shadow623_

Well smokin joe the american hero strikes again im such a dud guys sorry for the hassel. Filled right rad full fan is running turna on at half and stays there

smokinjoe73

Remove the allen fairing screw to get better access.

shadow623_

Ok guys so there wasnt coolant in the radiator problem now is that the coolant in the right radiator keepa going bone dry every couple rides and I have to keep filling it. Any suggestions on the next step? Its like the coolant fill bottlw isnt giving it more coolant when it needs it

7moore7

If the coolant wasn't properly filled, you can have large air pockets in the system that eventually work their way into the rads. I've been deceived before thinking I worked all the air out only to find after each ride I'd have to put more coolant in the radiator. How many times has it done this? Based on how there wasn't enough to trigger the fan before, my guess is you're just a couple more bubbles away from having a fully filled system from your bone dry motor swap. This is what the running/filling/tapping/rinse and repeat process I described in the beginning speeds up.

The overflow bottle won't "give" coolant properly until the system is full. It only has access to the main coolant when the rad cap is open, which in turn only opens when there's a high amount of pressure, which in turn won't happen because the properties of air pockets reduce the pressure. Ahhh the fun of closed loop cooling!

smokinjoe73

1) Is it leaking.....and B) did you replace your rad cap? Coolant could be steaming out if the seal is shot.

I know it seems too simple but go replace it anyway. I put a list of caps that will fit on here somewhere.

CrankenFine

+1

"Stant #10233 available at Advance Auto for 7.49"

Just got one of these last week.

shadow623_

not leaking and in a previous post stated rad cap was replaced during motor swap it pressurizes and everything. the cooling system works fantastic until i ride it on a super hot day i gotta refill the next time i ride. and when i filled it up the other day on the beginning of this page i hit the throttle while filling all the way from cold until my fan kicked on again. i mean possible i may have a some air bubles but i didnt think it would be likely as how long i blipped the throttle and such.

shadow623_

my bottom pan i have does have a little overflow in it occasionaly but thats OVERFLOW and it just leaks onto the bottom fairing no biggie there so ill try and burp the system again any other suggestions is appreciated.

CrankenFine

The coolant is going somewhere and it usually leaves a trail of dried on residue or some telltale stains where it's getting out. If the cap is known good I would closely inspect every joint and both radiators (both sides of each) for those clues. If it were getting past the pump seals you would likely see some evidence of emulsion in the oil. I don't believe 98s had the weep hose at the pump seal but I could be wrong. If you do have that and a failing seal it would also wet the bottom fairing. Good luck.

7moore7

You may not, it's hard to diagnose over the internet. It's just one of those "check the easy things first" suggestions. If that's the case, I agree with Cranken- it's going somewhere, you just have to figure out where.

shadow623_

okay well i have some good news. today i rode it fan kicked on i didnt ride it since friday so it didnt leak out my bottom pan didnt look wet.. maybe it was just some large air pocket in there. i wont know for sure till later this week as i drive it more.. ill keep you guys posted thanks for the help

smokinjoe73

Well that's your hidden problem right there.

You got to ride it, not drive it!

tillyhawkrider

Joe that last sounded like the less than cheery voice of experience. I'm not amused or picking at you. I know all too well how dodo happens to everybody and anybody.


The Dragons Tail is in my back yard

shadow623_

Well it struck again. Bone dry in my coolant. The filler tank doesn't seem to be giving the coolant when necessary it should take some coolant into the radiators after the thermostat opens if I'm not mistaking also when on a cold start of not riding after a few days the exhaust smells super sweet until it gets warm I don't think that's normal either. HELP

smokinjoe73

You have a leak, just find it. Check every clamp, touch them all while running to feel for coolant.

I am getting exhausted by this and its not even my bike.

Check your oil, make sure its not weird. You dont want to worry about a head gasket.

CrankenFine

That's what I'm thinking after the description of sweet smelling exhaust.

smokinjoe73

The concern is that it was run with low or no coolant. That could warp a head.

Oh and if I didnt mention it, dont ride with iff coolant, its bad for the bike.

E.Marquez

It is not normally, and a very common sign of a head gasket leaking coolant into the combustion chamber.

Your bike is injured, find and repair BEFORE riding it more or you'll only do more damage.

Coolant missing with none on the ground
Coolant burning in the exhaust.

No sign of coolant leaking from the water pump weep hole (moisture or dried coolant "tracks")
No sign of coolant leaking from a head casket outside the motor (moisture or dried coolant "tracks")
Cooling system pressure tested and showing no signs of pressure loss.
Cooling system cap pressure tested, no signs of pressure or vacuum leakage.

All equals head gasket leak. .... just have to figure out which head.... or replace both gaskets out of concern and lack of firm diagnosis.

All that assuming you have not damaged hard parts running the motor without coolant several times now.

shadow623_

awesome ill be bringing it back to the people i had them do the swap on. hopefully theyll fix it... if not im fudged till i rebuild my old motor or figure out how to swap the head gasket. it runs like gold after i put the coolant in and its warm. no issues at all so im assuming the gasket is bad and ill just leave it be till i can fix it. how hard is a head gasket on a motor cycle especially our v twins. im gonna take apart the other one first to learn then do my motorcycle if they wont fix it.

shadow623_

i always check my coolant to. make sure i have some before i ride each time. the fill bottle completely full and gets more full when i fill the radiator cause some overflow goes back through the top rad hose (its small like a breather tube it leads back to the coolant bottle) goes back into the fill bottle.

shadow623_

Well guys have good and bad news. Good news is head gasket is in good shape cooling system us pressurized and I have NO leaks problem is fan still not turning on when I ride it. System was rebled and filled with new 50/50 coolant. Sorry for blowing the forum up but idk what else to do

shadow623_

Can someone just give me a quick simple explanation or directions how to install a manual switch I want to do it this weekend and be done with iy

smokinjoe73

Ok shadow. If you're gonna blow the spot up you gotta at least read the responses and act accordingly. Everyone wants to help but no one wants to post, be ignored then see the same question.

This may be time to do a search since I know I posted the manual switch thing several times, maybe even in this thread.

Putting a manual switch is pretty much asking for disaster. If you were lucky enuff to not destroy your bike yet but really want to, the do the manual switch.

Here is the deal. You are riding a superbike and have no time to stare at your dash looking for the right moment to turn it on. You will forget and trash your bike or crash while distracted.

Neither is a good plan result.

FIX YOUR FAN SWITCH.

Honda knew what they were doing when they made the bike with and auto switch not manual (or constant on)

shadow623_

I understand what everyone is saying and I do read responses but no one knows what's wrong with the bike not even the shop why the fan won't turn on the excuse is "vtr run hot" with the stock switch yes they do I have a 85* switch in there turns on a little over halfway. I don't know what else to try. The head gasket is fine there is absolutely no leaks all my hoses are hot kite the coolant is getting there. I turn my bike off for like 5 seconds the fan turns on and stays on forever when u start the bike back up it runs for like 15 seconds shuts off and that's it. They said everything on the bike is fine obviously it's not. No coolant oil or oil in coolant the fan works just not when riding. I'm sorry for being a ads and blowing the thread up but I come here for help I tried everything suggested and nothing is working. I constantly am checking the temp Guage so I'm not so worried about forgetting the fan but idk what else to try. Could it be from a they. Thermostat not opening up? I mean all the hoses are piping hot but it's like not enough coolant is in the right rad to reach the temp sensor idk why that wouldn't have been put on the bottom

7moore7

No worries on blowing threads up cause everyone working on bikes knows how much it sucks not having a diagnosis. It's the worst when you run out of options, and people on here will give advice all day long. But Joe is right- it will be much better in the long run to fix the problem and not make a band-aid.

Something is weird with your wiring- fan should turn off when the bike is off. I would start with figuring out why it's not doing this. See on this wiring diagram how the fan motor runs through the ignition? When the key is off, so should be the fan:



The reason is that if the wiring is not stock, it may not be turning on at the right times anyway. Is the fan on when the bike is on? Does it click on immediately when you turn it off? Something else? A digital multimeter ($25) would be super helpful for this and most electrical troubleshooting. You can quickly check electrical connections without waiting for a vague temperature window. What happens when you pull the fan fuse? Does it still run (indicating that there is a rogue connection somewhere from a PO).

shadow623_

I think I explained the whole fan on thing wrong. It runs when the ignition is on but motor not running but will not run when motor is running. When key is off position fan turns off. Sorry for confusion

shadow623_

I can try pulling the fuse and see if it runs on not. Talk about weird I pulled the fuse fan didn't run turned motor of put fuse in fan turned on stayed bike stayed on let it cool for 5-10 min started bike got up to temp fan turned on lol wut

7moore7

No worries it was hard to tell so I just made that assumption.

So does the fan ever run when the motor is running? In other words, if you do the fan test where you ground the wire/plug that goes to the fan switch, it works. But if you ground it when the motor is running, it doesn't work? It looks like from your earlier posts it will turn on when the motor is running, so that's a good start (wiring is normal). Which means if you pull the fuse it shouldn't work at all anytime.

Which if this is all the case, it goes back to "why isn't the fan switch working at the appropriate temperature?"

Not to sound like a broken record... but just to get some more detail. You're riding, it's rising above normal temperature and fan isn't on. You hit killswitch but ignition is still "ON". Fan then clicks on for half a minute.

smokinjoe73

Ok so you have the 85* switch and the fan comes on at half the temp guage. Mission accomplished whats the problem?

It never gets up to the red zone right?

shadow623_

Talk about weird I pulled the fuse fan didn't run turned motor of put fuse in fan turned on stayed bike stayed on let it cool for 5-10 min started bike got up to temp fan turned on lol wut

Not to sound like a broken record... but just to get some more detail. You're riding, it's rising above normal temperature and fan isn't on. You hit killswitch but ignition is still "ON". Fan then clicks on for half a minute.[/QUOTE]
correct