Adding 2nd cooling fan
10-29-2007 | 08:46 PM
#1
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From: Palm Bay, FL
Adding 2nd cooling fan
I've been stuck in traffic a few times and had her get fairly hot on me even with the oem fan...and when the this last one stopped working, I ordered a new fan on ebay...only to realize too late that it was the temp sending unit.
So the jist is, I have a spare superhawk fan just sitting here. I was thinking about zip-tying it to the left-side radiator and running it on a manual switch for those hot days, or say at the drag strip if I want to cool the bike down quickly between passes when I get to racing her. What do yall think is the best way to do this....running a switch from the ground (short wire...may be tricky to splice)....or running a straight ground and a 10a inline fuse power lead to a switch mounted on the frame near the fan...with the fuse just after the battery.
I remember seeing one of my mechanics test the old fan to see if it works...but it was strange because I swear I remember him able to power it on with a powerprobe without grounding it.
Anyone do this before...any tips? I don't need an electrical fire between my legs.
So the jist is, I have a spare superhawk fan just sitting here. I was thinking about zip-tying it to the left-side radiator and running it on a manual switch for those hot days, or say at the drag strip if I want to cool the bike down quickly between passes when I get to racing her. What do yall think is the best way to do this....running a switch from the ground (short wire...may be tricky to splice)....or running a straight ground and a 10a inline fuse power lead to a switch mounted on the frame near the fan...with the fuse just after the battery.
I remember seeing one of my mechanics test the old fan to see if it works...but it was strange because I swear I remember him able to power it on with a powerprobe without grounding it.
Anyone do this before...any tips? I don't need an electrical fire between my legs.
10-29-2007 | 09:03 PM
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If the ground switch grounds.....it's just going to keep the fan going til it gets broken?
10-29-2007 | 09:10 PM
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So where was your fuse when you grounded the positive lead?? No fuse = fire. If you switch on the ground, you have no way of turning the fan off if it overloads or shorts to ground before the switch. You can do whatever you want but if you want to be safe then run a fused power lead to the switch and a straight ground.
10-30-2007 | 06:06 PM
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So where was your fuse when you grounded the positive lead?? No fuse = fire. If you switch on the ground, you have no way of turning the fan off if it overloads or shorts to ground before the switch. You can do whatever you want but if you want to be safe then run a fused power lead to the switch and a straight ground.
I just kinda figured if it shorted or overloaded on the ground-side, it'd over-draw and pop the fuse on the power-side....but I suppose that might not necessarily happen. Point taken. I just never liked the idea of running a length of positive lead around brackets etc.
10-30-2007 | 06:11 PM
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So where was your fuse when you grounded the positive lead?? No fuse = fire. If you switch on the ground, you have no way of turning the fan off if it overloads or shorts to ground before the switch. You can do whatever you want but if you want to be safe then run a fused power lead to the switch and a straight ground.
10-30-2007 | 06:50 PM
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I run the blue keep kewl coolant. Maybe you are running to lean jetting and causing excessive heat or need to replace an aging thermostat. Seems strange that you would need to put a second fan on her.
10-30-2007 | 07:44 PM
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Actually according to the temp gauge she runs cool as hell. My local shop was convinced she's overheating. Well I installed the fan and a new fan temp switch today and idled it for like 10 mins and kept it at 2k rpms for a while and it got up to a little past halfway and the fan still didn't turn on. Fuse is okay. I don't know how hot she's actually getting, but the fan never really seems to come on. I just figured I had another laying around so I could mount it and manually trigger it since the stock fan doesn't seem to come on until the bike is 3/4 up the gauge.
10-30-2007 | 07:52 PM
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Actually according to the temp gauge she runs cool as hell. My local shop was convinced she's overheating. Well I installed the fan and a new fan temp switch today and idled it for like 10 mins and kept it at 2k rpms for a while and it got up to a little past halfway and the fan still didn't turn on. Fuse is okay. I don't know how hot she's actually getting, but the fan never really seems to come on. I just figured I had another laying around so I could mount it and manually trigger it since the stock fan doesn't seem to come on until the bike is 3/4 up the gauge.
Sounds like you still got something wrong with the sending unit. I have first hand knowledge of three old SHawks with the Analog dial/needle gauge. All three activate the fan when the needle moves one needle width past half way on the guage. Mine has never gotten above one needle width distance past half way mark.
10-30-2007 | 09:09 PM
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Let me know how it works. My prediction is alot of rider overheating from all the push-starts after the battery dies. I live in NYC & tried the fan on a switch thing. This was my findings. I did put in a much bigger oil cooler which did help a bit though. Cheap & easy off ebay.
10-31-2007 | 01:16 PM
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Why not simply wire the fan via relay (Direct power from battery with fuse, control to relay from headlight power). It will come one any time the headlight is on (and the "Whirrrrrr" noise will remind you to turn off your bike/headlight) when you stop. It's not like it would OVERCOOL the the engine being on all the time.
I've got 2 3" box fans that move 150cfm each on the "other" radiator. They come on anytime the headlight is on as desribed above. By running all the time, they keep the bike temp gauge between 1/4 and 1/2 98% of the time. That 2% of the time on really hot days, in slow traffic, the "main" cooling fan kicks on and quickly drops temps to normal. Run time is under 2 minutes.
I've got 2 3" box fans that move 150cfm each on the "other" radiator. They come on anytime the headlight is on as desribed above. By running all the time, they keep the bike temp gauge between 1/4 and 1/2 98% of the time. That 2% of the time on really hot days, in slow traffic, the "main" cooling fan kicks on and quickly drops temps to normal. Run time is under 2 minutes.
Last edited by RPV-Hawk; 10-31-2007 at 01:19 PM.
11-01-2007 | 01:08 AM
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Not a bad idea RPV but running an electric motor always-on I know is a good way to burn them out. My old mustang was all kinds of hopped-up for a street car and I ran an electric fan wired to a switch on it so I'm very well used to the habit of switching it on and off.
RickB....care to describe how you did that? Or you have a schematic? That'd be pretty ideal to be able to force it on, but leave the switch off and still maintain the temp-related on.
RickB....care to describe how you did that? Or you have a schematic? That'd be pretty ideal to be able to force it on, but leave the switch off and still maintain the temp-related on.
11-01-2007 | 07:34 AM
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I just added a wire to the temp sender that goes to a small rocker switch I glued to the underside of the plastic front master cylinder... the other wire goes to a ground on the clipon. The sending unit just completes the circuit to ground via the radiator when it hits the proper temp... the switch just provides the ground when I want it to run the fan and it will not interfere with normal operation if the switch is off.
Not a bad idea RPV but running an electric motor always-on I know is a good way to burn them out. My old mustang was all kinds of hopped-up for a street car and I ran an electric fan wired to a switch on it so I'm very well used to the habit of switching it on and off.
RickB....care to describe how you did that? Or you have a schematic? That'd be pretty ideal to be able to force it on, but leave the switch off and still maintain the temp-related on.
RickB....care to describe how you did that? Or you have a schematic? That'd be pretty ideal to be able to force it on, but leave the switch off and still maintain the temp-related on.
11-01-2007 | 07:41 AM
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I suppose "they" don't make a sensor/sending unit that closes circuit at a lower temp? Of course, maybe it's a generic unit and a lower temp model could be found. Maybe for a car??? Just match the threaded end. Hmmmm......
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