolant has to be at before the fan turns on.

If it goes above that temp and still does not turn on, I would suggest the following. Check the fuse (you already did that). Ensure that the two wire connector is attached to the fan motor. If it doesn't work, attach a volt meter to the wire connector that connects to the fam motor. Let the bike get above the threshold temp and check to see if you are getting voltage. If you are getting voltage but the fan still doesn't work, it is probably the fan motor (there is a test in the service manual that will show you how to check the continuity of the fan motor). If you aren't getting voltage at the pig-tail (wire connector) once the temp threshold is passed, it is you coolant temperature sensor. Check the service manual to see if the coolant temp sensor acts as a relay to the fan motor or if the CTS sends a signal to the ecm which in turn supplies the voltage to the fan motor.

Start with the simple things first and work you way through the system...you will find the culprit.

 

Abad...radiators are supposed to be filled with coolant/antifreeze...not blood. I don't even want to aske where you got that from....

 

Hey Quag......

 

The fan motor will draw 6-9 amps while running, may spike to 11 on start up, so it should have a relay in that circuit. The temp sensor is only going to provide resistance to a known voltage that is sent out from the ecu, once the ecu recognizes that the resistance on that circuit is exceeding preset parameters it should then send voltage or ground to the fan relay ( your manual should specify which one the ecu toggles). from the relay then your fan gets its voltage.

As for your radiator, it is a simple task that it performs, your coolant runs through your engine and is heated up by the heat that is produced by combustion, once your coolant reaches a certain temp, your thermostat spring (consisting of 2 different types of metal siding each other so that when the spring heats up, one metal expands at a lower temp than the other so it pushes against the other metal that is backing it on the opposite side of the spring, thus contracting the spring) contracts and opens the thermostat allowing the above temperature coolant to flow out of the engine until the lower temp coolant expands the thermostat spring and closes the thermostat. From there your coolant travels to your radiator (made of thin-walled aluminum tubing with thin metal fins and 2 tanks mounted on it, the hot coolant heats up the aluminum tubing and the thin metal fins allowing the air around the fins and tubing (aka 'flues') to dissipate the heat because the ambient air is a cooler temp than the coolant in the radiator. Once the coolant reaches a certain temp in the engine (ex 227 F) that means that the ambient air is not sufficiently cooling the coolant and it turns the radiator fan on to pull air through the radiator and across the metal fins at a high speed, thus making the cooling efficiency much much greater. Thus achieving cooler engine coolant, thus cooling your engine back down to the temp it should be.
Most times your radiator fan comes on is when you are at a stop, because you are not moving air through the radiator, so the fan will do it for you.

 

Thanks for all the great pointers and the educational info

I will check the voltage on the connectors and see how that goes. I read somewhere that you can test the motor by grounding the plug. Has anyone tried this?

I was also trying to locate the themostat, anyone has a description or photos where to track it and its removal for testing?

Again, all these comments are great. They are very helpful for me and I think they will be handy for others who may come into this problem later. Keep them coming!!

 

The thermostat is tucked neatly on the backside (intake side) of the engine.
(It is part#2 in the drawing)