I just bought a 1996 Honda Foreman 400 from a friend. This ATV has very little use and has never seen mud or a trail. I noticed today that after warming the engine up for a minute or so - the high temp light comes on. It is very cold here right now (~15 degrees F) and I cannot believe that the oil is getting hot. The fan does not kick on and I can touch the engine with my bare hand!

All of my fuses are OK, and there is plenty of oil in the engine (maybe too much). The ATV sat in a barn unused for a year or so prior to my purchase. It starts and runs great, but i cannot figure out the oil temp light.

Could I have shorted something out when I charged the battery? (fuses are still OK) Could excess oil cause the sensor to fault? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Also noted today, light came on after running mildly and idling- total approx. 8 minutes. Returned to garage and felt temp of oil in pan with bare hand...it was lukewarm. However top of cylinders were hot.

Should these be hot? Is there an oil pump in this motor or do the cylinders pick up oil from the pan?

 

its maybe just a bad sensor

 

Check the oil temp connection on the rear lower of the engine. If the lamp continues to malfunction, the fan controller will need replacement.
Not having the fan operational on these units can cook the clutch discs and harm the piston skirts when used hard. I find a lot of these fan control units bad

----- Gregg -----

 

Thanks, I am going to start with a new oil temperature sensor - ordered it today. I plan to also change oil and filter when I replace the sensor. If this doesn't do the trick...I'll look into the fan control unit. They are a little pricer so I figure I'll try the less expensive fix first. Thanks, I'll let you know.

 

I replaced the oil sensor and changed the oil - light still comes on...but seems to turn off after engine has run awhile. Gonna try a used fan control unit from another bike.