My 2014 Limited has developed an issue with the fans taking too long to kick on.


The first 8 or 9 months that I had the bike, after the engine was at normal operating temperature, if I was stuck at a long traffic light (say, 4 or 5 minutes), unless it was a really cool day, the radiator fans would kick in usually just before the light changed. And after I parked the bike, the fans would normally kick in a few minutes later and run for a bit.


For over a year now, it takes much longer before the fans will kick in. Most of the time in excess of 10 minutes. (And the fans never come on after I park the bike.)


In the mean time, the top of the engine is getting hot enough that on a hot day (90 degrees or higher) you just about can not stay on the seat. When this is happening, it feels hotter to the rider than my 2009 Ultra 96 inch non-twin-cooled motor was in similar conditions.


It seems that the heads are getting hot, but the sensor in the radiator isn't seeing any of that heat for a long time, that it is taking too long for the hot coolant from the heads to circulate down to the radiator.


I've had it in to the dealer several times and they have replaced the temp sensor and the thermostat (at MY expense), and they have checked the cooling system over. According to the "book" (and Harley techs) the system is operating normally, and according to the dealer Harley is advising them NOT to do any additional work on the bike even though I was paying for it out of my pocket. And yes, it is under warranty. And I have an extended service plan.


(I guess it is "normal" to run cool for 8 months, then to cook the rider from that point on, but what do I know?)


I've asked the dealer to do a pressure check and a flow check on the pump as well as through the heads, but they tell me that Harley won't provide them with what the pressure and flow is supposed to be at the pump nor coming out of the heads so they can't do either test.


So, ultimately, my question is this: On an average summer day (temps at 90 or higher), how long is it taking your Rushmore twin-cooled fans to come on when your bike is not moving (with the engine at normal operating temps)?


If the majority of the twin-cools are working like mine does now, then I'll know that I'm being unreasonable and I'll stop bothering the dealer about it. But if most of them are kicking in about the same as mine originally did, then I will know that I need to keep pushing.


I'm not counting on them making this any better, so in the mean time I'm working on getting a set of Wards fans to try to make it bearable to ride.


I know this is the place to get the best answers.


Thanks!

 

"When the bike is not moving" or "while waiting for a stoplight" is REALLY subjective and hard to judge.

What I can tell you is that according to my Power Vision tuner, the fans ALWAYS come on when the temp measured by the sensor in the front head which I think is now officially "engine temp" reaches 230*. The water temp typically runs 30* below the head temp, so the water temp would be 200* when they come on.

Check your owner's manual, I think it has a decent explanation of when they are expected to run.

 

This is what I found in the Service and Electrical Diagnostic Manuals.
Engine cooling: Coolant Temps
Engine Temp Light 266°
Thermostat 165° - 190°
Fans:
Below 15 mph: On 221° Off 203°
Above 15 mph: On 244° Off 230°
EITMS above 85° AAT, Engine Idle, Low or no speed, in neutral or Clutch in.

 

My stock 103 I don't hear the fans come on at all most of the time. They do come on when I am driving about 10mph through our park where we live. When I park the bike in the garage, the fans continue to run after I turn the ignition off for about 20 - 30 seconds. Of course that is when it is above 90 outside.
Other than that, I don't know if they ever come on driving in traffic.

 

My 110 kicks on about 230 and comes on right after I kill it. Maybe 15 or 20 seconds.

 

I believe that the temperatures above, for the fans, is referring to coolant temperature not HeadT or Engine Temperature.

 

That's correct coolant temps.

 

Thanks for the answers guys.


Thanks Vernal. That is what I had seen also. (I should have mentioned that I had found the info about the on/off temps and speed range "table".)


But that only tells part of the story.


It isn't that the engine temps are not high enough that I think is the problem, since I know the head temps are higher than the trigger temps with the bike sitting still (I have checked the head temps while the bike is sitting on the stand idling and the dealer has checked them also) but rather how long it should take from the time the engine temp is higher than the trigger temp at the given speed range (in this case, not moving at all) before the temp at the radiator sensor should be close enough to the trigger temperature for the fans to kick on.


Flyboyron, my bike behaved similar to yours when I first got it, but after several months, the fans no longer come on when riding slowly, nor when I park the bike, even on 95 degree days.


scottman50, the head temperature on mine has exceeded 245 degrees while parked and running for over 10 minutes with no fan activation. My fans do not come on at all after I kill the engine.


The fans do come on when you set them to "test mode", so the fans and wiring are intact and connected to power. The dealer says that they connected the bike to their diagnostic system and that when the temps at the sensor in the radiator hit the trigger temp, the fans are coming on, so the system is working correctly.


What they don't get is that the temps at the head can be well past the trigger point for quite some time, but it takes over 10 minutes for the temps at the radiator sensor to get to the trigger point.


What I mean to say is, you can ride the bike on a 95 degree day, pull it into the parking lot, leave it running, check the head temps and they will be in the 235 to 245 degree range, and it will take over 10 minutes of sitting there before the fans will come on, if they ever come on. Harley says that this is normal.


When I have done that "test" the bike never indicates that it is running hot, but the heads and cylinders are hot enough that you don't want to be sitting on the seat!


And in stop and go traffic, where you move forward a few car lengths, then stop, then move, then stop, etc...the fans are not coming on. The heat is so hot sitting on the seat, you have to look for a place to pull off and get off of the bike...the bike isn't complaining about the heat (no warning lights, no steam, no overflow), but it is too hot for the human being.


My previous bike was a 2009 Ultra with a 96 inch engine, and I wasn't as uncomfortable on it as I am on the 2014 Limited twin-cooled engine.


And the reason it concerns me so much is that it did not do this the first summer I owned the bike, even on very hot days. The bike never felt as hot as the 2009. The fans were coming on often on hot days. The fans came on when I parked the bike on hot days. Now, on a hot day, I wish it was only as hot as the 2009 used to get!


Thanks everyone! You've given me more information in just a few minutes than I've been able to get elsewhere.

 

I think the service manager showed me how to turn the fans on when I first bought my 15 ultra but I have forgotten how. Then again maybe I dreamed it. Can they be manually turned on?

 

if you roll the throttle all the way forward and hold it there , the fan should come on