Triumphrat

porsche996 · 04-19-2004, 12:35 PM

My tempurature dummy light came on in traffic Saturday night. This is my first liquid cooled bike, so I'm not really sure what things to check as to why. Yes, it was a traffic jam (long idling), so I turned it off when not moving to try to help it cool; that seemed to work a bit, but not much. Leaving it idle just made the light come on.

My problem is this. It was only in the 70s, and I always assumed a liquid cooled engine would cool better. The bike is used, w/ less than 14k miles on it. I'm the first owner to take it to sea level; it's been in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming its whole life, so it's never seen hotter temperatures before. It's going to get a whole lot hotter (90s) this summer, so I'm looking for things that I should check.

What should I check in the system to make sure it's working properly? The coolant level is fine, and the fan was working.

jkhaug · 04-19-2004, 01:56 PM

Did the bike actually overheat, or does it seem like the temp indicator is not acting right? Some Trophys have had problems with a ground wire on the frame causing the light to come on. In my case, the coolant temp sensor was faulty, causing to the light to come on when the coolant reached normal operating temperature. Once that was replaced, it has run properly even in very hot weather.

jimballard · 04-19-2004, 06:40 PM

Been through it all on my 1200. I've had the sensor replaced to no avail and, I believe, the wire was done by the dealer (bike's still under warranty). No harm has come from it and I bought a Radio Shack hand held temp sensor. I've recorded 224F at it's hottest so far. I've also added some Water Wetter to the coolant tank, and today with the temps in the 80's (can you believe it!) the light hasn't even flickered. Maybe that's the answer. I'll try to remember to keep you posted.

I hope that it's solved: Jim

porsche996 · 04-22-2004, 11:10 AM

Well, I found my problem, and feel rather stupid about it all...

Had a hose disconnect, and it dropped some of the coolant. Everything's fixed up and good to go, now.

CharlestonRider · 08-24-2004, 02:32 PM

Since your bike came from Colorado, you should check to make sure the jetting isn't too lean at sea level. A bike that is running lean will overheat and/or cause engine damage. Just a thought :wink:

Seeker · 08-25-2004, 01:48 AM

Triumph also issued a factory service bulletin on this problem (when the light comes on and the bike isn't really overheating).

Unless someone has already done the "fix" to the bike, the cause was a faulty ground (earth) in the temperature sensor/light circuit.

09-23-2004, 09:48 AM

I had the light turn on while I was stuck in traffic and unable to make enough progress to push any air through the radiator. Sure enough, when I finally stopped and put the bike on the sidestand, it spat coolant all over the floor from under the seat. I took the seat off and the coolant was boiling. The fan hadn't switched on and I assumed that was the problem.

It's worth knowing that the cooling fan is set to switch on at 101.C. After testing the fan and its switch were fine, it turned out to be the fact that that radiator cap wasn't holding pressure properly that had caused me the problem. It's supposed to build up pressure with a fairly tight seal, but as the seal was totally knackared it was pretty much atmospheric pressure and of course the water was boiling at 100.C - before the fan even got a look-in! A new rad cap and a fresh drink of coolant saw it happy again.

Hope that helps anyone with a similar problem.