engine overheating

[cj007]

i have an 06 fz6 and my engine overheats if i let it idle for 5 minutes.. it has coolant and fresh yamalube full synthetic oil in it... what could be the problem?!

 

[wrightme43]

many things
dont run the engine anymore untill you know

 

[wrightme43]

Ok check that the fuse to the fan is suppling power and the fan works.

 

[wrightme43]

remove bolt from radiator cap COLD ENGINE and check that there is actually coolant in the rad.

 

[wrightme43]

If there is coolant the next most likely failure is the thermostat

Remove and check it in water on the stove.

put it in a cold pot of water and heat it. It should open when the water gets to 165-180F. If it doesnt its bad and needs to be replaced. If it does open, you may have a failed water pump, or you may have a cloged radiator after that it just gets worse and worse.

Most likely is fan switch or fuse failure, then thermostat, then water pump,

You check the fan first since you dont have to open any systems, and if it works you know it works. See what I am getting at?

Or you could take it to the dealer.

 

[gomd3]

engine shouldn't be overheating in 5 minutes. Otherwise I bet that you have air in your coolant, make sure you properly bleed the system.

 

[DefyInertia]

you guys covered all the possibilities I would have suggested.

Re: bleeding the system. I've had to do this with my Tacoma a couple times when it was uber cold. The Tacoma guys call it "burping the system" which simply involved getting the truck up to temp and then opening the rad cap (takes a couple times). How does one burb or bleed our bike's system aside from just flushing it? same way?

good luck

 

[taki]

when you say overheating, can you explain how high the temp gage goes?

when im on the highway, the temp gage reads 2 bars on my 06, but when im at a stoplight, occasionally ive seen the temp gage go to 4 bars, and the outside temps arent even hot yet, then when i get going, the temp gage drops down.

i come from a vstrom which always read 2 bars, even if the outside temp was anywhere between 30 and 105 degrees.

is this much fluctuation normal on an fz6 ?

 

[GConn]

when you say overheating, can you explain how high the temp gage goes?

when im on the highway, the temp gage reads 2 bars on my 06, but when im at a stoplight, occasionally ive seen the temp gage go to 4 bars, and the outside temps arent even hot yet, then when i get going, the temp gage drops down.

i come from a vstrom which always read 2 bars, even if the outside temp was anywhere between 30 and 105 degrees.

is this much fluctuation normal on an fz6 ?

I get that too. During the summer months, if the bike sits at traffic lights for a while the temp goes to 4 stars and the fan is switched on. As soon as you get goinf the temp must drop again.

 

[wolfc70]

I get that too. During the summer months, if the bike sits at traffic lights for a while the temp goes to 4 stars and the fan is switched on. As soon as you get goinf the temp must drop again.

My bike displays the temperature. Usually it is around 175F, and has crept up to 220F sitting in traffic. The fan seems to come on at 218, with normal operating range up to 240F. The display will start flashing at 245 and should read "HI" above 260.

Check the temperature sensor too. I had a bad one on my Saturn, it would show that it was overheating after a cold start. See if you can get an Ohm reading when the bike is warm. This may help determine if the sensor is acting funny.

 

[cj007]

thanks for your help guys, i tore down the bike bled the coolant lines and added a little coolant to the radiator and it seems to be working fine... my temperature gauge would max out before and now it is steady 2 or 3 bars.. i appreciate your help!

 

[schumacher62]

glad you got to the root of the problem. just curious: why would you ever need to idle your bike for five minutes?

 

[gomd3]

thanks for your help guys, i tore down the bike bled the coolant lines and added a little coolant to the radiator and it seems to be working fine... my temperature gauge would max out before and now it is steady 2 or 3 bars.. i appreciate your help!

yeah, no prob, I had a similar problem in my car after disconnecting the radiator lines for an alternator change. Turns out I missed a bleedscrew by the thermostat housing and it had plenty air trapped in there not allowing it to work properly.

 

[Zack]

I am glad to hear that in the end it was a small thing :Flash:

I am also glad that I skipped buying 2006 model and instrumentation was one of the reasons. Our 2008 has full instrumentation, digital thermometer for coolant and ram air, fuel gauge and fuel reserve counter, km/miles on switch , triple km (miles) counter and so on. I am sorry that Yamaha didn't include gear indicator as well. LCD is quite big and could have that as well.