FZ6 Overheats, Tiny Pebble is to Blame, Radiator fan toast?

[xj750_Pete]

Hello everyone,

Well I was idling in front of my driveway after a long cruise and I look down to see that the coolant temp was 233F. I shut off the bike and the temps goes rising up to 254 and starts blinking. I noticed that I did NOT hear the fan running. So I turn on and turn off the bike. Nada. So then I look at the radiator fan and try to spin it. When I did this, it did not want to move. With a closer look I saw this:



I removed it and started the engine. Still no fan. Well the pebble must have overloaded the fuse. Sure enough after removing panel "D" the fuse was blown.



So I replace it with the spare 20A fuse. I thought this would fix it, but after letting the engine warm up to a temperature of 225, I guess I was wrong. I'm afraid the fan might be toast, but I'm pretty sure there is more stuff between fuse and the fan motor that I havent yet checked... My FZ6 only has 1500 miles. Can anyone please help me out?

Beware of the pebbles. They are evil...

[bd43]

That happened to me once too. The engine was at at temperature I thought the fan would be turning at but not. Reached in and spun the fan a little, it started to turn making this horrible racket and then the pebble fell out.

Good point to bring forward!

[thatguyx]

heh talk to Antmb, that's exactly what happened to him on our way from Jersey to NC. If you keep speed and don't slow down, you should be able to make it. However in really hot humidity, you may be screwed.

[ant_mb]

Yep, the exact same thing happened to me. I thought it was a fluke, but now I see it has to be a design flaw! Luckily mine had a couple weeks left on the warrenty, and it was covered. Let us know how you make out.

[Fred]

The rock stalled the motor. The motor's brushes overheated and before the fuse blew, they got hot enough to melt their plastic holders.

Time for a new fan motor.

Sorry about the bad luck.

[xj750_Pete]

Originally Posted by ant_mb

Yep, the exact same thing happened to me. I thought it was a fluke, but now I see it has to be a design flaw! Luckily mine had a couple weeks left on the warrenty, and it was covered. Let us know how you make out.

how long did it take to get it fixed? The fz6 is sort of my main source of transportation so I guess I will be renting or borrowing a car from someone. Thanks for the reply guys.

[ant_mb]

It took 2 weeks for them to get mine back to me. Once they had the fan in the building I had the bike back the next day, so I guess it all depends on how fast they can get the fan, and how busy they are. Good luck with it.

[xj750_Pete]

Update:
I brought the FZ6 into the dealership. They replaced the fan under warrantee. I looked at the new fan and it seems a bit different. Maybe its me, but the gap between the radiator and the fan seems greater. I remember before, when the pebble was wedged in there, I had to use a scribe to poke it out because of the tight clearance. Now I can actually stick a finger between the radiator and the fan. Also, the fan motor seems larger as well, I am sure of it. Perhaps Yamaha is aware of the problem. At least now I feel more confident that this probably wont happen again.

If anyone that lives in southern california that's curious as to which dealership I brought it to, it was Pasadena Yamaha on Colorado Blvd. The service manager Kel seemed nice and honest. The work was done by Tom, who seems like a well knowledgable mechanic. It took them about 4 days to get it done.

[bd43]

Originally Posted by xj750_Pete

Update:
I looked at the new fan and it seems a bit different. Maybe its me, but the gap between the radiator and the fan seems greater.

Can you get a couple of pictures of the fan motor/gap etc?

[xj750_Pete]

Here's a terrible picture of the new fan.



It was taken at night, so I had to use my maglite to give some light. I will try and take a better picture tomorrow.

The gap between the fan and the radiator is apprx 9/32'' and the fan motor (the silver portion) is apprx 3.5'' in diamter. I used a drill bit and a 6'' ruler. Is it really bigger or am I worried about the fan too much?