[Chris1212]

Hey guys, so I've had a couple issues with my machine overheating and the first time it was the fan fuse.
The dealer replaced and all was good for a little while.

Second time I hit a puddle (same as the first) and fan wouldn't start and the machine would over heat. I checked the fan and the fuse was fine. I switched the relay for a headlight relay and the fan still wouldn't come on.

Took the machine to the dealer and they can't recreate the situation, the fan is working normally.  I've asked them to try hitting the front of the machine with a garden hose when the fan is running to simulate hitting a puddle, but they seem stumped.

They don't suggest doing the labor to check the thermostat as they say it's about 1.5 hours to get to it, and if it's ok then it wouldn't be covered under warranty and I'd have to pay the labor bill.

I'm stumped on what the issue could be and was thinking about putting in a bypass switch like this one:

https://utvcanada.com/products/shop/universal-fan-overide-switch/

The problem is they're out of stock.

Any idea where I could source all the components in this kit to build my own?
I'd really like the repair done properly and don't like bandaid solutions but I also don't want to get stuck with the machine over heating again.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[NMKawierider]

First, as I recall, the ECU just provides a ground for the coil of the fan relay so..you don't need all that other junk to install a switch to override/bypass that. Second, I strongly suggest the problem be found and fixed because these fans are not intended to be continuous duty motors. They need to run in cycles to cool down. Otherwise it will fail on you in the middle of nowhere and then you are f'ed. It blew a fuse the first time but not the second. Could it be a bad motor or an un-sealed connection? It wouldn't suprise me one bit if it weren't something that simple. You can test and inspect for these things yourself. As for the 1.5 hours for the thermostats, I think if you pull the bed access panel they are right there on the heads. Probably not those though. Sounds more electrical.

[Chris1212]

First, as I recall, the ECU just provides a ground for the coil of the fan relay so..you don't need all that other junk to install a switch to override/bypass that. Second, I strongly suggest the problem be found and fixed because these fans are not intended to be continuous duty motors. They need to run in cycles to cool down. Otherwise it will fail on you in the middle of nowhere and then you are f'ed. It blew a fuse the first time but not the second. Could it be a bad motor or an un-sealed connection? It wouldn't suprise me one bit if it weren't something that simple. You can test and inspect for these things yourself. As for the 1.5 hours for the thermostats, I think if you pull the bed access panel they are right there on the heads. Probably not those though. Sounds more electrical.

Thanks for your response. Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot this?
Currently the dealer is saying the fan is working correctly. They're going to check the ecu to see if there are any codes stored, but they don't seem to think there are.
They asked if the rad was plugged up when it over heated. The rad was not clogged, I checked the fan to make sure there were no obstructions and it would spin fine.

Basically the dealer is going to try and re-create the situation and replace any parts that may be the issue, but because the system appears to be working correctly now they basically said if they can't find the issue I'm on the hook for the diagnostic repair.
I know I'm not crazy, I know the malfunction light came on, the temp sensor bars went up to 5 or so, and I know the fan was NO coming on.
The first time this issue happened I had a blown fuse. Fuse was replaced and everything worked until hitting a puddle again. This time the fuse did not blow, and the fan wouldn't come on and the machine over heated. I switched the relay out for one of the headlight relays and still no fan.

Where would you start?

Thank you!

[NMKawierider]

Get the service manual and just start checking. Understanding how a system works is always key. Heck it may just be a bad temp sensor...there have been hundreds of them go bad. I am going to PM you a link to download a service manual.

[Chris1212]

Get the service manual and just start checking. Understanding how a system works is always key. Heck it may just be a bad temp sensor...there have been hundreds of them go bad. I am going to PM you a link to download a service manual.

Thanks NMKawierider, but downloading the service manual was the first thing I did before I even had my machine home.

I'm looking through the service manual and am confused.

Section 4 page 12 says:

"Radiator fan

Radiator fan running

The fan is controlled by the data of thermoswitch.
When coolant reached 88℃. The fan should be start
working. When the coolant fall below 82℃ the fan
should be stop working."

A google search of "2018 CFmoto Zforce 1000 thermoswitch location" brought me to this forum and this post:

https://cfmoto-forum.com/1000-30/2018-z-force-1000-fan-temp-switch/

I tend to believe your knowledge over the manual, as I've looked everywhere I could think of on the rad to find a thermoswitch and haven't been able to find one.
Your post saying they use a temp sensor, and they go bad often is likely what is causing my issue.

Section 4.5 mentions the thermostat, but I have yet to see anything in the service manual mentioning or showing a diagram of where the temp sensor would be that would feed information to the ECU. If you could help me out with it's location (with pic if you happen to have one or know where to find one) and how to test it when it seems to work intermittently, I would greatly appreciate it. Would it's resistance value indicate if it was faulty?

Thanks for any help you can offer.
Cheers

[NMKawierider]

Get the service manual and just start checking. Understanding how a system works is always key. Heck it may just be a bad temp sensor...there have been hundreds of them go bad. I am going to PM you a link to download a service manual.

Thanks NMKawierider, but downloading the service manual was the first thing I did before I even had my machine home.

I'm looking through the service manual and am confused.

Section 4 page 12 says:

"Radiator fan

Radiator fan running

The fan is controlled by the data of thermoswitch.
When coolant reached 88℃. The fan should be start
working. When the coolant fall below 82℃ the fan
should be stop working."

A google search of "2018 CFmoto Zforce 1000 thermoswitch location" brought me to this forum and this post:

https://cfmoto-forum.com/1000-30/2018-z-force-1000-fan-temp-switch/

I tend to believe your knowledge over the manual, as I've looked everywhere I could think of on the rad to find a thermoswitch and haven't been able to find one.
Your post saying they use a temp sensor, and they go bad often is likely what is causing my issue.

Section 4.5 mentions the thermostat, but I have yet to see anything in the service manual mentioning or showing a diagram of where the temp sensor would be that would feed information to the ECU. If you could help me out with it's location (with pic if you happen to have one or know where to find one) and how to test it when it seems to work intermittently, I would greatly appreciate it. Would it's resistance value indicate if it was faulty?

Thanks for any help you can offer.
Cheers

Without a photo as I recall it is on the front cylinder's head below the thermostat. It will be the only thing near the top of any cylinder with a wire going to it other then the spark plugs as it must get the hottest coolant as it exits the engine on it's way to the radiator. There is a guy here that had hell with his 500 as it couldn't get a ground through the housing and gasket to send a reading to the ECM so it would turn on the fan. Do a search on temperature switches and it should come up. Page 4-13 shows how to test all the fan systems and page 7-17 shows the temp switch and how to test it.

CFM's translations suck..badly. They really need to get people that can translate Chinese to reasonable English.

[NMKawierider]

Take a look at this complete posting:

https://cfmoto-forum.com/uforce-500/double-whammy/msg32645/#msg32645

[Chris1212]

Without a photo as I recall it is on the front cylinder's head below the thermostat. It will be the only thing near the top of any cylinder with a wire going to it other then the spark plugs as it must get the hottest coolant as it exits the engine on it's way to the radiator. There is a guy here that had hell with his 500 as it couldn't get a ground through the housing and gasket to send a reading to the ECM so it would turn on the fan. Do a search on temperature switches and it should come up. Page 4-13 shows how to test all the fan systems and page 7-17 shows the temp switch and how to test it.

CFM's translations suck..badly. They really need to get people that can translate Chinese to reasonable English.

In a situation like this where it is the ground for the sensor, would the gauge read correctly? Mine had no issues going to 3 bars, four bars, 5, 6... etc.
Just no fan.
Relay was swapped, no help.
Fan spins freely, not seized.

Dealer says its working now, but I know I'm not crazy and the machine overheated and the fan DID not come on.

Where would you start?

Dealer says system is working correctly, so I'm stumped. If I get stuck on the trail again I think the only way to get the fan to manually kick in would be 12v direct to the fan, as if the relay isn't starting the fan, I can only guess the issue is between the fan and relay...?

[NMKawierider]

Without a photo as I recall it is on the front cylinder's head below the thermostat. It will be the only thing near the top of any cylinder with a wire going to it other then the spark plugs as it must get the hottest coolant as it exits the engine on it's way to the radiator. There is a guy here that had hell with his 500 as it couldn't get a ground through the housing and gasket to send a reading to the ECM so it would turn on the fan. Do a search on temperature switches and it should come up. Page 4-13 shows how to test all the fan systems and page 7-17 shows the temp switch and how to test it.

CFM's translations suck..badly. They really need to get people that can translate Chinese to reasonable English.

In a situation like this where it is the ground for the sensor, would the gauge read correctly? Mine had no issues going to 3 bars, four bars, 5, 6... etc.
Just no fan.
Relay was swapped, no help.
Fan spins freely, not seized.

Dealer says its working now, but I know I'm not crazy and the machine overheated and the fan DID not come on.

Where would you start?

Dealer says system is working correctly, so I'm stumped. If I get stuck on the trail again I think the only way to get the fan to manually kick in would be 12v direct to the fan, as if the relay isn't starting the fan, I can only guess the issue is between the fan and relay...?

Not sure but I would think if the sensor didn't get proper ground it wouldn't give correct resistance values to the ECU or the gauge which should result in non-correct gauge and fan operation. Looking at the fan circuit on the new ones, it looks like ECM just supplies the ground for the relay's coil. So a simple switch tied in to that lead to ground is all that is required to trigger the relay and manually run the fan. On the older ones with the thermoswitch, its that switch that provides the ground for the relay.

[Chris1212]

Not sure but I would think if the sensor didn't get proper ground it wouldn't give correct resistance values to the ECU or the gauge which should result in non-correct gauge and fan operation. Looking at the fan circuit on the new ones, it looks like ECM just supplies the ground for the relay's coil. So a simple switch tied in to that lead to ground is all that is required to trigger the relay and manually run the fan. On the older ones with the thermoswitch, its that switch that provides the ground for the relay.

The thing is I tried swapping out the relay and no love. This would lead me to believe this issue would be between the relay point and the fan motor and if in an emergency situation the only way to manually run the fan would be to run 12v direct to the fan, as I can only assume that if a working relay wouldn't start the fan then jumping out the relay pins would have the same result.

I'm wondering if the fan is defective and is requiring more amps to operate than what relay is supplying.. this may explain why the fuse popped once.


Any idea where I could find out how I could trouble shoot the actual fan? Is there is a resistance level that would indicate if it's working correctly or on it's way out?

[NMKawierider]

Not sure but I would think if the sensor didn't get proper ground it wouldn't give correct resistance values to the ECU or the gauge which should result in non-correct gauge and fan operation. Looking at the fan circuit on the new ones, it looks like ECM just supplies the ground for the relay's coil. So a simple switch tied in to that lead to ground is all that is required to trigger the relay and manually run the fan. On the older ones with the thermoswitch, its that switch that provides the ground for the relay.

The thing is I tried swapping out the relay and no love. This would lead me to believe this issue would be between the relay point and the fan motor and if in an emergency situation the only way to manually run the fan would be to run 12v direct to the fan, as I can only assume that if a working relay wouldn't start the fan then jumping out the relay pins would have the same result.

I'm wondering if the fan is defective and is requiring more amps to operate than what relay is supplying.. this may explain why the fuse popped once.


Any idea where I could find out how I could trouble shoot the actual fan? Is there is a resistance level that would indicate if it's working correctly or on it's way out?

I'm sure you have the service manual and the wiring diagram. Provide the ground side of the relay with a ground and see if it works. Shorting out the pins or swapping the relays probably won't do it. Once you see how it works in your head it will be much easier to look at parts. The manual also has a trouble-shooter for the fan as well. The relays are 20 amp and the fan motors only pull around 8-10 so they can handle the load. The fuse will limit the amperage being available. If it blows fuses..yeah I would test the amp draw on the motor. 

[Chris1212]

Hey guys, so I'm looking to install a switch on my fan with my spring maintenance.

Can anyone tell me the type of male/female plug on the rad fan? I'd prefer to not have to cut or splice into existing wiring.

Anyone know a source for this plug type?

Thanks

[NMKawierider]

Hey guys, so I'm looking to install a switch on my fan with my spring maintenance.

Can anyone tell me the type of male/female plug on the rad fan? I'd prefer to not have to cut or splice into existing wiring.

Anyone know a source for this plug type?

Thanks

On the new ones like yours the ECM uses the coolant temp sensor input to trigger a ground connection for the fan's relay coil. All you are going to want to do is provide a secondary ground source for that coil. That way it will still work as designed and when you want it to run manually, just flip that switch. Piece of cake. I strongly advise you not to power the fan from a different source or sever connections from the ECM as it may result in fault codes.

Also..just FYI, there have been a large number of 2018-2019 units with bad coolant temp sensors and/or connectors. Might check all yours.   

[NMKawierider]

This should be how to install a fan bypass on yours..and all others 2018+

[Chris1212]

This should be how to install a fan bypass on yours..and all others 2018+

Thanks!

I was hoping to source a male and female plug to insert between the rad fan and the machine so that I could have the option to run through the ECM, constant on by grounding the wire you labelled, and to be able to disconnect completely for water crossings, etc.

Any idea where I could source the plug to avoid having to tap into the wiring?