Battery draw

[Skydyvyr]

So looking at the diagram, here is how the stock single fan is wired:

Batt Pos --> Fuse#6 --> Fan --> Fan Relay --> Batt Neg

The stock diagram shows nothing else connected between the Fan and the Fan Relay, so a likely culprit is a short to ground somewhere in this leg of the circuit. On the stock fan, this should be a Brown wire with a Red stripe. Trace it from the Fan to the Fan Relay. If anything else (except for your second Fan) is connected to in there that is at least part of your problem. If there is a bare spot on the wire and it is coming in contact with any other metal part (or other wire) this could also be part of your problem.

As far as the second Fan is concerned, make sure that it is connected to the same leads as the first fan. It should not have it's own seperate ground or power supply. Wiring it with it's own power or ground would cause behavior very much like you are explaining.

The fact that the fans run with the relay removed pretty much removes the temp sensing circuit as a culprit since it is only connected to the fan(s) through the relay.

If you can take a picture of how your second fan is wired that might help with the troubleshooting.

One last question, are you sure that you have pulled the Fan relay and not the Turn Signal/Side Stand Relay?

To answer one of your other questions, yes, the fans running for an extended time could certainly drain your battery.

--Sky

 

[Skydyvyr]

I have another question -- when the fans are running with the battery connected and the relay pulled, are they running backwards (blowing towards the front wheel as opposed to towards the engine)?

--Sky

 

[ZbornacSVT]

So looking at the diagram, here is how the stock single fan is wired:

Batt Pos --> Fuse#6 --> Fan --> Fan Relay --> Batt Neg

The stock diagram shows nothing else connected between the Fan and the Fan Relay, so a likely culprit is a short to ground somewhere in this leg of the circuit. On the stock fan, this should be a Brown wire with a Red stripe. Trace it from the Fan to the Fan Relay. If anything else (except for your second Fan) is connected to in there that is at least part of your problem. If there is a bare spot on the wire and it is coming in contact with any other metal part (or other wire) this could also be part of your problem. I'll check this tomorrow.

As far as the second Fan is concerned, make sure that it is connected to the same leads as the first fan. It should not have it's own seperate ground or power supply. Wiring it with it's own power or ground would cause behavior very much like you are explaining. Wired into the stock fan right at the fan itself. This kept the wiring run for the second fan short and simple.

The fact that the fans run with the relay removed pretty much removes the temp sensing circuit as a culprit since it is only connected to the fan(s) through the relay.

If you can take a picture of how your second fan is wired that might help with the troubleshooting. See here, you can see the blue connectors:

One last question, are you sure that you have pulled the Fan relay and not the Turn Signal/Side Stand Relay? I pulled the relay that is hanging off of the fuse box....that is the right one, correct? Directly under the left cowling?

To answer one of your other questions, yes, the fans running for an extended time could certainly drain your battery.

--Sky

I have another question -- when the fans are running with the battery connected and the relay pulled, are they running backwards (blowing towards the front wheel as opposed to towards the engine)? When you are sitting on the bike looking forward they appear to be spinning counterclockwise.

--Sky

Answers to your questions are in RED above
Thanks for your time.

 

[Skydyvyr]

Counter clockwise from your picture would indicate that they are running in the correct direction. Can you verify that they are not blowing air towards the front tire by holding a piece of paper in front of the radiator (between the radiator and front tire) while they are running to see if it gets sucked up against the radiator or blown away from the radiator?

Thanks
--Sky

 

[Skydyvyr]

Dude, I can't reccomend strongly enough that you replace those wire nuts with some sort of crimp connector. You should be able to purchase a kit with the crimper and splices from any auto parts store for less than $30.

--Sky

 

[Skydyvyr]

There are two relays next to the fuses, one that is closer to the nose of the bike, and one that is to the left of the fuse box.

The first is the side stand/turn signal relay and the second is the fan relay.

Make sure you are disconnecting the Fan Relay.

--Sky

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Counter clockwise from your picture would indicate that they are running in the correct direction. Can you verify that they are not blowing air towards the front tire by holding a piece of paper in front of the radiator (between the radiator and front tire) while they are running to see if it gets sucked up against the radiator or blown away from the radiator?

Thanks
--Sky

Was getting sucked into the radiator from the front.

Dude, I can't reccomend strongly enough that you replace those wire nuts with some sort of crimp connector. You should be able to purchase a kit with the crimper and splices from any auto parts store for less than $30.

--Sky

I do not disagree....I was surprised to see those in there when I looked. What style do you recommend?

There are two relays next to the fuses, one that is closer to the nose of the bike, and one that is to the left of the fuse box.

The first is the side stand/turn signal relay and the second is the fan relay.

Make sure you are disconnecting the Fan Relay.

--Sky

I only have one relay in this location.....it is removed in this picture, but located where I am pointing.
The connector that is 10:30 from my finger is what was disconnected from the relay. This is the relay that I replaced last year when I had my previous issue.

 

[Skydyvyr]

Since you have no plans of removing the second fan, I'd recommend butt connectors then either wrapped in electrical tape (cheap method) or with shrink wrap tubing (the best way to do it). If you have three wires in each of those wirenuts, you might want to consider using spade connectors instead of butt connectors so you can use a larger gauge connector on one end and put two wires into it.

Here is a picture of a butt connector:

Here is an image of spade connectors:

I tend to prefer the type that are available from marine hardware suppliers because they have integral heatshrink jackets (the first picture) that include some form of heat activated glue which will seal the connector from moisture and act as a strain relief on the wire jacket. They are significantly more expensive than typical automotive crimp connectors.

While you have the wires apart, look for any signs of the jacket melting -- if the wires have been carrying too much amperage for their gauge, the jacket may have melted somewhere and shorted to another wire or grounded out to a metal part of the bike somewhere.

As far as the relay is concerned, you are pointing at the Fan Relay location and have disconnected the correct relay. The other relay is the black box immediately in front of the fuses (It doesn't look like a typical automotive relay).

Good luck tomorrow. I've PM'ed you my number as I'll likely be afk most of the day.

--Sky

 

[ZbornacSVT]

Thanks to some phone time with Skydyvyr, we were able to isolate a short to my fan circuit.

Pulled the radiator/oil cooler/fans and found this. Look suspect at all? I had continuity from the ground side of the fan connector to the bolts on the fan bracket. Looks to have been too close to the headers.

Cut the zip ties and it was sticking to the bracket. Here is the backside....EUREKA!!

So....redid ALL the wiring. Used proper weatherproof connections, new wire, and routed the wiring across the top of the radiator. This should give an additional few precious inches away from my titanium headers....

Got her all buttoned back up (except for fluids....gotta top her off and burp her tomorrow) and checked to circuit for continuity.....NONE!!!
From some testing earlier today I realized that since the fans are tripped on the neg side, even though I pulled the fan fuse, I was still taking readings from the fan short. Testing draw now, I get about a 5mA surge upon first connection, but once the system lines are charged and the gauges finish their dance (10 seconds or so).....it settles down to a nice 0.75mA draw. I can live with that.

I expect this to be the end of both my fan issue and my battery issue. I look forward to being able to enjoy my bike again!
Thanks to everyone that provided aid!!