New here, first question on cooling system

[simon.h]

Hey all,
 I've been reading for a while but this'll be my first post.  I've got a 91 B4 that I picked up this spring that's not quite road worthy yet but is getting there.  It sat for some time before I got it and its been one thing after another to bring it back around.
 My most recent issue is the cooling system.  Since I've owned it the fan has never worked or come on.  I haven't run it too much but after cleaning carbs, tank, and petcock I went down the road a mile or 3 to see how it was doing.  I parked it in a turnoff to check everything over and noted the fan wasn't coming on.  Everything seemed plenty hot, well beyond touching, even coolant hoses were pretty toasty.  Since then I've idled it some and driven around my drive way after working on brakes and other things and never any fan so I don't think its doing what it should be.
 So I guess my question would be: Is there a "usual suspect" when it comes to cooling problems?  I checked the fuses and they are fine.  I believe that my next steps will be to inspect/test the fan and the thermostat and related switches.  I have a manual and am referring to it.  I'm reasonably proficient at bike repair though this is my first liquid cooled bike so its all fairly new to me in terms of this system.
 Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.
 -Simon

[Snubnose]

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.
-Simon

Not gonna even try to answer your question, but  WELCOME! .. Nice to have another "Simon" in the alley!

Simon ( AKA SNUBNOSE )

[chef]

Hi Simon,
Had same issue with my 93 B4. Did a lot  of head scratching before i jumped into the most obvious.
Connected the fan directly to a battery...it worked,thermostat removed because of the hot climate in asia,turned out it was the temperature switch,replaced & the fan comes on & goes off without fail.
My bike runs hot as well but never overheats,just seems like the normal B4 characteristic.
Good luck.

[simon.h]

Thanks for the replies!

-Snubnose .. its good to find another simon.  I don't think I've met another in person yet but I have occasionally run into others on forums.  Only the coolest forums mind you, so it leads me to believe that the name suggests a high degree of taste 

-Chef:  that sound similar to my plan.  I definitely figured I'd hook the fan up to the battery first and foremost.  I figure I'll proceed from there, my biggest hesitation came from reading the manual and their suggesting a test that involved heating a bowl of oil over an open flame (picture Bunsen burner) and submerging one of the switches in it... maybe that was for the thermostat though.  Whatever it sounded complicated .. not TOO complicated .. but enough that I wasn't real excited about it.

And I'd have to second the running hot .. or at least so far it seems .. its very fast to warm up and holds a lot of heat.

[simon.h]

Looks like its the fan... hooked it up to the battery and no dice.

So next question .. are there other models with the same fan?  Or alternatively, how do you compare parts from different models to see if they'll fit without getting your hands on them?  Can I look them up on bike bandit and compare the numbers?

Thanks
-simon

[stormi]

Bike Bandit won't be the easiest to do it, because the part numbers you see (at least until you check out) aren't Suzuki numbers.

I've been using ServiceHonda.com  They're now handling other brands, including Suzuki, and they're typically cheaper than BikeBandit. Also,  they show the Suzuki part numbers.

If you look up the part # for the Bandit, then see if you can cross-reference it on their site.  If not, google the part number, good chance you'll get a hit on the part number, and it will change up to, say a Gixxer400 or Gixxer 600.  For instance, this is how I found out that I could use a gearshift link rod for Dita from a Gixxer 600 or 750.

edit: try this link: http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.com/servicehonda/Suzuki_OEM/SuzukiMC.asp

Of course, because I said that they're cheaper, this part isn't.  That said, BikeBandit shows it as discontinued.    If they're right, you may have to do some fudging (i.e is the fan seized, but the motor's OK - you may have heard a buzzing noise when you went direct to the battery, if so, you might be able to rob another bike with a similar sized fan, or is the motor fine, but the wires are broken or corroded?  Possible you might be able to replace the wires, etc), or maybe post a "wanted" in our marketplace.  There are often people parting bikes.

[erik]

If the fan is still on the radiator, make sure there aren't any stones jammed in between the blade and the shroud that stop it spinning. If it's definitely not going, try pulling it apart, it might be corroded inside. Mine was and I was able to clean it up and put it back together and it works. I also had to replace the fan and warning light thermo switches. If you replace the fan thermo switch with an after market one made for a car, you should probably fit a relay in the circuit, I didn't at first and it burned out the new thermo switch because it couldn't handle the 5A (iirc) current the fan draws.

[97af]

If it comes down to needing a new fan,I just happen to have a complete radiator and a fan that I'd part with.
PM me if interested.

[simon.h]

Thanks for the responses.  I was on holiday last week and didn't have internet access.

Things are looking up a little.  I took the fan off, no rocks or anything so I broke it down all the way.  The brushes had corroded in place.  So I free them up and hit them with some dry teflon lubricant and cleaned the contacts and put it back together (which was a real pain as you can't hold the brushes in place and they keep popping out).

Then hooked it up to the battery and it works good.
Of course then I took it out for a 4-5 mile drive and it still never came on    So I'm assuming the switch is also a problem.  I'll get that out soon hopefully, I've been meaning to drain the coolant anyway as I have no idea how old it is and if the rest of the bike was any indication its been in there a while.
So thanks for the advice and offer of parts.  I'll see what I need next.  Never had this problem on my air cooled bikes 
-Simon

[Red01]

A 4-5 mile ride may not be enough to get it hot enough to come on.

[Banditmax]

Idling on the spot for about 20 minutes will get the fan on, i only ever get the fan on when in traffic or similar.

[simon.h]

That's good to know.  As I say its my first liquid cooled bike so I don't know what to expect on cooling issues.  I figured it came on and stayed on pretty early on.  It would be super cool if its not actually another thing wrong.

I'm away from the bike till sunday but mayhaps I'll just turn it on and idle it for a while.  I suppose my biggest hesitation in doing that was that I was worried about overheating it if the fan IS still not working right.  I suppose that's why I only road those few miles and haven't just let it sit and idle.  I didn't want to turn a relatively small fix into a bigger problem.
-simon