I just picked up a used KLR650 a couple of weeks ago...it looks like my Radiator switch is burned out, so the fan does not kick on...I looked up the part on Ron Ayers and it looks like it will set me back $61 bucks...A buddy suggested that there might be a cheaper standard replacement out there that I might pick up from an auto-parts store...Anybody know if there is make/model of auto that used a similar switch, or a cheaper replacement for it?
Have you checked to make sure that the fan actually works? Like jump 12 volts to it to see if it spins.. Mine's gotten bound up on the housing before..
Pull the wire off the switch at the bottom of the radiator. Stick the connector (key off) to a fin on the cylinder. If the fan turns on, the switch could be bad. If it doesn't come on, look at the fuse or relay. My switch isn't bad but something isn't working right so I made a manual switch from my fan to a ground for about $7. The fan still connects to the switch as usual but I T-ed off from that wire to ground and installed a toggle switch- you just have to remember to turn the switch off when you park I guess I could run a little LED on the switch, too, but that's too much effort and I have awesome bump-start technique. Dysco- cheapskate KLR owner.
As Dysco says - pull the wire off the switch - botttom left of radiator area - then earth the wire. If the fan works then it is probably the switch. Other wise teh fuse and relay are on the right ... at least that how it was on someone elses' bike.
Not true. If you ground the wire to the frame with the key off the fan should turn on. If it doesn't, you have a problem. Check the fuse. There is on in line near the fan if I recall correctly. Also, same money this way. I haven't confirmed this, but I understand that the relay for the kick stand safety switch is the same as the fan relay. YOu don't need a kick stand safety switch on the KLR. Great bike. Enjoy.
Thanks for the replies. True, 60 bucks is not much, but if I can get something for 15, and pick it up locally why not? There always seems to be a cheap generic replacement or fix-it for over priced OEM parts...(I picked up the last of the local police bikes that were being sold on the cheap...the less money I toss into this, the more I'll have for my cafe project ) I checked the wiring, fuse, relay and fan, they all seem to be good, and when I ground the wire to the switch the fan does comes on...Guess I'll just bite the bullet and order a new one.... @Dysco, I was thinking about doing the same thing, using a switch as a manual override...where did you end up mounting it? Did you make a dash or something? I was thinking of using a project box to try and keep water away from the switch, but there doesn't seem to be a good place to mount one....
My radiator had the same issue meaning there's a wire somewhere that got clipped or something if two of the bikes had the same issue. When the cops took their lights off, they clipped ALL the wires and Aurora Honda put them back together to make the blinkers and stuff work. What we need is a wiring diagram and I'm sure we can find the problem. I attached a strip of aluminum bent in an L shape to one of the windshield bolts and put the toggle on there with a rubber cap. I grounded the wire to the closest fairing stay bolt. I'm assuming you're local and if you want to troubleshoot this together, I'm willing. I should also mention that with the switch fix I still overheat at highway speeds if the tach is over 4500 RPM. When it idles it's cool as a cuke.
Yeah- the brass switch at the bottom of the RAD could be bad. But since I changed mine out already and it didn't fix anything, considering they were from the same cops, I'm guessing it's not the switch.
Check the fan fuse, inside the white fuse holder on the top of your overflow tank. Throttle side of the bike, under your right hand tank shroud. Bet that's it! Cheers CA Stu<-- Fixed one trailside Last Saturday.
I have a Clymer Manual with the wiring diagram if you need it. dofbill@yahoo.com I'm in south Denver, was on the small bike ride.
Yeah, It looks like they did a bit of a butcher job on the electrics...Funny, the Aurora guys didn't even bother to hook up the front signals on mine....no big deal though since it was just that the bullet connectors were not connected. When I first got the bike, I took it out on a ride that day, and the fan did come on (I was surprised that the fan was running even after the ignition was turned off)...it actually stopped coming on a few days later...I found a wiring diagram on line, so last Saturday I traced the related wires, and tested both the wires and the relay...and grounding out the wire to the switch did turn on the fan...outside of a faulty switch, the only thing I can think it could be would be a loose/broken/stripped wire that was temporarily put back into sorts by me jiggling the line while tracing it (it was a bit rainy this week, so I first thought it was a stripped wire getting wet and shorting out or something).....I guess another outside possibility would be that the heat gauge is whacked, showing a higher temp than is really there (she came close to overheating after less than 4 miles city commuting).....I also noticed that she ran a bit hot (say 3/4+ the way to overheating) when I'd come off the highway even when the fan was running. Just to put it out there...a basic question on liquid cooling. I'm assuming it has a thermostat, separate from the fan switch/sensor, that regulates the flow of the coolant. If this was to fail, would the temperature of the coolant in the radiator fail to rise, and so the fan switch would never read a high temp and because of this it would not switch the fan on at all? I don't know if this even makes sense, I'm going to have to find a parts diagram maybe....One thing I'm pretty sure of is that while theses bikes have low mileage, they were probably running at idle for long periods of time (my friend's bike has some melting on the right side plastics)...maybe this could lead to a wearing out/warping/failure in the thermostat? Thanks for the trouble-shooting offer. I'll be taking a more thorough look at the bike this weekend to see if I can sort it out...If I come up blank I'll take you up on it...In any case, (once I' have it up and running) we should get together for a ride sometime soon, seeing how the snow is on the way.
Hey Bill! (Didn't recognize the screen name at first) BTW I was thinking of trying to get a tinker day set up before Mountain leaves for the Antarctic (a few weeks from now I think)...do the subframe upgrade and the doohickey replacement....anybody in the Denver area interested?
http://www.bigcee.com/faq/KLR650-color-wiring-diagram.jpg You can thank Dr. J. Chris Krok for hosting it, and Professor Jim Hyman for creating it, and me for posting it! Cheers CA Stu <-- carries a copy in the tankbag
. Got 2 doohickeys to do when I get #1 running again (gimme a few days) and I suggest AAA Metric in Denver for the bolts you need. When the snow falls is the BEST time to ride. I'm going to try to set up a snow ride this year- I'll mount studded tires on both my bikes and we can play around up in the hills. If you do figure out what's wrong with the cooling system, let me know. For now I'm going to add extra antifreeze into the res and run thicker oil and more of it until I get the other one back together and my BMW fixed to sell.
I would be up for a tinker day. I have an extended warranty on my bike that doesn't expire until 4-27-05 - transferred to me when I bought the bike used at Sun. I won't do the doohickey until then, but I want to see the surgery. I always have stuff to do anyway (more flat black)
Oh, forgot, Dan my riding buddy are thinking of the Peak to Peak maybe next Sat or Sun or an alternative would be from the Fall River road over the ridge to Central City and then around the jeep/mine roads. Weather is a big factor of course. Thursday afternoon we went from Central City to Apex then over the ridge there to a road that goes down to the Moffat Tunnel road. 10,600' at the top with 2 or 3 inches of snow. Traffic had made muddy tracks until we got into the trees, then it was paddle for about 200 yards. Home down Golden Gate Canyon which is repaved and more magnificent than ever. Enough gravel on the curves to keep the speed down.
