Running hot!

[Tuanis]

My 1500 Gl develop a overheating problem on a week long ride through Tennessee. One day I notice the high temperature light was on, but the fan was not running. a minute later the fan started, but stopped before the red light went off. The next day everything ran fine for a few hours and then the problem returned. I have shorted out the fan sender and the fan runs continues. I'm thinking it's a bad sender unless someone has another solution.
As always thanks for the input!

[98valk]

have u done any re-jetting?

[Valker]

Enough fluid? Water pump pumping? If so on those, it’s about a 95% chance it’s the recurring issue of the 97-99 unit that makes the light come on. Check the search for this.

[sandy]

Valker is right. The 97-99's often give false hot lights. Pay attention to the fan (on auto) for a true sign of overheating.

[Bagger John - #3785]

What was the ambient temperature during your ride?

Last Sunday - in stop-and-go traffic - my I/S's coolant was running anywhere between 205 and 220 degrees F as indicated on the aftermarket (Stewart-Warner) temperature gauge. The outside air temp was in the upper 80s. Freeway riding @ 65MPH or so would drop the coolant temp to around 190F.

As long as the fan comes on then goes off (indicating that it's properly dropping the coolant temperature) I would overlook the temp light on your model year of bike. Better still, convert the thing to 2000-up MY functionality. There are a few threads in this forum on how to do it.