Thermostat stuck
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,191
Likes: 233
From: North East, MD
Thermostat stuck
Today was change fluids in all 3 holes day so I took the bike for a short ride to warm things up. I pulled back in my garage and left the bike idling while I backed the "toy" car ('97 Jaguar XK8) out to give me some more working room. As I was backing the car out I noticed the bike pissing coolant on the floor. The CEL and overtemp lights were lit so I shut the bike off and pulled the coolant tank cover off and the coolant tank was completely full which meant the coolant was coming out of the overflow tube. I let it sit for a few minutes while I went in to grab my phone so I could connect to my V&H FP3 to monitor the temp readouts and check the fault codes.
When I returned the coolant tank was empty so I topped it off, turned the ignition on and held the throttle past 1/2 way until the pump and fans came on. The pump and fans seemed to be working but there was no hot air coming out of the radiators. I restarted the bike and let it idle while monitoring the coolant temps using the FP3 interface. They started out at around 200 and slowly rose to something over 230 triggering the CEL and overtemp lights again. I shut the bike down again and performed the pump and fan override procedure again. Once again everything came on but no hot air was exiting the radiators. I then took a hammer and gently tapped on the thermostat housing (I had pulled the coolant pump cover off earlier) and almost immediately the radiators began blowing hot air. I restarted the bike and monitored the coolant temps again. The temps would start to rise, the fans would kick on and the temps would drop again as they should. It's time to drop $65 for a new thermostat....
When I returned the coolant tank was empty so I topped it off, turned the ignition on and held the throttle past 1/2 way until the pump and fans came on. The pump and fans seemed to be working but there was no hot air coming out of the radiators. I restarted the bike and let it idle while monitoring the coolant temps using the FP3 interface. They started out at around 200 and slowly rose to something over 230 triggering the CEL and overtemp lights again. I shut the bike down again and performed the pump and fan override procedure again. Once again everything came on but no hot air was exiting the radiators. I then took a hammer and gently tapped on the thermostat housing (I had pulled the coolant pump cover off earlier) and almost immediately the radiators began blowing hot air. I restarted the bike and monitored the coolant temps again. The temps would start to rise, the fans would kick on and the temps would drop again as they should. It's time to drop $65 for a new thermostat....
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,191
Likes: 233
From: North East, MD
Thanks for the heads up on the new water pump kit gents. I was hoping HD was going to upgrade it but I missed the rollout. Surdyke wanted $306.00 for it so I ordered one from New Castle for $280.00 including shipping. That was the lowest price I came across.
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From: Prior Lake, MN
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From: Gruene Texas
Good info on the new water pump. My Limited will be 5 years old next month, never had a problem with it but when riding season slows down (July and August) (chewing broken glass is more enjoyable then 100 degree heat in the mess central Texas traffic has become) I'm gonna swap out the pump.
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Joined: Oct 2016
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From: Syracuse NY
Change & upgrade the pump. Mine just failed on my '16 FLHTK at 22k miles. And it was stressful waiting on the pump shipment because it was close to Rolling Thunder. I recommend doing it while not under the gun.