i just ripped my ranchers fan out as it never came on, and i figured airflow would be better without it.... DOES YOUR RANCHER COOLING FAN COME ON?

 

a friend i ride with has a rancher and his fan comes on rarely but it does come on.It seems to come on only when riding long periods at a time and when the motor is fairly warm.

 

I've had my fan come on once in a year, and I run it all the time in hot conditions.

 

Mine comes on fairly regularly when I am spraying weeds with it. Generally, moving around 2 mph or not moving while spraying.

 

Our Rancher's fans come on alot 'round here. I here them come on all the time.

 

Mine came on alot yesterday when i wasnt moving very fast. Dont know if you know this but it runs and pulls air thru the oil cooler thus cooling the engie better and the direct the fan runs it also blow cool air on the head. I would not recommend taking this off.

 

if climbing slowly my fan turns on, other then that no, its come on 3 times in 500 miles

 

My fan comes on all the time when I'm going slow up the mountain in 1st/2nd/3rd. Especially when the sun is out and it's quite hot. Sometimes as much as every twenty minutes. Usually when this happens I ride with the fan on for a while, then shut the bike off to let it cool down. When I ride fast and hard, it may only come on after a hour and a half of steady fast riding, but generally the high speed keeps the engine cool.

 

I wouldn't advise you take the fan out. The problem is probably a simple oil sender that has a dirty or loose connection. The oil sender is located just ahead of the foot shift shaft on foot shift models, on electric shift models this would be the shaft where you install the emergency shifter supplied in the tool box. To check if the fan is good, simply remove the wire connector from the oil sending unit while the key is turned on, and touch it to the engine case. I use a long needle nose plier to reach it. Be careful not to pull on the wire as you could rip it out of the connector. After grounding the wire to the case there should be a short delay, as the fan controller switches the fan on. When you remove the grounded connector from the engine case, the fan will run for a few seconds as the fan controller unit switches it off. Most likely the sender has like I mentioned before, a loose or dirty connection. When I aim a digital temp gun at the side of the sender itself, it will normally come on around 130 degrees outside temp. If the sending unit need be replaced the engine oil must be drained.
If the fan is not working and the unit is used real hard, it can cause severe problems internally, from the clutch to piston/cylinder damage. I have seen units get so hot that the sleeve will move upwards in the cylinder assembly. Most cases of severe heat will make clutch packs stick together and cause hard shifting or a harsh jerking when the unit is shifted into gear. This symptom can be checked by holding up on the shift lever (manual shift models ) or holding up on the emergency shift handle ( electric shift models ) and accelerating while the lever is held up. If the unit wants to go, the clutch pack has a disc or two stuck together. To get them unstuck, simply hold the brakes and while holding up on the lever, accelerate and it will normally free itself in a few seconds, and no load will be felt on the engine ( it will rev normally while holding up on the shift lever, and engage when the lever is let back down ).

My point here is that the Rancher is a Utility vehicle. When operated at slow speeds under a load or no air movement, the fan us utilized to keep the lower end oil from breaking down and causing problem as I have mentioned above. If you feel you would like to run your fan more often, simply get a good 20 amp waterproof ( marine type ) switch and wire one end of it to a ground and the other to the wire from your sending unit and feel free to turn on the fan on more frequently. Just remember to use it when wired this way because it will disable the automatic fan circuit, when wired this way. The automatic system can still be used if a good working sending unit is in the ATV, sender wire still attatched to it, and the switch wire spliced into the sending unit wire. This is the method I would suggest if a switch is to be installed and utilized.

Enjoy your Honda Rancher

----- Gimpster -----

 

appreciate all the info you supplied!!!! but for now i will just leave it out.... i know when my motor is hot and will drive easy with little load so as can get cool.... i generally use it for trail riding and go pretty steady with airflow... i run good oil and even add a little marvel mystery oil "which helps keep cool".... i may or may not end up putting the fan back in..... i believe it was broke,,,, because i could never get it to come on.............. if i do put it back in i will hook up a switch for sure.... with it out airflow is better though................ and i figure honda's never had fans before and they were fine............ why they need em now????????? unless you are using it like you said for work and not moving much..........