My Bike overheated in traffic at Laguna Seca

[outdoorsman]

My bike was purchased new in february of this year, it's an 09 model. It currently has 46xx miles. Oil changes have been done and I even flushed the radiator end of May. The temperature got really high (260s F range) this past weekend and started flashing. I had to pull over on the shoulders and turn it off to let it cool. This happened only after about 15-20 miutes of riding slowly in traffic and the weather was cool and in the low 60s F. Also, when I warm it up, it gets hot fast just sitting there. It stays pretty cool on the highway and when I'm at speed. Maybe my fan isn't working? suggestions?

 

[Norbert]

check if your fan spins freely.

 

[Jblk9695]

Sounds like air in the system, bad water pump or cooling fan has a rock stuck in it. Just in case here is an owners manual--
FZ6 Fazer S2 Owner's Manual

Hope this helps.

Jerry

 

[Lefty]

+1 on the burnt out fan possibility. Had that happen to me (not quite as hot) in just about the same area right after I bought my bike. Checked the fuse which was o.k. and the fan spun freely but wouldn't come on at 210º-212º like it was supposed to. Replaced it and now everything's good no matter how hot it get's outside.

 

[Norbert]

i think you can put your bike in diagnostic mode and turn the fan on through the dash buttons.

it's in the service manual.

check the service manual, page 8-72, 8-79.

diagnostic mode (8-37)
turn the fan on (8-42).


you can d/l the service manual from boneman's site.

try it out! you'll be the first to do so!!!!!

 

[outdoorsman]

Thanks everyone! Fan seems to be able to spin freely. Will have to wait until the weekend to have time to work on the bike.

btw, who's Boneman and where is his site?

 

[Norbert]

Welcome to Boneman's FZ6 Site

 

[Wildcat_drvr]

If the fan checks out I would check the thermostat, it could be sticking or even broken. I know they don't brake often but it happened to my car last year, it broke into three pieces. Good luck with it! Let us know what it was. Rich

 

[outdoorsman]

Well, the fuse is good and the fan spins freely but doesn't come on after I idle it and temps got up to 240 degrees. Since it's still under warranty, I'm taking her in to the dealer. Will post once I find out what the problem is.

 

[Zack]

Hi there,
My, bike is in Sarasota, FL and as for original poster doesn't like hot.
As long as I am riding everything is fine. As soon as I stop on traffic light, in hot weather obviously, I see temp going up steadily. It reaches 210-215 F I checked many times will fan come on and it does. However i can't tell that it really stops the trend of temperature running high!
I am pretty sure if I stay like that and engine running it will overheat in 3-4 minutes. That's bad. If I would get stuck on highway or some kind of lineup that would happen for sure.

I am sure that I have enough coolant, fan is running when needed, my FZ6 is fairly new, 5k miles only. What else could be wrong?

 

[iSteve]

Hi there,
My, bike is in Sarasota, FL and as for original poster doesn't like hot.
As long as I am riding everything is fine. As soon as I stop on traffic light, in hot weather obviously, I see temp going up steadily. It reaches 210-215 F I checked many times will fan come on and it does. However i can't tell that it really stops the trend of temperature running high!

215 is not a problem. I was just in city traffic and my temp was hovering around 212 and the temp is 77° F. If you think about it combustion temperature I think is like 1400° and cylinder and pistons can reach close to 400°. Unless you're reaching 260° like the OP you are fine.

 

[Zack]

215 is not a problem. I was just in city traffic and my temp was hovering around 212 and the temp is 77° F. If you think about it combustion temperature I think is like 1400° and cylinder and pistons can reach close to 400°. Unless you're reaching 260° like the OP you are fine.

I understand that 215 is not critical but I have impression that fun turning ON at that or higher temp will not stop engine from overheating.

 

[iSteve]

If the fan is on and the engine is running (idle or traffic speed) it won't cool down much but shouldn't overheat either.

 

[oregonative56]

When the fan comes on, coolant temp will drop as long as the engine is running to circulate coolant through the radiator.

 

[Evitzee]

If you are idling in traffic the fan may not be sufficient to keep temps below danger (260 area) level, so don't think as long as the fan is running you are ok. The fan helps but is not a complete solution. Best solution is to get real airflow over the entire the radiator area and that means getting the bike moving.

 

[FinalImpact]

+1 on the thermostat. I'd pull it and boil it in water to confirm it opens. It shouldn't heat up that fast. Also flush the system and replace the coolant with the proper mixture and confirm the reservoir lines have no leaks.

Water alone boils at a lower temp than mixed antler freeze. If it dumps into the over flow tank you may have a bad radiator cap. Confirm the reservoir stays full.

I also thought about the water pumps impeller but find this unlikely. Flush it, fill it, bleed it and get all the air out. Also confirm the idle is >1250. Low idle is low oil and coolant circulation. What oil do you run?

FWIW: my 08 has had the fan kick on when at 194 and around 212 so I'm a little puzzled as too what the temp sensors did when I saw it at 194 and the fan was on. Too me it seems like yours is lacking circulation. Hopefully you don't have a blown head gasket or soemthing like that.

 

[FloppyRunner]

Since it's still under warranty, I'm taking her in to the dealer. Will post once I find out what the problem is.

There's a lot of good advice here, but I agree with you. If it's under warranty, DON'T TOUCH IT, just take it into the dealer and have them fix it.

 

[FloppyRunner]

Well nevermind, you said you flushed the coolant so I guess air in the system would equal not a warranty covered issue, so...I dunno.

 

[basejumpyeah]

There's a lot of good advice here, but I agree with you. If it's under warranty, DON'T TOUCH IT, just take it into the dealer and have them fix it.

Lots of decent advice, but somehow someone forgot to mention the most vital way to keep the temp down:

Don't sit in traffic.

Lanesplitting is legal in California, no? :thumbup:

 

[FinalImpact]

Lots of decent advice, but somehow someone forgot to mention the most vital way to keep the temp down:

Don't sit in traffic.

Lanesplitting is legal in California, no? :thumbup:

It's a vehicle. It should be able to handle a traffic jamb.