high temp reading

[iridedou]

I've put 1300 miles on my '84 Venture in the last 2 months. The previous owner had put a toggle switch on the dash for manually turning the radiator fan on/off. As the air temp is now gotten up over 60 degrees with warmer weather, I've had to switch the fan on more, as I expected. Well the original toggle switch froze up and stopped working, so I replaced it with a spare accessory toggle switch I had from my car. It worked at first but now seems to stop working intermittently. When caught in traffic a few times, the gauge will push just into the red, but no signs of boilover or overheating, but with the intermittent on/off problem I can't kick my fan on. Then I'll get moving and it drops down into the green. Do I need a special heavy duty toggle switch or something for this? Why does it work sometimes? What readings do most of you have in warmer weather and when stuck in traffic?

Edited April 29, 2009 by iridedou

[Guest Swifty]

Most any 1st gen stock VR will show temps climb to the red line while idling in traffic and hot weather....then the fan kicks in. How far does it go into the red? Some owners have installed an automotive thermostat with variable success to solve this issue; most riders accept it as normal. Mine will get very close to the red area but never cross it, as the fan kicks in.

[5bikes]

Trace out the wiring. Look for a bad connection. Many people do not do a good job of making tight, waterproof connections with real terminals. The lower you keep the temps the longer the engine will last. Wet, humid areas play havic on electrical.

Another reason I like the desert southwest.

[iridedou]

I think I found my problem....bad connection from the ground wire from the fan's on/off toggle switch to a frame bolt down under the radiator's right hand sidecover. I will be making the 270 mile ride home in a few days to road test.

[a1bummer]

How well do you suppose it would work if I took the thermostat completely out? I've done it years ago on cars. Ran cooler during the hot summers, but produced absolutely no heat during the winter. I don't ride in the winter, so could I get away with it?

[Venturous Randy]

How well do you suppose it would work if I took the thermostat completely out? I've done it years ago on cars. Ran cooler during the hot summers, but produced absolutely no heat during the winter. I don't ride in the winter, so could I get away with it?

 

An engine is actually more efficient if run within the designed temperature.

Also, if you take the thermostat out, you can incur more heating problems as the water will pass through the radiator too quickly and not cool sufficiently under heavy load conditions.

Anyway, if you want to take the thermostat out of the loop, just turn the bypass below the radiator.

RandyA