Bringing up the cooling issue with my girl...again...unfortunately

[Scoobys_piece]

She's a real hot head....I posted a previous thread and got "way over my lil head...well big head" responses...while I truly am amazed at the level of expert responses I got, I truly didn't understand practically any of them...Feeling too ashamed to respond, I just let it go, well. The red light came on again today and she was hot...The fan did kick on, but it was too late. The antifreeze filled up the resevoir, and 45 minutes later, returned to normal levels, so the thermostat is working...

What I really need help with is, I'm not too smart....I would like someone or someones to respond to say....cut the wires on the right, or cut the wires on the left of the thermostat housing and put them on either side of a on/off switch, so that I can turn the fan on manually....

I'm not doing so well, and I just don't have the brain matter left to put this switch on and allow me to run the fan before she get's too hot.....I will replace the antifreeze with cool ice...I think that's what it's called, and bleed the system, but I feel that putting the manual switch on, will keep things cool.

Thank you again, for the replys to the last post I started, but man, they were high school level and I'm just in kindergarden.

I have two bottles of Barts..one is a radiator cleaner and one is an additive to lubricate the water pump bearings, and entire system...anyone ever use these....I would use the search feature, but you guys are just too smart for me and the responses I turned up, were just over the top of my head.

Thank you again and hopefully I'll be able to understand......I lost my motorcycle keys last night and it took me 3 hours to find, only to find that I could have found them in 10 minutes.....I'm just exhausted at this point.

 

[mybroszl]

take a week off! dont even look at it. i dont it once in a while and it helps.

 

[pyrofitr1368]

Scooby the fan switches act as grounding circuits. When the temp is hot enough, the switch closes the circuit, just like a wall switch, and the fan comes on.You need to make a "y" coming off the wire that comes from the fan switch ,that goes into the radiator cap. One wire ,on the "y" end, will finish the original wire circuit and the other will go to a manual switch. The manual switch will then be grounded to the frame with the wire coming from the other side of the manual switch. When you flip the manual switch to "on" it will close the fan circuit like the o.e.m. switch. By using the wire from the radiator it will be ignition dependent so you don't have to worry about the battery when you shut the bike off. It is fairly simple, but confusing if you don't normally do stuff like that. Any more questions, feel free to pm me. You can do eeet!

 

[rammy1500]

I know back in the day, this was a common problem with the bikes and the dealership rewired my first 900 to come on using the lower temp senor (the one that come on when you turn off the bike), instead of waiting for the higher one that triggers while riding. Don't know how they did it but keeps the bike running cooler and you don't have to fuss with a manual switch.

 

[Jarney]

Like everything else in life - take it one step at a time - if you are sure everything is in good working order - t-stat, rad cap, no air, etc, then do the cleaning/flushing, etc and try the Engine Ice first before you decide you need a manual switch. My 900 has engine ice and runs MUCH cooler than my 1000 which has "standard" Peak coolant in it. Later.

 

[Scoobys_piece]

Um....I'm looking at figure 3-2 in cooling..

I'm looking at 7, fan switch (110 degree C)

Do I cut that wire, or do I splice into it?
After you answer this (if you decide you want to)
After I have a wire coming off it, it goes into one side of the switch?
Then the other side of the switch, goes into a grounding circuit? OR can it be screwed into the screw holding the frame gadget.

I rarely have these moments, but when I do, I sometimes get migraines to the point that I throw up. It's a WAR inside my head....

 

[markus56]

+1.............I wouldn't think a properly operating system with Engine Ice in it would need a manual switch. I have Engine Ice in all five of my bikes and I love the stuff! Never a problem of getting hot.

 

[Jarney]

If you feel you need a switch the link below is what most guys go by I think. Post # 23 may help. Later.


http://www.zl-oa.com/community/thre...ng-issues/page2&highlight=cooling+switch.6409

 

[Scoobys_piece]

Scooby the fan switches act as grounding circuits. When the temp is hot enough, the switch closes the circuit, just like a wall switch, and the fan comes on.You need to make a "y" coming off the wire that comes from the fan switch ,that goes into the radiator cap. One wire ,on the "y" end, will finish the original wire circuit and the other will go to a manual switch. The manual switch will then be grounded to the frame with the wire coming from the other side of the manual switch. When you flip the manual switch to "on" it will close the fan circuit like the o.e.m. switch. By using the wire from the radiator it will be ignition dependent so you don't have to worry about the battery when you shut the bike off. It is fairly simple, but confusing if you don't normally do stuff like that. Any more questions, feel free to pm me. You can do eeet!

Killing birds with cannons bro.
You lost me, first sentence....and intimidated me, that I couldn't get through the rest of your excellent explanation..this is what happened the first time around, just got so frustrated, as you guys, that answered the posts, just couldn't help yourselves, in getting into knee deep theorys and what not, to the point that I was so embarrassed about not understanding that I just didn't reply.....
Alot of guys here, well maybe not alot, but most people just need simple, simple instructions...and when the members here, who are so far superior, get into helping other members, they just confuse the hell outta people.

This is the explanation I'm looking for....LIKE:
I'm looking at page 3-2 cooling section in manual....you talking about switch 7?
Do you cut that wire, or splice into it?
You say your making a Y....what do you do with this "Y" what wires comes off the 2 sides of the Y and what wire comes off the 1 side of the Y?
On the ground side, can you use the philips head screw holding the frame gadget as a ground?

If you decide to offer further help, please, can you explain it on a 10 year old level.

 

[SandstoneSmitty]

Dude! Don't do it! Put the wire cutters down and back away slowly....
Cooling issues are a pain in the arse. I had an old thread many years ago were a poltergeist would turn on my fans in the middle of the night. Turns out a 'yellow' wire under the yoke was frayed and shorting out.
Based on your statement I think your electrical is fine. You start hacking into the harness, you will have troubles you will not be able to get out of. I do not want to lose you, buddy!</SPAN>
.
Mechanical - Start Small and work up.
.Small problems - Air, hoses, caps, clamps
..Air in the system - A pinhole leak that allows air in. Check the straps. Common bite areas.
..Bad hoses - Didn’t this tread start off with a collapsed hose. I have blown some hoses up, but never collapsed them.
..Soft hose, replace them...
..Collapsed hose - Needs vacuum. If you have vacuum, then your pump is working. To create vacuum you need a closed system. To close a system you need a clog. Old hoses with sometimes swell and clog.
.Big Problems - Water Pump or clogged Radiator.
..Water pump - Some of the guys may know a good test. For me, (Quick Test) take the top hose off the radiator, fire it up and give a good rev. If all the coolant splashes all over the garage, then the pump is working.
..Radiator - Pull it off. Spray water in the top. Check for water coming out of the bottom. Check the color coming out of the bottom. Anything, but clear is a problem.
.
Two Thermostats for the fan. One at the bottom of the radiator and the other at the top by the radiator cap. It might be the top one that is causing the issue. Remember that ‘Yellow’ wire thing I was talking about.</SPAN>
.
What have I missed?</SPAN>

 

[mybroszl]

lots of discussion on this if you search the forum but heres a post I found explaining the cooling system.
http://www.zl-oa.com/community/threads/Cooling-System-Electrics-for-GPZ-ZL900-ZL1000.6246
http://www.zl-oa.com/community/threads/Temp-sensor-replacement&p=125957#post125957.12777

 

[Scoobys_piece]

Thank you so much for the great responses.

1.) I'll step away from the pliers.
2.) The system seems to be working...BUT, and it's a big BUT, the engine got hot enough, to allow the overflow hose to dump a small amount of antifreeze to expel from the system.
3.) The system did return to the FULL line, after things cooled down

I'll just evacuate the system of the regular antifreeze and clean the system, following the instructions on the BART radiator system cleaner.
I'll then fill the system with Engine ICE and add BART's waterpump lubricant.

I'll purge the system of air leaks, I will replace the thermostat, with a new KAW thermostat ( I'll test it first to ensure it works) and O ring, lubricating the O ring with approved grease.

I have responsibilities, that are beginning to get the best of me, and I just need to get a can of "buck up" and get things under control....

Hey listen guys, thanks for helping me out with this......The problem is, I'm under duress, and adding to this, I've lost 25, yes 25 friends over the last 10 years and it has really played havoc with my psychy. I'll just rest for today and tackle this at a later time, but I wanna ride so bad, as last year, I did nothing but work on this bike, getting it to the place, where I can just hit the start button and RIDE....hehehehe (scooby laugh)

 

[markus56]

If you plan to go with Engine Ice, the system has to be completely clean, free of ANY water or corrosion (put air through the thermostat and blow it dry), and don't add ANYTHING to it..........not even distilled water. Remove overflow bottle and clean good too! Anything will contaminate the Engine Ice.

 

[Scoobys_piece]

MARKUS...read your post....Not even BARTS Waterpump lubricator? I went to autozone and found BART's radiator cleaner and BART's radiator system waterpump lubricator....I can't use that? I'm going to at least use BART's radiator cleaner and then flush with water til it runs clear. Then I'll let it sit in the sun for the afternoon....then add...Should be good to go...I'm planning of replacing the thermostat and O ring.


Let me know about the Waterpump lubricator....
http://www.amazon.com/Bars-Leaks-13...&keywords=water+pump+lubricant#productDetails

I'm going to use this is flush the system.

http://www.amazon.com/Bars-Leaks-12...26&sr=8-6-spell&keywords=Barts+radiator+flush


Update: I'm lay off the bart waterpump lube...I'm just afraid the engine ice won't have enough lubricate to keep the waterpump seals lubed.

 

[Scoobys_piece]

I looked at BM 3-6 and the bleeder bolt pic was horrible! Can someone shoot me a post about if the bleeder bolt is the top bolt on the water pump (12 oclock) or is it the smaller bolt @ 1 oclock. I think it's the one at 12 oclock, but want to make sure.

I WON'T be using the lube...I tested the engince ice and it's plenty slippery...It's deceiving in the bottle...I ordered a 3rd bottle as I read that the capacity is 2.9 L. Thanks again for the great responses...always appreciated...you guys really know your SHA-ete

 

[SandstoneSmitty]

Can someone shoot me a post about if the bleeder bolt

Are you referring to the radiator drain plug? Bottom of bike in the front, off the radiator down hose, metal joint, just above the left exhaust pipes.

 

[Scoobys_piece]

Sand, I'm referring to bleeder bolt...It's on the top of the waterpump, but is it the one on top of water pump @ 12 oclock? or is it the smaller bolt @ 1 oclock? Thanks for replying.

 

[mudrunner88]

I was gonna go downstairs for ya, but it is 0'dark:30

So I stole a picture from ebay of a pump cover. The bolt still installed is the bleeder hole.

Last year when I was running my hybrid motor I thought for sure I go all the air out of the system. It over heated pretty bad like you are describing and I remember the pump had that bolt. I loosened it up while the system was under pressure and sure enough I still got some air out of it. After that all the issues went away. I think this bike is just sensitive to air in the system.

 

[Scoobys_piece]

Thank you....it cleared up so much....as I was thinking it was the bolt hole, right next to it. The smaller one. If you just loosen it, say 1/2 turn, will is expel the gas?...the air. or do you have to take it almost out...

Thanks again!

Thank pic makes it looks so CLEAR, but man on the engine with all the other stuff in front of it, makes it almost impossible to decipher. That bolt, is actually on the top of the housing, rather than around the perimeter.

You are so kind!

Shooooo~

 

[R. J.]

Scoob stated that the fan came on when after the dummy light came on. That happens around 250*. I had the same problem. I found out that my wiring harness had dielectric break down. The connector going to the relay that energizes the fan while the bike is running had 27 ohms on one of the leads. While the bike is running the fan kicks on at @ 235* & when the bike is shut off it will kick on right around 200*. So I cleaned all my connectors with a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar & baking soda using a toothbrush. Clean both the front & back side of the connectors. The mixture will also get rust & corrosion that maybe in the plugs on the back side. Then blow every thing off with low compressed air.Then I put dielectric grease on every plug on the wiring harness. You should only read @ 3 ohms on any straight wire that has no resistors inline. Use a high quality mutimeter when doing this. A test light will not pick up high resistance in a wire plus they only light up when a connection is complete. I have never used one of them dummy lights. This is common in old wiring harness or ones in those cheap junk Chinese ATVs. I fixed about 4 of them & I will never do anymore. One last thing I removed the wiring harness while doing this. That way you can check for brittle wires. They can also cause high resistance.