I've long felt that the stock 100 deg C (switch on temp) of the stock cooling fan switch is unnecessarily high. And having a temerature gauge & a manual overide toggle switch has firmly convinced me of this.
It's only an issue in stop go, crawling traffic. But the stock switch allows the temperature to go quite a bit higher than normal & by the time it reaches the 100 deg C of the switch, the fan struggles to bring the temperature down - takes several minutes to start it dropping.
With a manual overide switch I noticed that if the fan is switched on earlier, the normal temperature is resumed much more quickly & holds very well.
After seeing a thread by N5XL on the T3 Sport Touring forum - which uses a different mounting size switch -
http://www.triumphrat.net/t3-sport-touring-forum/149905-cooling-fan-switch.html
I went looking for options for our classic triples. There's only a small number of standard mounting types - this one is a 20mm 'push fit'.
This is the one I found:
http://www.purems.com/products/product.php/II=2243
VW / Audi part # 021919369
which switches at 93 deg C....or 95 deg C for the item I actually bought from ebay in Germany:
http://cgi.ebay.de/Thermoschalter-blau-2-polig-VW-Bus-T4-Neu-/200507889840?pt=Autoteile_Zubeh%C3%B6r&hash=item2eaf3398b0
Same part number....there's obviously a small range of switching temperature that presumably meets VW/Audi's spec fpr this part.
Anyhow, it controls the temperature perfectly. After about 5 mins in a traffic jam, it picked up the rising temp earlier & quickly returned it to normal. Switching off almost as soon as I'd got rolling at a steady 30mph heading out of the traffic.
Fitting it.
The stock O-ring seal & clip works perfectly - I used the existing items, no problem.
I wasn't able to find out if the VW/Audi vehicles - one an 'S4' saloon, another a T4 Transporter (van) model - used the switch direct or via a relay. So I played safe and fitted one. Any standard or 'mini' type auto lighting relay will do. I fitted mine in the fairing cowl, but I'd be sure a 'mini' type would fit near the switch under the tank.
This switch is designed to take a common type (tho' didn't figure exactly which) of two-pin auto electrical plug, not the 1/4 spades of our looms. However I wasn't sure if a plug would be too long & foul the tank. So I soldered a couple of short wires to the pins with 1/4" male spade crimps to hook it up. Zip tying the wires to the body of the switch for strain relief.
If anyone has info - wiring diagram? - featuring this switch it would be handy to know if it can power the fan directly & reliably.
Not quite as slick a mod as N5XL's for the other T3s, but doable and worthwhile I think.
It's only an issue in stop go, crawling traffic. But the stock switch allows the temperature to go quite a bit higher than normal & by the time it reaches the 100 deg C of the switch, the fan struggles to bring the temperature down - takes several minutes to start it dropping.
With a manual overide switch I noticed that if the fan is switched on earlier, the normal temperature is resumed much more quickly & holds very well.
After seeing a thread by N5XL on the T3 Sport Touring forum - which uses a different mounting size switch -
http://www.triumphrat.net/t3-sport-touring-forum/149905-cooling-fan-switch.html
I went looking for options for our classic triples. There's only a small number of standard mounting types - this one is a 20mm 'push fit'.
This is the one I found:
http://www.purems.com/products/product.php/II=2243
VW / Audi part # 021919369
which switches at 93 deg C....or 95 deg C for the item I actually bought from ebay in Germany:
Same part number....there's obviously a small range of switching temperature that presumably meets VW/Audi's spec fpr this part.
Anyhow, it controls the temperature perfectly. After about 5 mins in a traffic jam, it picked up the rising temp earlier & quickly returned it to normal. Switching off almost as soon as I'd got rolling at a steady 30mph heading out of the traffic.
Fitting it.
The stock O-ring seal & clip works perfectly - I used the existing items, no problem.
I wasn't able to find out if the VW/Audi vehicles - one an 'S4' saloon, another a T4 Transporter (van) model - used the switch direct or via a relay. So I played safe and fitted one. Any standard or 'mini' type auto lighting relay will do. I fitted mine in the fairing cowl, but I'd be sure a 'mini' type would fit near the switch under the tank.
This switch is designed to take a common type (tho' didn't figure exactly which) of two-pin auto electrical plug, not the 1/4 spades of our looms. However I wasn't sure if a plug would be too long & foul the tank. So I soldered a couple of short wires to the pins with 1/4" male spade crimps to hook it up. Zip tying the wires to the body of the switch for strain relief.
If anyone has info - wiring diagram? - featuring this switch it would be handy to know if it can power the fan directly & reliably.
Not quite as slick a mod as N5XL's for the other T3s, but doable and worthwhile I think.