| Author |
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Buellysses_rider
| | Posted on Saturday, June 27, 2009 - 11:26 am: | 
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So I went on a 5k mile trip and the fan stopped working halfway through. First it sounded really weak and then it would work sometimes but not others and now it doesn't work at all.
I checked the fuse; its fine. I pulled the fan and connected it directly to the battery; it works. A friend of mine who is more mechanically inclined did some probing with a multi meter and says there is a bad ground somewhere between the grey connector to the ECM and the fan. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a common pinch point I can check for damaged wires?? |
Rays
| | Posted on Saturday, June 27, 2009 - 07:21 pm: |
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Eric, on the 12X the cooling fan is supplied with power via the Battery fuse and the Cooling fan fuse directly to the fan (I can't say for sure about other models but I imagine they would be identical).
The 12X service manual has the detailed diagram on page 4-81 and I couldn't recommend a publication more highly I'd have to say.
The ground is supplied via the circuitry in the ECM (that's how it is controlled when the ignition is off).
If you have eliminated the fan then you need to make sure the power is getting to the fan itself and that there is continuity back to the ECM connector as the next steps.
The power to the fan is via the Yellow/Brown wire (pin 1 on the two-pin fan connector).
There shouldn't be a ground on the wire between the fan and the ECM (if there was the fan would run all of the time) so it may be terminology that I'm tripping over.
To test the rest of the fan circuit outside the ECM it is pretty easy but you need to be very, very sure of what you are doing.
Step 1 - disconnect the battery - we want to make really sure we don't do anything to your ECM. The ground lead will suffice and make the test a bit easier if you only have 1 person doing this.
Step 2 - remove both ECM connectors. These are tight because of the weather sealing but try not to over stress the ECM as you do this - the connectors are attached to a circuit board internally and are relatively frail items.
Step 3 - on the Grey ECM connector locate pin 6. This is a Black / Orange wire - top R/H side of the plug. If you want to be really careful this wire should have continuity back to the fan connector (pin 2).
Step 4 - get a length of fine insulated wire and strip a 1/4" or so and insert into the pin 6 socket on the Grey connector. Don't try and force the issue here as you don't want to deform the female socket.
Step 5 - hold the negative lead on the battery and then touch your test wire to the ground terminal as well.
Step 6 - the fan should operate in 'air raid siren' mode with a direct ground.
Step 7 - if it doesn't then you need to double check the Black / Orange connection between the ECM plug and the Fan connector.
Step 8 - if the fan does work then the issue is either with the ECM, the grounds to the ECM or the temperature sensor. I would imagine that you would have other issues if either of those last two issues are present so getting to this stage will make things a little clearer.
Step 8 - remove the test wire in the ECM connector, make sure the battery is disconnected again before re-plugging the ECM connectors.
Step 9 - reconnect the battery ground. Reset your clock time and be aware that you will have lost the tripmeter and low fuel distance readings by disconnecting the battery.
I have done this test on 12X's several times and it is a very quick way to test the fan circuit.
However, I have been working with electrics and electronics for more years than I care to recall so if you aren't that confident doing this test then you might want to enlist the help of your friend with the multimeter.
Please feel free to PM me if you need any further assistance. |
Buellysses_rider
| | Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 01:02 am: |
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Thanks for the awesome info!!
I did a little more testing tonight (before I saw this post) and here's what I found:
I connected the bike to ECMSpy and ran it until it got to 175 degrees C. Shut the bike off and the fan came on as it should. I moved the fan around while it was on (it wasn't mounted in the bike) and it only seemed to work when it was held in a certain position. When I moved the fan around by hand it sounded weak and would not spin as fast.
I then completely removed the fan from the bike and connected it directly to a spare battery. It did the same thing; it will work when held in a certain position but sounds weak and spins slower if moved around.
This along with all the research I have done is making me think the fan is the problem after all.
Any thoughts? |
Rays
| | Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 02:14 am: |
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Eric, these fans have brushes so it sounds like moving it around might be allowing something to make contact internally. If it isn't in the actual wire lead then the fan is a sealed item so given what a nuisance it is to remove I would toss it and pop a new one in.
A few years ago these were the Uly 'failure of the week' so there may have been a bad batch. My '05 build Uly has just on 50,000 miles on the original fan so they weren't all bad.
Hopefully your replacement will give you that sort of service as well. |
Buellysses_rider
| | Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 02:54 am: |
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Thanks for the help! I will order a new fan tomorrow. |
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Need help diagnosing Cooling Fan Problem