vn 900 cooling fan help

[kmod1]

Is there a way to test the cooling fan on my vn900? I replaced the stator awhile back but when the fan kicks on it draws the volts way down. It didn't do it before now.

[MFolks]

I'd think if you can bridge the electrical connection at the sensor, the fan will come on. Original fan? Never replaced it?

[kmod1]

Correct. I have never replaced it, the bike is an 06 with about 34k miles. Any idea how many amps the fan should draw? I have a volt gauge on the bike and when it gets hot going down the road I notice a drop in volts, I assume the fan may be the culprit. I have replaced the stator already.

[MFolks]

If you can find a forum member "Sfair", he should be able to tell you, or other members.

[sfair]

Do you have a meter and know how to use it?
If not, we can help there too.

Do not jumper radiator sensor as it goes directly to ECU.

Post back.

[kmod1]

Do you have a meter and know how to use it?
If not, we can help there too.

Do not jumper radiator sensor as it goes directly to ECU.

Post back.

Thanks for your reply.... Yes I have a meter. Any advice on setting the thing and how to check out the fan would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping my new stator isn't the problem.

[sfair]

Ok, I need a little background first:

1. What year is the bike?
2. How many miles?
3. What were the symptoms that you had before changing the stator?
4. The stator change was the only work done?
5. Was the reg/rect checked?
6. Any electrical add-ons - light bar, heated grips, etc?
7. How long have you owned the bike?
8. What is the make and model # of your meter?
9. Any other electrical work done besides the stator?
10. How long after the stator replace did you install the voltmeter?
11. Did the fan problem show up right after the voltmeter install?
12. What is the make and model number of the voltmeter?

Post back.

[kmod1]

Ok, I need a little background first:

1. What year is the bike?
2. How many miles?
3. What were the symptoms that you had before changing the stator?
4. The stator change was the only work done?
5. Was the reg/rect checked?
6. Any electrical add-ons - light bar, heated grips, etc?
7. How long have you owned the bike?
8. What is the make and model # of your meter?
9. Any other electrical work done besides the stator?

Post back.

Sorry for the lack of details...
year is 2006
miles around 30k off the top of my head
Typical stator symptoms, whine, lack of charge(bike has a volt gauge on it)
reg/rect changed at the same time as the stator... about 2 or 3 months ago.
I added a streetglide fairing with a full set of gauges, speedo, tach, fuel, temp, volts, oil pressure. stereo, amp, hard bags with 39 ford led lights. the usual cobra fuel processor and junk. I don't use the stereo much either.

Bought the bike in 2007, had about 2k miles on it.

I'll have to check the make and model of the meter when I go home for lunch.

[sfair]

Sorry, more questions because altered bikes are much harder to troubleshoot:

1. Did you, personaly, add the gauges?
2. The voltmeter, is it analog or digital?
3. Where is the voltage sense wire tied to?
4. Where is the ground tied to?
5. Did the voltage drop with the fan happen one day or has it been gradually getting worse?
6. What does the indicated volts drop to?
7. What is it normally?
8. Any driveability issues, no matter how small or unrelated?

[kmod1]

Sorry, more questions because altered bikes are much harder to troubleshoot:

1. Did you, personaly, add the gauges?
2. The voltmeter, is it analog or digital?
3. Where is the voltage sense wire tied to?
4. Where is the ground tied to?
5. Did the voltage drop with the fan happen one day or has it been gradually getting worse?
6. What does the indicated volts drop to?
7. What is it normally?
8. Any driveability issues, no matter how small or unrelated?

I appreciate you taking your time with this.

I personally added the gauges and did all of the electrical work. The meter is analog. the voltage sense wire is tied into the tail lights, all of the gauges are grounded to the body. The volt drop and fan issue happened all at once. I'm not positive on the fan but the bike is running hotter than usual and then the volts drop quite a bit and the bike cools, but never to a consistent temp like before this problem. I figure the fan may be a good place to start. Volts drop to different points, sometimes right around 12 and other times closer to 11. Normal reading is 13-14. I had to take the bike back to the shop 3 times to get the stator done right, I should have just done it myself, the last time they claimed a wire inside the plug was bent. No other driveability issues, besides needing a new kickstand and needing to adjust my clutch lever. Also all of the gauges are electronic and the lights in them are LED. I don't think they are drawing much power. Oh..I did the add-ons to the bike over a year ago and have logged quite a bit of miles here in Texas, I'm pretty confident that the mods are not the issue.

[sfair]

OK, before we get to the fan, I can see two issues that you will have to fix up.
The instruments should be connected to a black with yellow stripe wire instead of frame ground. On motorcycles, the manufacturers run a dedicated ground for all electrics except the starter because of the unreliability of frame ground. Also, the voltmeter sense should be tied into the brown wire right after the key switch. This is the best place to monitor true system voltage and get the most accurate voltage reading and it will make multimeter readings closer to what the voltmeter reads.

[kmod1]

My apologies, it's been awhile since I did the work. The ground is at the black and yellow, if I recall, but the volt meter is not hooked to the brown wire. I will move it today.

[sfair]

That is good. The ideal place for your voltmeter would be across the battery, but the point must be switched, so the closest switched spot to the battery is at the brown wire coming off of the keyswitch.

[sfair]

As an add, all electrics are referenced to the black/yellow wire, so it is best that your gauges be connected there too.

[kmod1]

Yes sir... All of the gauges are on the black and yellow. If I recall I placed the volt gauge on the brown wire that is tied into the running lights and tail lamp, because it was switched.

[kmod1]

Actually I attached all the gauges to the brown wire by the front signal/running lights for the power source. I will move the volt gauge at the very least. As you said it will be more accurate.

[sfair]

OK, post back when you are ready to forge ahead.