1 Newly purchased 12/1986 K100RT overheating indication problem Mon Jul 03, 2017 8:33 am
michaelvass
Silver member
This is my first topic after just doing an Introduction. I am in Brisbane, Australia and just bought this 12/1986 K100RT with only 18,500 km and looking really nice. Here is a pic of the bike so we know what we are talking about (getting new tyres, its the best pic I have at the moment). It my first bike in over 30 years since I was into motocross as a kid, so enjoying riding again and glad I discovered these old Beemers, seem like great bikes.
I suspect this is more an overheating indication problem rather than an actual overheating problem.
Whats happening is that after about 5-10 minutes idling after a cold start (or about 15-20 minutes riding) the fan + overheat light will both come on at exactly the same time. Weird as the manual says fan is supposed to come on at 103C and the light at 111C. The fan runs great when working, so no problems there (I know there are issues with fans not working). The fan + overheat light will then stay on for extended periods, way beyond what normal fan cooling of the system should take care of. When and if this stops, they will both stop/go out at exactly the same time again. This cycle continually repeats itself. On my last ride the fan + light was even coming on when I was doing 100 kmh plus on a flat open road.
I don't think the coolant is actually boiling and the bike does not seem to be all that hot, so I am guessing this is false sensing and an electrical issue.
In the last 2 months since I've owned the bike I've done a bit of research online and done the following, but still can't solve the issue...
1. Thought it might be a clogged radiator/engine so ran 2 cycles of distilled water/flush through the system for about 400 km, then installed Nulon Blue Coolant:Distilled Water at 40:60. Strange thing is that for some reason the bike actually behaved normally (in my limited experience) while the flush was in the system ie. the fan + light stopped coming on all the time but instead once the bike was actually hot and needed cooling the fan came on before the overheat light, done what seemed a normal cooling job for a few minutes and prevented the overheat light from coming on at all, and then turned off. However when I drained the flush and put in the fresh coolant mix, it immediately went back to the old problem of the light + fan constantly coming on. Could it be that the high concentration of pure water in the flush let it cool more efficiently or let the sensor do its job better?
2. For some reason the the bike had no thermostat fitted when I purchased it, maybe it was a previous owner's idea of attempting to fix this problem. I fitted a new thermostat at the same time I put in the fresh coolant mix (ie. after the flush treatment). The thermostat I used is a Tridon TT214-180 which I have read on the forums is suitable for these bikes. The overheating indication issues were there since I purchased the bike, so they occurred both with no thermostat and then later with the new thermostat.
3. I also thought it might be the radiator cap, so installed a new BMW cap at the same time I put in the flush treatment. Like I said, the bike behaved normally when the flush was in the system so I initially thought the new radiator cap solved the problem. But then when I put in the new coolant and it started misbehaving again I eliminated this as the cause.
4. Now I am thinking it could be the Coolant Temp Sensor. I have an aftermarket one on order from here (http://sartnas.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=21833&extra=page%3D1) so will test it once it arrives. I also have found a graph on the forums to measure resistance versus water temperature of the sensor, so will do this test on the old sensor on the stove-top after I replace it, just to see if it was indeed faulty.
5. If the new Coolant Temp sensor does not work, then my manual tells me the other things I could look at are the Temp Sensing Switch/relay or the Water Pump itself, although it does not elaborate on how exactly to test these things.
MartinW, the guy I purchased it from done a pretty good job of getting it on the road after sitting in storage for 12 years or something, and replaced the fuel pump & internals/lines etc. I saw the bill, cost about $600 in BMW OEM parts. I've also been running Techron in it for the past couple of tanks like you suggest.
Charlie99, can you please elaborate on the simple checks you suggest?
Hopefully somebody is familiar with this problem and can help me with a quick fix, thanks.
I suspect this is more an overheating indication problem rather than an actual overheating problem.
Whats happening is that after about 5-10 minutes idling after a cold start (or about 15-20 minutes riding) the fan + overheat light will both come on at exactly the same time. Weird as the manual says fan is supposed to come on at 103C and the light at 111C. The fan runs great when working, so no problems there (I know there are issues with fans not working). The fan + overheat light will then stay on for extended periods, way beyond what normal fan cooling of the system should take care of. When and if this stops, they will both stop/go out at exactly the same time again. This cycle continually repeats itself. On my last ride the fan + light was even coming on when I was doing 100 kmh plus on a flat open road.
I don't think the coolant is actually boiling and the bike does not seem to be all that hot, so I am guessing this is false sensing and an electrical issue.
In the last 2 months since I've owned the bike I've done a bit of research online and done the following, but still can't solve the issue...
1. Thought it might be a clogged radiator/engine so ran 2 cycles of distilled water/flush through the system for about 400 km, then installed Nulon Blue Coolant:Distilled Water at 40:60. Strange thing is that for some reason the bike actually behaved normally (in my limited experience) while the flush was in the system ie. the fan + light stopped coming on all the time but instead once the bike was actually hot and needed cooling the fan came on before the overheat light, done what seemed a normal cooling job for a few minutes and prevented the overheat light from coming on at all, and then turned off. However when I drained the flush and put in the fresh coolant mix, it immediately went back to the old problem of the light + fan constantly coming on. Could it be that the high concentration of pure water in the flush let it cool more efficiently or let the sensor do its job better?
2. For some reason the the bike had no thermostat fitted when I purchased it, maybe it was a previous owner's idea of attempting to fix this problem. I fitted a new thermostat at the same time I put in the fresh coolant mix (ie. after the flush treatment). The thermostat I used is a Tridon TT214-180 which I have read on the forums is suitable for these bikes. The overheating indication issues were there since I purchased the bike, so they occurred both with no thermostat and then later with the new thermostat.
3. I also thought it might be the radiator cap, so installed a new BMW cap at the same time I put in the flush treatment. Like I said, the bike behaved normally when the flush was in the system so I initially thought the new radiator cap solved the problem. But then when I put in the new coolant and it started misbehaving again I eliminated this as the cause.
4. Now I am thinking it could be the Coolant Temp Sensor. I have an aftermarket one on order from here (http://sartnas.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=21833&extra=page%3D1) so will test it once it arrives. I also have found a graph on the forums to measure resistance versus water temperature of the sensor, so will do this test on the old sensor on the stove-top after I replace it, just to see if it was indeed faulty.
5. If the new Coolant Temp sensor does not work, then my manual tells me the other things I could look at are the Temp Sensing Switch/relay or the Water Pump itself, although it does not elaborate on how exactly to test these things.
MartinW, the guy I purchased it from done a pretty good job of getting it on the road after sitting in storage for 12 years or something, and replaced the fuel pump & internals/lines etc. I saw the bill, cost about $600 in BMW OEM parts. I've also been running Techron in it for the past couple of tanks like you suggest.
Charlie99, can you please elaborate on the simple checks you suggest?
Hopefully somebody is familiar with this problem and can help me with a quick fix, thanks.