Wilsons Sandbox

Need a new fan switch and don't want to pay $50 for Kawasaki's. Does anyone know if there is a generic fan switch which will work on the KLR? I'm talking about the one which screws into the bottom of the radiator. Thanks, Eric Mercer A6,B2 _________________________________________________________________ Share your photos without swamping your Inbox. Get Hotmail Extra Storage today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es

Eric, That's the best price I know about for the switch. Before dropping that kind of dough on the replacement, have you tested the original part? The manual has a procedure using a pot of near boiling water, an ohm-meter, and a thermometer. You hook up the ohm-meter to the switch, put the switch and thermometer into the hot water (not touching the sides or bottom of the pot) and begin heating the water up to the switch temperature as indicated by the thermometer. The manual calls for readings as follows ... ambient R= infinity @94-100dc(201-212dF) R=0.5 ohms What you're testing for is to see that the thing switches at or before the temp reaches boiling (100deg C or 212deg F). Bit of a hassle but could help you validate whether or not your current parts is working. Good luck, MarkB PS: Base manual section 14-23, Tengai manual section 15-36

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Eric Mercer" wrote: > Need a new fan switch and don't want to pay $50 for Kawasaki's. > > Does anyone know if there is a generic fan switch which will work on the > KLR? > > I'm talking about the one which screws into the bottom of the radiator. > > Thanks, > > Eric Mercer > A6,B2 > > _________________________________________________________________ > Share your photos without swamping your Inbox. Get Hotmail Extra Storage > today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es

In a message dated 2003-10-02 11:25:11 AM Pacific Daylight Time, MBAKARICH@... writes:

> > Before dropping that kind of dough on the replacement, have you > tested the original part? The manual has a procedure using a pot of > near boiling water, an ohm-meter, and a thermometer. You hook up the > ohm-meter to the switch, put the switch and thermometer into the hot > water (not touching the sides or bottom of the pot) and begin heating > the water up to the switch temperature as indicated by the > thermometer. The manual calls for readings as follows ... > > ambient R= infinity > @94-100dc(201-212dF) R=0.5 ohms > > What you're testing for is to see that the thing switches at or > before the temp reaches boiling (100deg C or 212deg F). Bit of a > hassle but could help you validate whether or not your > current parts is working. > >

Definately do some trouble shooting before thinking about a replacement. Loose wiring, bad connections cause a lot of the problems with the fan switch. If the thermostatic switch has failed, one alternative is to wire in a single pole, single throw switch for manual control. Pat G'ville, Nv [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Eric, I was working on a troubleshooting guide for the fan, but have not been able to complete the thing. I was able to isolate the circuits that power the fan from Prof Jim's most excellent schematic (thank you Jim). Check the jpg file in the photo section under the folder Fan Circuit. If you click on it, it shows you the full sized version. It is reasonably complete, but only shows the circuitry needed for the fan. Post your findings back here, I for one would be very interested in how the fan switch tests out. I have never seen one fail, usually it's just a bad connection or a bad ground, sometimes a bad fan relay. Not that the fan switch never fails, just seems to be a very rare occurance. Good luck, MarkB

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Eric Mercer" wrote: > Need a new fan switch and don't want to pay $50 for Kawasaki's. > > Does anyone know if there is a generic fan switch which will work on the > KLR? > > I'm talking about the one which screws into the bottom of the radiator. > > Thanks, > > Eric Mercer > A6,B2 > > _________________________________________________________________ > Share your photos without swamping your Inbox. Get Hotmail Extra Storage > today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es

> I have never seen one > fail, usually it's just a bad connection or a bad ground, sometimes > a bad fan relay. Not that the fan switch never fails, just seems to > be a very rare occurance. >

Also for a couple of us the problem turned out to be the fan fuse. The fuses looked good to the naked eye but didn't pass current. In my case the fuse tested out fine when the bike was cold and opened when the bike warmed up, like a switch from hell. Inspection with a magnifying glass revealed a tiny crack. Bogdan

Why are you choosing the 180 F/ 190 F thermostat/ fan switch combination as ideal? My A18 runs at about 180 F but I'm looking for a 195 F or even 205 F to see how that works. The fan switch isn't that big a deal to switch. If you are really committed to changing the fan switch, you might wish to consider one of the aftermarket adjustable fan controls. Many of these have a probe which inserts into the radiator cores, inserts under the upper radiator hose or clamps to the outside of the rad hose. The probe terminates in a control module, some of which are adjustable for temperature. If playing with this idea, I would use one of these adjustable units. The ideal would be to install one of the adjustable fan switch modules onto a KLR and then have Bill Watson do the research. Haven't heard from Bill for a while. Are you still around, Bill? By the way: You still aren't spelling your name correctly, Norm Keller Chilliwack, Canada

>My scheme is a 180 t-stat and a 190 fan >switch. Any suggestions on >where I might find such a switch? >Craig Kahler >Fredericksburg, VA

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Just tryng not to deviate too far from stock. I can't help but think Kawasaki had some reason for using a 160F thermostat, or am I giving them too much credit? I'm tring to stop the drastic temp. swings. While crusing my temp gage reads about 15%. in stop and go traffic it gos to about 80% of full range. As it is now, I'm not sure this thing is much better than an air cooled bike. Correct me wrong, but as I understad it, we now have a 160F/205F thermostat/ fan switch. I would like to close that gap and not have those temp swings. It's the reason I bought a water cooled bike. If I go to a 195-205F t-stat I can see there may be no need to mess with the fan switch, But I have concerns of engine problems/boiling gas/rider comfort, runing the engine that hot. I am not a professional mechanic, just a tinkerer who like to "improve" everything I get my hands on. So if my concerns are unfounded, let me know. Craig Kahler BTW I checked my Birth certificate, I'm spelling it correctly! Norm Keller wrote: Why are you choosing the 180 F/ 190 F thermostat/ fan switch combination as ideal? My A18 runs at about 180 F but I'm looking for a 195 F or even 205 F to see how that works. The fan switch isn't that big a deal to switch. If you are really committed to changing the fan switch, you might wish to consider one of the aftermarket adjustable fan controls. Many of these have a probe which inserts into the radiator cores, inserts under the upper radiator hose or clamps to the outside of the rad hose. The probe terminates in a control module, some of which are adjustable for temperature. If playing with this idea, I would use one of these adjustable units. The ideal would be to install one of the adjustable fan switch modules onto a KLR and then have Bill Watson do the research. Haven't heard from Bill for a while. Are you still around, Bill? By the way: You still aren't spelling your name correctly, Norm Keller Chilliwack, Canada

>My scheme is a 180 t-stat and a 190 fan >switch. Any suggestions on >where I might find such a switch? >Craig Kahler >Fredericksburg, VA

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On Mon, 2007-07-02 at 13:02 -0700, Craig Kahler wrote:

> Just tryng not to deviate too far from stock. I can't help but think > Kawasaki had some reason for using a 160F thermostat, or am I giving > them too much credit? I'm tring to stop the drastic temp. swings. > While crusing my temp gage reads about 15%. in stop and go traffic it > gos to about 80% of full range. As it is now, I'm not sure this thing > is much better than an air cooled bike. Correct me wrong, but as I > understad it, we now have a 160F/205F thermostat/ fan switch. I would > like to close that gap and not have those temp swings. It's the reason > I bought a water cooled bike. If I go to a 195-205F t-stat I can see > there may be no need to mess with the fan switch, But I have concerns > of engine problems/boiling gas/rider comfort, runing the engine that > hot. I am not a professional mechanic, just a tinkerer who like to > "improve" everything I get my hands on. So if my concerns are > unfounded, let me know. > Craig Kahler

Again, every one is frantic about temperatures, but no one has any hard data. You're all relying on a $0.04 temperature gauge that is made from old Voltrons and parts that Harleys have shed, and is about as accurate as the CIA intelligence about WMDs. Get an IR thermometer ($10) and measure the goddamn engine temperature before you all go get your panties in an obsessive compulsive bunch and make a $200 engine coolant bypass switch. Want the easy fix? Put a piece of blacktape over the temperature display. Stop obsessing over a non-problem and go riding. Z