How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan switch?

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tfranklin

tfranklin

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After doing a lot of research here, I went ahead and ordered the radiator fan switch kit from VMax Outlaw. Between that, new antifreeze and the water-wetter I hope to eliminate the overheating problem. It was 65 degrees today and within 2 long red lights, the temp was going to the red. I had to bail to some side roads to keep moving. I don't want to drive in traffic until I do something, but honestly I'm too lazy to wire the fan to the kill switch. If I do that, I'm going to want a light in the empty space to tell my ignorant ass I've left the fan on again because I will. :rofl_200:

So, you bolt this up, plug it in and the bike cools like it's supposed to? Seems like a better deal, assuming it works (which I believe it will). Do any of the years not have this problem? Seems odd, especially here in Texas where it's a hundred every day for about 60-90 days in a row. I guess a lot of people fix it early on? The original owner of my bike (per the title) was a woman in Sherman, IL. I guess it gets warm there too? Maybe if you just take cruises where you don't really stop, you never notice.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

I've been running a Borg Warner TFS545 fan switch & a Stant #13758 180 degree thermostat for approx. 2 years now here in west central FL. No probs whatsoever. My bike runs just below the "dot".
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

i. I PUT THE SAME SWITCH ON MY BIKE THAT YOU ORDERED 3 YRS. & 9 MONTHS AGO WORKED OUT GREAT ! .. MY ONLY CONCERN FOR YOU IS WHAT TEMP. DOES YOUR FAN COME ON NOW ? AND AT ONLY 65 DEG'S. I'M NOT SURE THAT IT SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THAT HOT IF THE FAN WAS RUNNING . :confused2: . I'M NOT TRYING TO SCARE YOU & I HOPE THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM , I'M A CAR MECHANIC " 30 YEARS " AND WE GET CARS RUNNING HOT WITH BAD AND OR ACTUALLY BROKEN THERMOSTATS , AND WE HAVE BEEN ON A ROLL WITH DODGE TRUCKS THAT THE TEMP. KEEPS CLIMBING EVEN WHEN THE ELECTRIC FAN KICKS ON ( THEY HAVE MECHANICAL FANS ALSO THAT ARE ALWAYS SPINNING ) BUT THE TEMP. KEEPS SLOWLY CLIMBING & THEY HAVE ALL HAD PARTIALLY CLOGGED RADIATORS ! .. ALSO HAVE SEEN 4 OR 5 BAD WATER PUMPS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS , WERE THE IMPELLER WAS EATING AWAY , LIKE FROM ELECTROLYSIS , OR JUST THE ANTIFREEZE , BUT IT WILL NOT PUSH ENOUGH COOLANT TO KEEP THE ENGINE COOL ! .. :confused2:
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

i . KEEP IN MIND THAT I NEVER HEARD OF ANY OF THE PROBLEMS I MOTIONED WITH A V-MAX ! .:confused2:
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

If you're getting to the red with the fan on, on a tepid day, you've got some sort of mechanical issue. Potions and the fan aren't going to matter. Bad water pump, wacked out thermostat, something. Is the coolant nasty brown or clean green?

I've idled mine in traffic in 95 degree weather. Fan on(manual switch) when I got in traffic and the temp never rose past half way up the scale. 50/50, no magic potions in there. I didn't bother replacing the stock fan switch, it's never gotten hot enough to trip it anyway, I don't let it.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

I went ahead and ordered the radiator fan switch kit from VMax Outlaw. Between that, new antifreeze and the water-wetter I hope to eliminate the overheating problem. I orderd the same thing from Outlaw.There fan switch worked great,as a matter a fact it worked too great.It kept the fan on constantly untill my battery ran down.And the water wetter turned out to be worthless wetter.Try Engine Ice instead.A manuel switch is the way to go.Just remember to shut the dam thing off.:hitsfan:
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

I put an automotive switch in a couple of years ago. It worked ok for a while then it started acting screwy last summer. It'd come on late then stay on way to long. When I did the cops conversion at the end of this (our season ends in the northeast)season I put the wiring in for an override switch. Not sure if I'll put a new auto. type or the oem back in.Will have an override switch for sure.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

I'm pretty sure the fan never kicked on. I couldn't hear it if it did. It didn't get to the red, it was heading for it though and it's done it on me before... never got into the red just scares me.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

I agree, gotta be a problem. Fan should come on between the mid way dot and the red line, (1:00-2:00 oclock possish) then cool to the mid point, then repeat. Even sitting, on a hot day it just happens faster and more frequent. Over-ride switches, lower thermostats and lower temp switches only aid in combating the natural flow of the system. Not knocking them, I have some but you need to have a proper running system first.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

Well, considering the Phoenix temperatures, I thought it would be a good idea to buy the lower temp switch from Vmax Outlaw, too. So I did.

But, I never put it on.

Instead, I wired a manual switch so that I can control the fan myself without any guesswork. I have the TBoost switch discretely tucked under the left scoop and the fan switch under the right one.

I like being able to decide how hot is hot enough for the fan to be on. And believe me, in Phoenix, that's piece of mind.

As for forgetting whether it's on, that roaring vortex is pretty hard to ignore.
 
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Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

Not sure how accurate the temp guage is anyway. I have a 97 and one of my friends has a 2006 he bought new. His consistently runs about 1/4" closer to the red zone than mine. We compare often when riding together. At first we thought it was because his was new and hadn't been broken in but that was not the case.

I put the manual switch on for the hot Texas days in stop and go traffic. Seems to keep it down fine. That is the only time I use it. My bike rarely gets hot enough to turn the fan on as I try to avoid the 100 degree plus days anyway.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

tfranklin said:
I'm pretty sure the fan never kicked on. I couldn't hear it if it did. It didn't get to the red, it was heading for it though and it's done it on me before... never got into the red just scares me.
Click to expand...
My fan will not go on auto till my guage reaches the red.That's why I got a switch to keep things cool.:cool:
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

I'd say flush the system and replace the coolant. Go for a ride and see what happens. I think most guys are worried about nothing. The thermoswitches, thermostats, and fan switches are not "fixing" anything. Its just making you feel better because it doesn't look hot on the gauge. If the bike was overheating and the coolant level is correct, you would end up seeing coolant come out of the overflow under the bike near the centerstand. JMO
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

I've got a fan switch on the 94 for long red lights in the Florida heat. The fans on the 94 and the 89 will turn on automatically before the engine is really in Any danger but the switch makes me feel more in control... Eventually I'll put a switch on the 89...
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

[email protected] said:
I'd say flush the system and replace the coolant. Go for a ride and see what happens. I think most guys are worried about nothing. The thermoswitches, thermostats, and fan switches are not "fixing" anything. Its just making you feel better because it doesn't look hot on the gauge. If the bike was overheating and the coolant level is correct, you would end up seeing coolant come out of the overflow under the bike near the centerstand. JMO
Click to expand...
Are you saying a fan switch doesen't really work?? So when I turn my fan switch on & see my guage cooling in traffic, the motor isn't really cooling down at all, "right".The guage is just making me feal better by giving me a false reading.Then why does the guage go down when I turn the fan on.:ummm:
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

If the thermostat isn't open and your fan turns on, it's really only cooling the fluid in the radiator.

I have an override switch I made myself that I use from time to time. I don't see any real difference while using it.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

4gasem said:
If the thermostat isn't open and your fan turns on, it's really only cooling the fluid in the radiator.

I have an override switch I made myself that I use from time to time. I don't see any real difference while using it.
Click to expand...
So it's Just the radiator coolint that's making my guage go down when I turn the fan on ? U know when I think about it,that make's sense.Thank's..... Rusty :thumbs up:
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

rusty said:
Are you saying a fan switch doesen't really work?? So when I turn my fan switch on & see my guage cooling in traffic, the motor isn't really cooling down at all, "right".The guage is just making me feal better by giving me a false reading.Then why does the guage go down when I turn the fan on.:ummm:
Click to expand...
Chill out man (is that a pun?)
I'm not saying a fan thermoswitch or manual fan switch, or a different thermostat won't make a change in coolant temperature. I am sure that it will. I am saying that IMO 90% of the vmaxes on the road do not need to lower the coolant temp with any of these options. Guys see the gauge getting close to the red zone and get nervous, assume something is wrong, and that they need to do something to remedy the "problem" when in reality, the bike is designed to run as hot as it does, the fan is designed to NOT come on until the bike reaches a certain temperature and these temperatures make people nervous because they are high on the gauge. But IMO it does not indicate a problem. It just makes you feel better to see the gauge near the middle than up near the red when sitting in traffic.

If you are actually overheating, boiling over, or the fan will not come on when the gauge is up in the red, that is a different story. .
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

Can't speak to the aftermarket thermostat switches, but a manual fan switch works great. My thermostat waits till near boiling conditions before coming on. I just parralleled it with a switch mounted in the plastic neck cover by the ignition key, no need to screw up your instrument cluster.

You shouldn't really ever forget and leave it on if you do it this way, parralelleing the thermostat. The power you're getting is from the fan power which is dependent on the key being on.

I agree with what someone else said tho'. i've tested my guage against an electronic fluke thermometer stuck in the radiator cap while it was open and when it's up near the red it's getting close to 212 degrees. Not insanely hot. But if it runs in the middle or lower at cruise then that's where I want to see it at all times, therefore the fan switch....middle or so is around 180, in my mind plenty hot for an engine with this compression to enable it to run efficiently.
 
Re: How many of you guys bought the temp switch rather than install a manual fan swit

A lot of people don't realize that that's what the stat does. It turns on and off the flow of coolant to the radiator.

Your fan could run for days, but if the stat isn't open it's not adding in any cooling unless the bit of air off the fan hits the engine... lol

How many of us have had a problem with boil overs or an over heated engine?

I can safely say I've NEVER heard of an issue on this forum, unless it was someone running a non-stock engine.

Chris
 
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