Water Pump Questions

[Bayoublaster]

I did a search and a lot of reading and I'm about at my wits end. Here's the situation: I have very little IF any movement on my temperature gauge. Here's what I have done so far as far as trouble shooting. 1) Replaced the thermostat. 2) Replaced part of the grounding wire and reconnected it to paint free connection on the frame. 3) Grounded out the temperature gauge to ensure the gauge is in good working order. 4) Replaced the temperature sensor.

Question #1. The thermostat opens up at around 180 F. In order to see any water movement with the radiator cap off, the thermostat would have to be open. Any idea how long I would have to ride (and at what speed) or let it idle to get it to the point where I could be certain the thermostat is fully open? Provided it is open, would I see (as I have been told) movement of the radiator fluid with the cap removed?

Question #2. I don't have any seepage from the weep hole for the water pump so I'm sure my seals are ok, but is there any other way to know if the water pump is trashed other than visually seeing or not seeing the radiator fluid moving when removing the radiator cap once the thermostat is fully open? I already know the radiator is free of trash.

I'm going to physically test the thermostatic switch operation and thermo-unit operation with an ohm meter tonight when I get home.

I've also included a photo indicating the position of the coolant drain valve. It seems to be in the right position according to the service manual, but please have a look at it and give me the thumbs up or down on that one.


Thanks for the help.

 

[timscues]

are you running hot and were is the needle

 

[Bayoublaster]

Actually the needle doesn't seem to move off of cold. It has moved up to the cold mark on the bottom of the gauge. That's about it. Got to get back to work. Will check back in a hour or so. Thanks

 

[MaxMidnight]

The valve is in the correct position.

With the green/red wire to the temp sensor disconnected and the ignition on the gauge needle should be on the C, with the wire grounded it should go to the H.

Have attached a PDF of the circuit if you need it.

The sensor should read 154 ohms @ 50 C; 47 to 57 ohms @ 80 C and 26 - 30ohms @ 100 C.

An engine will take about ten miles to come fully up to temperature.
However, if you start from cold and keep feeling the hose from the top of the radiator you should feel a relatively quick increase in temperature once the thermostat starts to open.
Difficult to say how long this will be as it will depend on the initial ambient temperature of the coolant.

 

[Bayoublaster]

I already grounded out the gauge and it sweeps all of the way to H. So I'm good there. I do appreciate the info though especially on how long it will take to get up to operating temperature with the thermostat and the info on the ohm readings. I can't wait to get home and test these out. Glad to know also that I had the drain valve in the right position. I got a calibrated thermometer here at work to bring home to help with the testing along dual burner hot plate. Thanks again. As soon as I finish the testing, I'll post my results (hopefully my fix!) and post the results.
Thanks again.

 

[Bayoublaster]

Well I got the temp gauge working finally. It wasn't the sensor as I thought as it tested fine. I actually had to remove the two bolts that secure the water manifold to the frame and clean the threads on the two bolts to get a proper ground between the frame and the water manifold. Simple fix to a big head ache. Thanks again for the help as always.

 

[SpecOps13]

Having good grounds on these bikes is a major issue on lots of problems. Especially if your bike is one that's sat outside for a lot of it's life. I have one that did and one that didn't. Big difference in the number of ground problems I've fixed.

 

[m-cman]

Sometimes we forget just how old some of these bikes are. Mine is 16 years old but i still think it is new.... Of course, most of the stuff on it is new (or at least much newer)... :biglaugh:

 

[Max Mike]

Interesting thread as I`m going through these same issues with my `88, specifically no gauge sweep beyond the first `slash` off of C, what seems to be a hot motor and a cool rad.

- Checked the thermostat...unsure so changed it out as system was apart already and unit was cheap.
- Checked the resistance of the thermo unit...that was out, 212F was around 73 ohm. New unit in and buttoned back up. Fire up bike and cylinders all get good and warm, rad is still cool except for a slightly warm area in the middle when felt from the from (over the protective screen) after a good 10``.

Will try checking for the full gauge sweep by grounding, but back to the OP`s post....is there a sure way to tell if your water pump has packed it in without tearing into it. What else could be going on here. Have owned the bike since new, only 16,200 km on it now, no previous cooling issues, no coolant leaks. Only mods are external, Vgas and Kerkers.

Help!!