Author |
Message |
Mike_dinger
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 12:02 pm: |
|
Disclaimer: This in no way is a shot towards Odie - for his heat blanket is marvelous. I finally got my heat blanket (the Maximum version) for my Uly. I installed it, and found a huge reduction in leg heat. I headed out on a 150 mile ride, plenty of traffic to split through (legal in Ca.) in 90-100 deg. temps. Well, with about 50 miles to go, I throw a check engine light. I notice my fan is not running. I just got the bike back from the shop for a 10k service, engine mount replacement, spark plug wire, and front brake rotor replacement (all 3 under warranty). The bike was pulling like a horse! Loving it's new fresh feeling again after the service. Well, i get the bike back to the dealer. I get the call that they blew 3 fuses trying to diagnose the non-working fan, then finally the 4th fuse melted the fan, or so the service dude says, also mentioning a huge puff of smoke. Grrrrrreat, I'm thinking. Turns out fans are on backorder until near end of August. My question, has anyone else found overheating issues from using the heat blankets, enough to fry the cooling fan? Is is possible that the ECM is under extreme temps trapped under the seat? Where is the fuse box located, for I never looked for it? Should I discontinue using the heat blanket? Did I also correctly recall someone remounting their ECM above the heat blanket? Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions would be appreciated. Mike |
Darthane
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 12:11 pm: |
|
The fuseblock is under the seat as well. Big black plastic thing with a cover on it. I'm waiting on a set of blankets, still undecided about whether to even put the second piece on. My rear end doesn't bother me, just my leg. I would imagine putting the ECM over the blanket would simply be a matter of unscrewing it and poking holes in the appropriate locations, then screwing it back down. Personally, I doubt 'trapping' the hot air under the blanket will harm your ECM, but if the notion bothers you you should be able to move it topside with little trouble. As for the fan, I doubt that the CFM is impacted much at all by the addition of the blankets - there are still many outlets for the hot air - which means it would be seeing the same temps under the same conditions regardless of whether or not you have blankets installed. ...they blew 4 fuses - you do NOT want those fools trying to diagnose electrical problems on your bike again. Two confirms the issue, after that they should be looking for the damned short, not continually shoving higher and higher amperage fuses into it. -=shakes head sadly=- |
California
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 12:20 pm: |
|
Oh shoot, I thought this thread was for DeadHeads and about the Grateful Dead and their music! |
Etennuly
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 12:29 pm: |
|
I didn't have any heat shields and my fan went out in a glory filled puff of smoke. I would think it was just the fan's time to croak. |
Seanp
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 02:15 pm: |
|
I have the heat shields and my fan died, but I seriously don't think it had anything to do with the heat shields. It had been dying slowly before I even got the shields. |
Bobmcc
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 02:35 pm: |
|
My first fan died a slow moaning death over 3 or so thousand miles, before any heat shields. Finally stopped altogether around 7.5K without throwing a check engine light. Hopefully 'twas a lemon. I got almost 4K on SPAL #2 and hopefully this l'il Italian screamer will hold up better. |
Mike_dinger
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 02:49 pm: |
|
Thanks for all the responses guys! I will continue to use the blankie's. Funny that the fan just croaked without warning, no whining or nothing. Guess, like Etenn said, it was just it's time. And yeah, I'm a little worried about the integrity of the new servicing dealer. |
Johnboy777
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 03:32 pm: |
|
""Turns out fans are on backorder until near end of August."" You might consider buying it off of American Sport Bike and having the service dept. install it - IIRC, they are 70 bucks or so. Beats having to wait out all of Aug.....just a thought. Good luck! John |
Bienhoabob
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 03:42 pm: |
|
I tried American Sport Bikes. They have an unfilled order at Buell since July 8th. Maybe the Taiwanese are on strike. |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 03:59 pm: |
|
Mike- I shortened my heat blanket so that the ECM is protected. I tucked the center portion of the blanket under the plastic piece above/behind the shock. The rear/sides of the blanket still allow hot air to exit via the vents under the seat at either side. I also moved my rear master cylinder reservoir out from under the seat, mounting it on a bracket from the tail section sort of similar to the mounting on a tube-framed bike. This gives a significantly less-restricted air path out from under the right side of the seat. This setup seems to work pretty well in keeping the under-seat area fairly cool while not (apparently) restricting the airflow exiting the fan at all. I think the ideal would be to have a molded solid plastic piece that installed here and sealed air-tight to keep the hot air away from the ECM and battery and force the air out from under the seat. The wiring harness could stand to be re-routed somewhat too, it blocks a lot of the airflow at the left side. |
Mike_dinger
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 06:53 pm: |
|
Thanks for your insight Hugh. It definitely does seem like a stuffed cabbage under the seat. Less restriction would be great! I like the master cylinder reservoir relocate idea. When I get the bike back, I will surely give more attention to the way things are laid out under the seat. Never really gave the air flow much thought before, instead I just dealt with the roasted leg. |
Florida_lime
| Posted on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 - 07:23 pm: |
|
Back-ordered ? I guess this means Saturday wasn't a good time to drop my Uly off for blowing the fan fuse, huh ?
|
|