[akicelander]

Starting a new thread to vent and see if anyone else has any issues. First the venting. First ride out this past weekend and after a few hours of riding and way back at Petersville my "limp home mode" came on for overheating. First inspection in the field did not seem like the radiator was that dirty, but have it tore apart last night and going to wash it out; but I have put my 800 Polaris through a lot worse before I plugged it up solid and the Can Am has a higher mounted radiator. Not sure if the angle it sits at is a factor. The fan should have stayed on until it was cool, but at first it would not run, then come on and shut off after a minute; meanwhile the reservoir was boiling.

I do not see a thermostat switch in the radiator like Polaris, so that should avoid any false readings from a mud-caked sensor being insulated from the true temperature. I am half tempted to wire in a manual fan switch to over-ride the sensors if this ever happens again.

Now some whining: you would think for the amount these machines cost that MORE thought would have went into service and maintenance. Last week I did the first oil change, thought I would pop off the skid plate to eliminate any oil from getting trapped and making a mess. After realizing there is no nutplates on the skid plate and last night finding the same thing with the front rack (all nuts & bolts). All I could do is shake my head in disappointment. And lastly would it have really been that difficult to engineer a spin-off oil filter? It is still a great machine and very happy with performance; but I am going to test this thing "hard" this summer in Peterville and Eureka and I will know more by hunting season. For 13K in cost, Can Am should have thought about those poor bastards in service that have to work on it and those of us who do our own maintenance. Whining and venting complete

 

[akicelander]

Update 5/12/15: talking with the local dealer I confirmed this rig has only one temp sensor on the motor. They have no idea the cause of my fan cycling the way it did; however tonight I cleaned what little dirt was on the radiator and put new antifreeze in it; (I had to put stream water in it to get back to camp). Ran it for about 20 minutes in idle and the fan came on; so I will take it out to Sutton this weekend for a test drive. (My reference to Sutton will only mean something for the south central Alaska members on this forum

 

[SWAMP BOMB]

Was it low on fluid? My 650 6x6 runs warmer then my xmr , probably just the extra weight

 

[Rikter]

Well every other Can Am model overheats at some point. Why wouldn't the 6x6? There are several threads here regarding overheating & Limp mode. Do a search & start wading through the hundreds of tips, tricks & mods.

 

[shorty54]

I was told by a dealer that if the battery gets low, the computer will not always run the fan, run it at lower speed or at a lower duration. Not sure if thats true. I just keep mine on a battery maintainer. I also run the Hayden mod.

 

[akicelander]

@ Swamp Bob; have no way of knowing because I did not check it after I bought it; rode it a few times to break it in last September and was in storage until last weekend. I just put it back together tonight and I hope to take it out this weekend.

@Rikter...thanks for the thread advise; will be sifting through them after this post. But this is my first Can-Am, so I did not have the knowledge of "other models overheating". Two things I want to do is yank the thermostat and wire in a manual control fan switch. Why a wheeler needs a t-stat is beyond me, just something else to go bad. I bought this rig out of spite for the Big Boss...I owned 2 and told myself I would buy anyone's 6x6 just to evaluate it. I am still happy with the rig!!

@Shorty: I was in low most of the day, so that meant high RPM. My personal opinion on the "dealer" comment is a double edge sword. If I drive in low and keep the RPM's up, I am also getting less air flow over the radiator. Once I got out of the swamps and back on half-way hard packed trail; I put it in high and drove as fast as I could without crashing. I did not have a single overheat light on the way back; but I had two things going for me: high RPM's for your battery comment and two, high airflow over the radiator. Because I put creek water in the radiator to get back to camp, I drained everything and filled it up with dealer XPS antifreezer. which leads me to a new comment. Is there ANY difference between ATV orange antifreeze and the automotive orange I could get at any Walmart???!!! Of course the dealers are going to quote the company line; but I am thinking that it's BS. Thought and comments welcome...especially on the antifreeze question. They are proud of that stuff here in Alaska!

Shorty I'll have to read up on the Hayden Mod...I plead ignorance at this stage
Thanks everyone!

 

[Cascaden]

I'm wondering the same about the different coolants available. I've heard of something called "ice" . Not sure exactly what that is. I'm also fairly new to the can am world so, like you, I'm learning as I go. I own various makes and models of ATVs and each seems to have its various weak points. I am currently dealing with a cooling issue on an older polaris sportsman 500. In its 15 year life it has gone through 2 cooling fans a water pump and most recently a new thermostat and radiator cap. It still tends to boil out a bunch of coolant and have been unable to figure out why this time. I may try to wire in some type of override switch to see if that helps.

 

[akicelander]

@ Cascaden: Being a owner of the 500 and 800, I will advise you to keep the radiator clean. Not sure what you know about the Polaris's but what happened on both of mine is that muddy water gets in the radiator and the water boils out leaving the mud. There is a sensor in the radiator that turns on the fan. The mud acts as an insulator and the sensor makes the machine "think" it's cooler than it is. Then your over temp comes on. Yes the fans are crappy and there is an after market company that makes them (do have the website available...sorry). For years I wrote Polaris and ask them why the radiator is so low and the winch is so high??!! When you are stuck you want to come "up and out"...not move in a straight line. Finally in 2012 the 800's have the winch mount and radiators switched...FINALLY! Anyway, hope other's chime in on this coolant issue....good luck!

 

[Chief...]

On my 2012 Outlander 1000xt I was concerned that my fan kept turning on and off. When I talked to the dealership service department, they said that was normal. And they did make a comment that the radiator was dirty (which I thought was BS).
I bought a temp gauge ( Koso Ultra Thin O20 Water Temp Gauge Universal Honda Yamaha Kawasaki Suzuki KTM | eBay ) off ebay and installed it. Was able to observe that the fan was coming on when the engine was hot and went off as it cooled. I have relocated that gauge to my new 6x6 and am seeing the same thing. Although it does bother me having the fan come on as often it does, I'm not concerned about it, (it's just the noise that bothers me). When I clean my ride after each trip, I try to clean the radiator good.
With all that being said, I realize that yours did overheat, but by having the gauge it's kinda like an early warning system, and I try to look at it often and if the temp just kept rising then you can shut it down before it boils over.

 

[Rikter]

Keep in mind the ECM doesn't turn the fan on until 208 degrees F. (20 late degrees in my mind). The Tune Monster turns the fan on at an adjustable 175.

 

[Chief...]

Wow, if that is what it is suppose to be set for, mine were set low, my fan comes on around 190, both on my 2012 and on the 6x6. I don't recall ever seeing it over 200.

 

[akicelander]

Update gentleman: Spent all week verifying the radiator fins were clean, drained out the stream water I had to put in to get back to camp and put it all back together after work each night. Went to Sutton last night (Friday) and went riding this morning and it overheated again, called CC from Sutton and asked how BRP was to deal with on warranty issues that are just outside the warranty (6 month warranty) and I bought mine last Labor Day). Was told they are very strict and do not care about the miles on it (214 as of today). I dropped it off on my way back to Anchorage and going to get stung with an initial diagnostics at 165.00 on Tuesday. Looks like I need a back up plan for my Memorial Day. I am also getting online after this post and pricing out the 3 components that make up the system: t-stat I already know it is 60.00, engine temp sensor 35-40 and I do not know about the fan. I am sure it is too early to find an after-marker fan for the Outlander, but maybe I can do some part number cross-referencing and come up with a better fan. The fan moves freely but sounds sick and weak. BRP is getting a long letter with copies of all my receipts from this BS. Chief, Rikter, thanks for the posts!! My BP is still around 180/120 about this. Thanks for the link Chief and I will research this "Tune Monster" you are talking about Rikter.

 

[Chief...]

It's a complete unit except you will need a "temperature gauge sender adapter 1/8" NPT ferrale to M12x1.5 male #M152A". It attaches to the front cylinder head. Pretty easy to install. If you would like to take a look at it PM me.

 

[Rikter]

Monster Products :: The Masters of Off Road Fuel Injections

It's probably more equipment than you need. However, it does allow setting the fan activation wherever you want as well as fine tuning fuel/air ratios. I installed an oil cooler with it's own fan. That helped a lot. A fan shroud also helped a lot.

 

[akicelander]

Chief, I had a post earlier and deleted; but your link shows just the gauge and from another link I found this kit. Did yours come all as one or did you have two items to order to install it?

 

[John_A]

Did you bleed out the air from the coolant system when filling it with new coolant?

 

[Chief...]

You had to order the kit and you had to order the adapter. Total was around $60 or $65, but you don't have to cut your hose. Just unscrew the plug on the top of the cylinder and put in the adapter and then the sending unit, then hook up power and ground to the gauge and your done. Really a clean install.

 

[Rikter]

My fan ran fine. Motor felt pretty hot though. So I swapped in a new fan with a shroud. That helped a lot, air from new fan was twice or more the force.

 

[akicelander]

@john: I thought about that as I was changing out the fluid; but did not and just figured the t-stat would open and I would add more after that, (which I did). When I drained the system at the water pump and refilled; I ran the machine and waited for what I thought the system would do on its own: T-stat would open due to temp, reservoir would go down and I added fluid after that. For the automotive world I know about "vapor lock" but did not consider this on an ATV. I am not sure where you even bleed the air out at and I am not sure I ever got that low to begin with...but it is possible. I am truly amazed at how something so small can be so technical in nature.
@Rikter: I spent last night trying to cross-reference Can-Am part numbers to after market fans; with no success. I checked with Spal and Moose...no success. Comment welcome as always.
@Chief: we have the luxury of being in the same city; got your PM this morning, will be in touch thru PM to see when you are home....man I love this forum

 

[John_A]

There is one bleed screw on each cylinder, the procedure with pics is in the owners manual.