Coolant discharge - why?

[Therapy]

good point ,but then there is the issue of why did not the temp warning light come on ,which it should just before boil off under pressure 105 degC I think . I hope its something simple ! After 43000 miles on dirty roads I have only one small fin dent so I personally am not convinced of the need for one but at 450 quid a replacement I can understand the need ! though at that price I would get another similar and bodge it on if mine failed and was unrepairable!

Yea. The "service rep" that called me did not have an answer for the light not coming on. She just said she would pass the info on. I don't like the new systems in repair facilities at dealers. The ones that have an intermediary that is not a technician. It can be like the childhood game of "telephone", as we called it. Plus I have been my own mechanic for cars, trucks and motorcycles for 40 or so years.

Am I getting too old? I know I am impatient. And her saying the technician said the screen could cause it is highly irritating to me because of the no warning lights and the fact that we have 3 NCs with screens on them.

My reason for the screen in Florida is Love Bugs. They can clog radiators. With screens on all my vehicles, they don't.

 

[L.B.S.]

A lot of times the temperature warning lights have never been super accurate (in my dealings, anyhow) and even the bar graph or numerical temp gauges were iffy at best. The gauge and the warning light/computer CanBus infested affair on my F800ST never got in the bad zone or lit up a light, nor issued dire dashboard warnings when my coolant would spew out of the top of the reserve tank.

 

[Therapy]

A lot of times the temperature warning lights have never been super accurate (in my dealings, anyhow) and even the bar graph or numerical temp gauges were iffy at best. The gauge and the warning light/computer CanBus infested affair on my F800ST never got in the bad zone or lit up a light, nor issued dire dashboard warnings when my coolant would spew out of the top of the reserve tank.

Maybe it is a motorcycle thing.
I know idiot lights on cars aren't great either but I have never heard of a car boiling half of it's coolant out without the idiot light coming on, at least sometime during the process.

I'm just getting too worked up over this. Brand new!!

 

[bamamate]

Coolant temp gauges don't work well when the coolant is low. For whatever reason they need to be bathed in the liquid for accurate readings. Least on the auto side normal operating temps are now 200F+ and hot isn't until 225 or 250F.

 

[Therapy]

Coolant temp gauges don't work well when the coolant is low. For whatever reason they need to be bathed in the liquid for accurate readings. Least on the auto side normal operating temps are now 200F+ and hot isn't until 225 or 250F.

Is it different for a motorcycle?
I will go look where the temp sensor is.
If it was boiling over the light/temp sensor should have known it while it was still bathed in coolant. If it is low then it was bathed even after half the coolant was blown out.

I am having difficulty understanding the warning of over heating to the rider being coolant discharge under the bike. And I don't think it was overheated. Is a temp measured at 211°F over heated? This is 1-2 min. after engine stop. The time when engines get a little hotter. Am I right or too old and this no longer happens to modern engines?

 

[bamamate]

Somebody out here has put an actual temp gauge on their bike so hopefully they will chime in with the water temps they see. The NC engine is loosely based on the Fit engine and I would figure they brought over the higher normal engine temp because it helps with emissions and fuel mileage.

If the cap is bad then the coolant will overflow well before the temp light would come on. The pressure the cap keeps on the system raises the boiling point of the fluid. I'm still betting on bad cap or it wasn't installed correctly and vibrated loose.

Yes engines can get hotter right after you cut them off since the coolant is no longer circulating and a water cooled engine is not built to dissipate heat to the air. 211F on the outside of the engine wouldn't surprise me at all.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

My Triumph came close to overheating recently in heavy traffic. It turned out the fan was stuck with some small obstacle and that in turn caused the fan fuse to blow. I released the fan and replaced the fuse.

 

[Therapy]

So I'll keep on complaining.

First I had to figure out that ECT means engine coolant temp, as in ECT sensor in the manual. After that I note it is supposed to raise the alarm...err, idiot light at 212°. The radiator cap is rated at 16-20psi. 50-50 coolant at 15psi boils at 265°. At 20psi it is 282° - Uh Oh.

Now......the thermostat begins to open at 176-183°, BUT doesn't fully open till 203°.
So now it would look like I am overheating.........if the cap is working properly. If it is "light" then I can boil over at about the time the light should go on. So maybe the cap is light and the light is high. Just enough to cause my issue. But then the cap would have to be about zero, and at that a 50-50 mix boils at 226°. ACK!

I think I am NOT overheating because of the measured temps of the two bikes. My highest reading was 211 and the other one was 201. If the coolant was 265° I think I would have measured more than 211°. If it was 282° I am positive I would have.

Does anyone know if the coolant is that much higher in temp than the hottest part one can measure on the outside of the engine? That is a tough one eh?

So I think the first thing to do is check the pop-off pressure of the cap. Then make sure the fan is running at proper temp. OH WAIT! It is run by switched power right??? That means it should run all the time.

Can someone confirm that with me?? Maybe I'll just go out and start one of the other ones....
NOPE, it doesn't start with the motor. Now to find how it is switched on and off. Gads! Anyone know?

All I can see on the schematic is the fan controlled by the relay that is controlled by the DLS that is run to the PCM. What are DLS and PCM?

I am just about over my head with what these units are.

 

[hojo]

Years ago when I bought a new Honda ST1300, it developed a small leak and the thermostat had to be replaced.

 

[lootzyan]

...What are DLS and PCM?....I am just about over my head with what these units are.

There is no DLS. I think you meant DLC - Data Link Connector. This is where Honda technician connects his/hers test gizmos.
PCM - Power Control Module, equivalent of ECM (Engine Control Module).
If there is temp sensor (ETC) problem you should see "idiot lights" blinking - MIL code.
I think you shouldn't do anything - no idle run, no test ride. You should deliver your bike to dealer.

 

[L.B.S.]

This is where one of those inline water temperature gauges would be kind of neat. Does anyone remember a forum member here a long time ago that installed one on his NC? If I'm not mistaken he also did an oil temperature gauge as well.

 

[yearroundrider]

I'm pretty sure Dale, Hondabikepro put a temperature gauge on his NC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[L.B.S.]

I'm pretty sure Dale, Hondabikepro put a temperature gauge on his NC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The one I'm thinking of was maybe from Spain or Italy or somewhere? I'll have to try and find it now, lol.


Edit.

It was duk2n

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/927-coolant-temp-meter.html?highlight=water+temperature

 

[Therapy]

There is no DLS. I think you meant DLC - Data Link Connector. This is where Honda technician connects his/hers test gizmos.
PCM - Power Control Module, equivalent of ECM (Engine Control Module).
If there is temp sensor (ETC) problem you should see "idiot lights" blinking - MIL code.
I think you shouldn't do anything - no idle run, no test ride. You should deliver your bike to dealer.

Uhhh......yes........I meant DLC. Thank you for the translation. I do not find a glossary in the manual. Did I miss it?

That is what I did but first I added coolant and burped it to make sure I could get there.

And guess what.

They could not reproduce!!...........OH DANG!!
That is worse than finding something wrong.
The tech said he rode it and let it idle outside the shop on pavement, in the sun, for over an hour.

Nothing, nada, zip and zilch.

I asked if he checked the temp sensor connection for corrosion. Nope checked nothing because nothing happened.

I showed him the video of it puking coolant and he said....

So. I/we know nothing (like Schultz used to say) I guess I will just ride till it blows again.

My problem is now it will nag me to no end every time I am more than a mile or so from home. And if I am not in traffic where I have to stop and hence look to see coolant squirting on the ground and splashing on my boot like horse piss I will be asking myself how often I should pull over to check the reservoir tank. Which as you know, requires one to kneel and look up and back to the tank - preferably with a flashlight.

DAMMIT!

 

[670cc]

How about this theory?

The radiator cap has two sealing surfaces. The first is down in the radiator neck, where it holds the pressure in the system and opens when needed to relieve pressure to allow coolant to go to the overflow tank. The second sealing surface is just under the cap, and would keep the fluid heading for the tank from seeping out around the cap.

A possibility is that the secondary seal was leaking, allowing fluid to run down the radiator side or to blow back onto the bike/rider. Even though fluid was escaping, the radiator was properly pressurized and full at all times and the engine never overheated. Over the course of several heat cycles the coolant reservoir got low. When you took the cap off and reinstalled it while investigating, the cap then sealed properly and now there is no problem.

I have had the cap leak like this on my Ruckus after a coolant change, and reinstalling it a few times cured the problem.

 

[Therapy]

How about this theory?

The radiator cap has two sealing surfaces. The first is down in the radiator neck, where it holds the pressure in the system and opens when needed to relieve pressure to allow coolant to go to the overflow tank. The second sealing surface is just under the cap, and would keep the fluid heading for the tank from seeping out around the cap.

A possibility is that the secondary seal was leaking, allowing fluid to run down the radiator side or to blow back onto the bike/rider. Even though fluid was escaping, the radiator was properly pressurized and full at all times and the engine never overheated. Over the course of several heat cycles the coolant reservoir got low. When you took the cap off and reinstalled it while investigating, the cap then sealed properly and now there is no problem.

I have had the cap leak like this on my Ruckus after a coolant change, and reinstalling it a few times cured the problem.

I want to find a straw to grasp but all the coolant was spitting out the recovery tank overflow tube. None out of the cap itself. I wish (but not enough to do anything I guess) I could put up the video I took of it spitting. I only took a vid of the second episode. The first episode I was so shocked I just turned the bike off and stared in wonder at a brand new bike puking with no temp light on!?!?

 

[lootzyan]

Whoever was responsible for preparation of your bike for release overfilled reserve tank with coolant, didn't bother to check level in upright position and didn't bleed air adequately.
Now everything is in right position.
Enjoy your ride.

 

[Therapy]

Whoever was responsible for preparation of your bike for release overfilled reserve tank with coolant, didn't bother to check level in upright position and didn't bleed air adequately.
Now everything is in right position.
Enjoy your ride.

I hope that is it.
I have spoken with several Honda "people" and have heard that the bikes come from the factory with all fluids in them already. Only a battery is added.
Today a Honda "person" said otherwise. But no specifics on which fluids.
And still no explanation as to why it took a thousand miles to show up.

I will try to just forget it and ride but being the perfectionist wanting to know when, where, how and why I will have some difficulty.

 

[670cc]

I hope that is it.
I have spoken with several Honda "people" and have heard that the bikes come from the factory with all fluids in them already. Only a battery is added.
Today a Honda "person" said otherwise. But no specifics on which fluids.
And still no explanation as to why it took a thousand miles to show up.



I will try to just forget it and ride but being the perfectionist wanting to know when, where, how and why I will have some difficulty.

When I watched Honda build Goldwings in their Ohio factory, they run them on a dyno for a few minutes to run them through the gears, then ship them. I suspect their battery was an external device, but obviously all fluids would have been added and air already purged. The whole thing about dealer prep is kind of a joke. I would rather they just gave it to me in the crate. I'll unpack it, put a battery in it if needed, and give the crate back.

 

[kharli]

I would ride it hard up a long hill and stop to test max heat stress on a hot a day as poss ,with a pillion ideally ,if no problem I would try and forget it .(safely of course) My fan has only ever come on going up huge hills in the Pyrenees on 40 deg c days ,it never comes on here in coooool Scotland.
The paint is atrocious quality ! one really shouldn't have anything washing around the cooling system ,it takes very little to bump a head gasket temporarily