the past couple weeks i have been out ridding and the HOT will flash a few times on the screen and then a couple seconds later the fan will kick in and the light will stop flashing. the temp outside has been in the low teens so i wouldnt think it should be getting hott and the radiator has no snow or anything on it, i took the thermostat out and put it in a pan of water on the stove and it is opening and closing still but could this be because the water in the pan would get hotter then the antifreze? should i be checking something else?

 

welcome to the forum. first thing is to check the radiator,front and back to make sure it is not plugged on either side(sounds like you might have checked it). also you mentioned the fan works so you can rule that out. the sensor might be going bad and not reading correctly. when the hot light flashes can you carefully check the hoses to se if there extremly hot and none are cold which will tel you if the thermostat is working. the system also can have a air bubble in it which gives off a false hot reading. have you replaced or drained the coolant out lately? lastly if this were a 05-06 model i would say the ecm could be bad as this will mess w/ your gauges.

 

In addition to what stendori said above-

I was just haveing an overheating problem with my outty- was doing the same thing you described.
I found the problem was- as I was plowing / riding in the snow, the radiator was collecting all the snow blowing through the front- then when I parked it in the shed, all that snow would melt and refreeze clogging the radiator. It's a balmy 2* out so it would happen fast.

just something to consider~

 

My guess is that he can see the front of the rad and looks clean ...........My second guess is the back behind the fan is plugged.........Caper..........

 

thanks i just drained the coolant and going to fill it up and try that, i have been plowing snow ect. with it but the radiator has no snow or ice on it and looks clean front and back. any ideas on how to bleed the air out of the system after i refill it, i completely drained it including the water pump?

 

i also heated the garage up and melted all the snow and ice from the wheeles and frame

 

Flush radiator from front and rear with a water hose,make sure the fan blade is turning free,fill radiator with coolant,LEAVE radiator cap off,(may have to top off while running)run until fan kicks on,then coolant level should drop,which should expel any trapped air. Top off radiator,replace cap and add to full level on resevoir bottle.