Engine Stall / rough idle with fan on.

[Ebein_486]

Driving home yesterday ( beautiful 80 degree sunny day ) in stop and go traffic :bang head:. The bike stalled out 3 times just comming off idle along with rough idle.


I was flipping my fan switch on and off as the bike heated up, and it seemed to only be a problem when the temp guage was approaching redline or I had manually turned the fan on.

Never had a problem before in traffic, but this is really the first time ive been in stop and go for more than 5-10 minutes.

I've got a good fluke multi-meter and will check the battery tonight when I get home. Any other suggestions? Common problem?

Thanks!

 

[Rhoy Carter]

One common problem that can cause this is low voltage check the voltage at the battery when running, idle and 3000. I would check it with engine cold and hot and with fan off and on.

 

[SpecOps13]

Your charging system may not be maintaining good voltage at or the battery may be weak. Battery in my 89 measures 12.7 after sitting overnight. 12.9 for the 94. I have no problems with the idle, even sitting with the fan running for 10 minutes continuous... Good place to look.

Good Luck...

 

[Ebein_486]

thanks, I'll give the battery a good check when I get home tonight, Im sure im due as I believe it is the original battery.

 

[Miles Long]

Your charging system may not be maintaining good voltage at or the battery may be weak. Battery in my 89 measures 12.7 after sitting overnight. 12.9 for the 94. I have no problems with the idle, even sitting with the fan running for 10 minutes continuous... Good place to look.

Good Luck...

Dave's right - sounds electrical. The fan is a big draw on the system when running, may be taxing a so-so charging system/battery (at idle) just enough to cause a weak spark condition. Hate to keep harping on it, but an on-board voltmeter seems to be a groovy and inexpensive diagnostic tool for the V-max.
Cheers, Miles

 

[Miles Long]

The ideas are coming fast and furious. Might be something I ate last night - or something I didn't drink.
Could very well be your battery, as you said. I had to replace my OEM after 2 yrs. Got a Odessey 680, still going strong.
But an even easier check, if the problem is low voltage at idle, is to take your bike outside, take the seat off, and fire the bike up. Let it warm up till the fan kicks in. If it starts to idle rough, pull the headlight fuse. If it smooths out, it's definitely a low voltage at idle condition. Then there is a multitude of things you can do to correct this, all covered in detail within this forum.
Cheers (again)

 

[Ebein_486]

Thanks Miles!

Ill give that a try if the Battery voltage seems normal.:thumbs up:

 

[RaWarrior]

Almost certainly electrical...wouldn't be the first vmax with low voltage.

The Odyssey battery is definitely recommended. Pricey, but it'll be the last battery you buy. Mine is at minimum 4 years old(the bike's first owner put it in right before selling, said the guy I bought it from, who owned it 2 years), and is still tip-top shape.

Mine had crappy voltage but I didn't really have issues with the motor....it worked just enough to keep it like 12.5 or so when running...just barely breaking even. I replaced the R/R first, after that I had 14.4 with the motor cold and back down to like 12.5 with it hot. Replaced the stator(it tested OK), and now I have 14.4 cold or hot from about 1500RPM up. ~13 at idle with 100w highbeam and fan running, 13.5 lowbeam no fan. I used the R/R off a ZX14 and a stator from Rick's (which supposedly is for the Venture and has a higher capacity than stock).

 

[Ebein_486]

I pulled seat off, then went to look for my meter, spent two hours searching the basement to no avail, back at it after work today lol.

 

[SpecOps13]

The 2 hour search sounds like me, Every Frigging Day. No wonder I have so many hours into fixing stuff... I need a Warehouse so I can spread my Shit all over and use binoculars to locate it.......:rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:


Good Luck with your quest....

 

[Ebein_486]

Didnt find my Fluke Meter, but pulled the battery out, and found that it was the original, and it had very little fluid left in it. Went to sears to get an off brand replacement, no joy :bang head:. Hit the local stealer and got a yuasa replacement, idles fine now with fan on.

When parking it in my garage, I noticed a slight dim in the headlights at idle when turning the fan on, the lights would brighten after a fraction of a second after turning the fan on, and I percieved no difference when turning the fan off.