6th gen fans won't turn on

[pres589]

So I've replaced the stator on my 6th gen and the battery is getting charged up all nice and stuff. That's great. Problem is, while I had the body panels off I ran the bike to check for coolant leaks (yes, I pulled the hose off of the coolant filler neck to get to the rectifier easier) and to make sure nothing else was set up improperly while I still had the body work off of the bike. Only the fans never came on. I let the coolant get up to 230 F, which is the hottest I've ever seen the bike, at which point I shut it down. No leaks, no fans, what's up?

I'm looking at a copy of the service manual for a 2002, the .pdf that's available around here somewhere, and the diagram only shows a single fan motor. I also cannot read the diagram, the scan to .pdf isn't really clear and I cannot make out the color of the connector body. I assume I have left something undone or pulled loose somewhere, but I don't really know where to look. I had a super hard time getting the old stator off of the bike because of the large connector Honda used, and ended up having to cut it off the wires and fish it out. This has been a really "exciting" project, with me pulling the fuel tank and air box assembly because I do not see a way to remove and replace that connector through the V of the engine otherwise.

So assuming I pulled something loose, what could it be and where is it located? The bike seemed to run just fine on the center stand and everything else electrical appears to function. I have not checked the fuses yet but it seems unlikely that the fuse for the fans would have blown while the bike was parked in my garage. Looking at section 20-17 in the service manual I have, they show a picture of the cooling fan switch, but I can't really tell where that is on the bike. Searching this site isn't really turning up much information on actual location of the switch. Any help there?

[FotoMoto]

Yes, check the fuses.

Other possibilities, there's an air pocket in the system. The fan activation sensor in the rad is independent of the coolant temperature sensor in the thermostat. Could be a stuck closed t-stat too.

[HispanicSlammer]

Take off the wire on the thermistor on the radiator and ground it on the frame or the radiator itself, it the fan starts (key must be on) then the problem is with the thermistor. If it does not then check the fuses, then the wires clean the connector - mine would not crimp on tight I had to crush it a bit to get a good connection. Or there could be a problem with the fan, stuck or burned up or somthing?

[pres589]

Take off the wire on the thermistor on the radiator and ground it on the frame or the radiator itself, it the fan starts (key must be on) then the problem is with the thermistor.

Is there one in each rad? I still don't know the physical location of these things, on the 6th gen, where do I find the thermal switch?

[pres589]

Bump? I'll search the rads tonight but any location information or anything else people would suggest would be very helpful.

[Baileyrock]

Take off the wire on the thermistor on the radiator and ground it on the frame or the radiator itself, it the fan starts (key must be on) then the problem is with the thermistor.

Is there one in each rad? I still don't know the physical location of these things, on the 6th gen, where do I find the thermal switch?

Only the left rad has a fan and thermistor. :blush:

[pres589]

Okay, for some reason I thought each rad had it's own fan, how foolish of me... And it turned out that I had an air bubble in the cooling system which ran itself out by my getting the bike hot a couple times and topping off the overflow bottle to the right level.

I never could get the side panels off of the "dash" of the bike to access the fuses, I had both bolts and the plastic rivet out and neither of them wanted to come out easily, I felt like I was about to break something while doing that so simply grounded the black wire off the fan to check it's operation. I'm really unimpressed with how Honda hid the fuse block like that. In any case the bike is fixed and I'm about to get cleaned up and go for a real ride again. Thanks to everyone who helped.

[2thdr]

Okay, for some reason I thought each rad had it's own fan, how foolish of me... And it turned out that I had an air bubble in the cooling system which ran itself out by my getting the bike hot a couple times and topping off the overflow bottle to the right level.

I never could get the side panels off of the "dash" of the bike to access the fuses, I had both bolts and the plastic rivet out and neither of them wanted to come out easily, I felt like I was about to break something while doing that so simply grounded the black wire off the fan to check it's operation. I'm really unimpressed with how Honda hid the fuse block like that. In any case the bike is fixed and I'm about to get cleaned up and go for a real ride again. Thanks to everyone who helped.

Yeah, it's a little bit of a trick to get the right dash panel off. You might try removing the right fairing just to see how it's put together so you will know how to trick it out. The bottom needs to come out first...the top is held by two tabs. You'll see what I mean when you get it apart the first time.