Maybe a bad guess. Thermostat issue?

 

i was starting to think thermostat? but if you baby it it wont over heat.. when your wide open it gets hot fast, and ive noticed that the hose on the waterpump leaks when its cold, and the pump drips when its cold also...

 

I had a similar issue with the clamp on the upper radiator causing an overheat isue. To cool propperly the system needs propper pressure. Take care of your leaks and then crack the bleeder on top of the head to make sure you don't have an air pocket. also check the breaker fuse for the coolant fan under the floor board about a foot or so from the selenoid. if it has been in water this could cause an intermittent fan problem like I had. Polaris hose clamps suck. 1/2 the clamps on my 2011 S were about 2 turns shy of tight. Good luck and remember it may appear to be circulating but unless it holds pressure its not.

 

hey thanks, its been in lots of water type conditions, soo if i get the bike back and its acting up ill check the breaker, do i have to pull the skid plate off to do that?? also bleeder screw is located where? my mechanic told me on the thermostat. but its deff not there.... the hose clamps ill tighten up. is it common for the 800s to dip antifreeze from the waterpump when there first started?

 

change water pump seal, bleed air and you should be fine. had same problems at 600 miles. There should be no leaks what so ever at any time. If it leaks it will suck air in the system.

 

If it is leaking, that is the first thing to fix. Next, check the connection on the temp sensor on the front of the engine. Clean both the ECT (Engine Coolant Temperature) sensor connection and the attachment on the wires. The ECT sensor is right below the thermostat housing. Use some Di-electric grease on this connection. Once these are done follow the following procedure:

NOTE: If the coolant level is LOW in the radiator, or if there are leaks in the system, the coolant system will not draw coolant from the reservoir tank.
1. Drive the vehicle onto a slight incline and use properly weight rated ramps. If an incline is not available, slightly elevate the front of the vehicle.

2. Place the vehicle in Park and block the rear wheels.

3. Remove pressure cap and top off coolant.

4. Remove recovery bottle cap and fill bottle to the full line.

5. Leave the cap off of the radiator to allow any possible air to escape.

6. Start the engine and let it idle for 5-10 minutes or until the thermostat opens and allows coolant to flow through the system.

7. Slightly loosen the bleed screw (C) on the thermostat cover to let air escape. If no air is present, a steady stream of coolant will stream out. If air is present, the screw will
bubble and sputter as the air escapes.

8. Tighten the bleed screw to 70 ± 10 in.lbs. (8 ± 1.13 Nm) on the thermostat housing and properly install the pressure cap.

9. Squeeze the coolant lines by hand to help purge the system of air.

NOTE: If there is air in the system you will see air bubbles forming through the radiator filler neck.

10. Add Polaris Premium Antifreeze to the radiator filler neck if the level goes down. If no bubbles are seen at the filler neck, the system should be purged of air

11. Stop the engine and let cool, top off the radiator filler neck with coolant. If you hear or see a “glug” at the filler neck, or there is a dropping of the coolant level, indicating that coolant has been pulled into the system; Fill the recovery bottle only after you have completely filled the cooling system at the radiator filler neck.

12. Repeat this procedure, if overheating still occurs.

Condition Specification
Thermostat Open 180° F (82° C)
Thermostat Full Open Lift 6 mm at 203° F (95° C)
Thermostat Closed 171° F (77° C)
System Capacity 4.8 Quarts (4.5 liters)
Pressure Cap Relief 13 PSI

 

k im not sure what my dealer is doing about the leak, also, i have extended warranty.. soo should any leaks in my coolant be covered under warranty? also my trans case is leaking, warraty issue? or do i have to pay for that to get fixed... p.s there is no bleeder on my thermostat housing .... do you have a pic of where its located. i looked but didnt see anything.

 

I didn't have a bleeder screw either on my 11'. I just loosened the clamp on the hose at the thermostat and let it purge there

 

The air/coolant bleeder is above the thermostat next to the front plug. It is on top of the head I guess. I think they were moved for the 2011 I think. That is where mine is. It has a place for a straight screwdriver or a socket (8 or 10mm I think).

Provided the warranty people can't find a way to blame it on you they should repair the tranny leak and water pump seal. They should purge the air out also before giving it back.

 

hey thanks for the help, im pretty sure my dealer isnt gonna do anything about the leaking waterpump, so what parts will i need to fix it, diagrams? if my bike is leaking coolant.. should that not be a warranty issue?

 

If it is leaking out the weep out of the weep hole I can't think of 1 reason they could use as to why it is your fault and shouldn't be covered. I've changed mine out twice now and i have 1 in my glove box because it son of a bitch is dripping again.

Parts are like $32 and you need more coolant also. It was a pain in the ass the first time, easier the second and probably a snap the third. It isn't that bad of a job though. Ifbyou have to do it you can pm me and i can kind of walk you thru it.

 

Chip is correct. It's easy to miss, but must be bled for proper pressure. Need to remove the rear bed. Easy fix.

 

My 2011 le is kind of doing the same thing. If u run it hard it spits coolant out the reservoir cap. Never gets hot fan kicks on and off. Just moved the breaker up behind the seat. But it still spits coolant. Oil looks clean too is there anyway try can just develop an air bubble?

 

11's are known for the thermostat sticking closed. I replaced it once, stuck again. I just gutted mine, never had an issue since.

 

There seems to be multiple reasons our 2011 RZR's or other years for that matter are overheating, and I tried everything that has been mentioned with the same over-temp results. Mine didn't start acting up until three years old, and I had plenty of water in the rad and never breached the system or allowed the overfill to enable an air lock, but never the less tried it all. Then I read on this forum of a guy who really traced the system down to installing a meter from the fan power to his dash, and saw that he had a 14 V presence every time the temp gauge hit 206, and cut off at about 196 if I remember correct. He told of a 20 amp circuit breaker located under the battery wrapped on the outside of the main loom going to the ECU. I figured what the Hell it's worth a try, and I was also convinced that the ECU and the fan worked in conjunction, but without a schematic I was hesitant that the problem was within the wiring harness, I thought more practical in the mechanics of the fan and or water system. I also, as hard as most maintenance with Polaris had to remove the entire battery box plastic crap to get to something as simple as this breaker. I unwound it as directed , and saw exactly what he said, a rusted part and had to pry the connections off due to corrosion, "another 10 for engineering thought from our friends at Polaris". I first jumped the two connections to be sure, and sure enough the fan comes on a 206 and off at 196, just like when new.
I want to thank that member for his attentive and efforts that he put into this problem, as I tend to give seasoned engineers the shadow of the doubt, as I too am one, however I really think either Polaris engineers don't have a clue when it comes to how and where theses units are used. For any Polaris engineers that may read this, I think it would be benificial for you guys and gals to LISTEN to your customers, and not rely on testing in the parking lot of your R&D center. Believe it or not we use these vehicles in mud, sand, and especially water, and with that said either locate the water sensitive parts above the normal water level operating conditions, or simply state in the manual that we are only to use our RZR's on dry days and in the grass. I am sorry to be so blunt, but for 35 years I listened closely to my customers both their complaints and advice, and more than not implicated improvements based on them. As for Polaris, you guys have had 6 years now to make these simple improvements and I still see and hear of these crazy problems, and this one I would of never believed until I saw with my own eyes and made the repair. By the way the cost of the additional wire to move the breaker to the side of the ECU was about a dollar. The aggravation, priceless....
Tony Castronovo
Warehouse Hobbies Inc.:clap:

 

thanks for that info, i am having exactly that same problem. The fan will kick on at 204/205 and run for few minutes then it shuts off. After that it occasionally will attempt to run, it will turn about a 1/4 to 1/2 turn then it stops. it does this several times before it fully kicks on again. I did find a fuse block under the chassis close to the ECU that has 2 30amp fuses in it but it was OK, no mud or corrosion. The place i found bad on mine was the fuse block under the dash where the 20amp fan relay along with the EFI relay and EPS relay plug. I'm in the process of cleaning all of that now so hopefully that will cure our problem.

 

subscibed

 

WHobbies I think you have solved my problem. I replaced the 20amp 2 post breaker that is under the drivers seat and the fan is coming on at 204 and staying on until the temp is back down to 194. I only let it cycle once because I have it hooked up temporarily. I'm moving it up next to the ECM inside a plastic enclosure. I will report back with pictures once I have everything back together and I can take a ride to confirm that the overheating issue is gone. Thanks again for the info you posted.

 

my rzr has been overheating, took to dealer..still over heating.changed thermostat,put in switch for fan, still not working. told to check a relay by battery, but not to sure which one. theres one beside the battery.. please help

 

Brad2011, remove the skid plate on the bottom and look for the main wiring harness that runs from front to back. There will be a group of wires that branches off and goes towards the ECM and battery. Somewhere in the group that branches off will be a 20 amp automotive fuse. It has 2 threaded posted (look like bolts) that stick out of it. There will be wire screwed to each post. Chances are the post on this fuse are messed up and you are not getting a good connection. This fuse is in the fan wiring circuit and if the connections are bad you fan will not run as it should.

 

Well, posting as I seem to be having an overheating issue. The fan comes on at 204-206ish range and stays in for a minute or so... The engine climbs up to 220-239 at the highest temp... The fan doesn't seem to be staying on to cool the engine properly. IE: I would assume the fan has a relay or something that tells it to come on at 204-206 temp. It then "should" stay on until the engine is properly cooled down to "194 degrees" or whatever polaris has programmed... ?

My issue seems to be the fan isn't staying on long enough to bring the temps down. Is the relay that controls this under the drivers seat? I have a 2011 rzr S.

I checked the coolant and its fine, the overflow is fine. RzR sits in my garage and it hasn't leaked a drop. The thermostat looks like its working because under normal conditions it seems to drop the temps from 200ish down to 174 or so. So that tells me the thermostat is opening.

I am pretty sure its something to do with the fan at this point and not keeping its programming to stay on until the engine is back within "normal operating temps".

I guess my Rzr wanted to teach me a lesson about making a post that nothing ever goes wrong with it and its reliable... LoL

Thanks fellas!

 

Ok, bled the coolant system. Looks like thermostat is working. I drove it around and let the car get up to 212-219 degrees and then came home and let it idle in my driveway. Let it cool down to around 200 or so. Grabbed a stop watch and it seemed like the fan would kick on for 45 seconds and then stop. IE: I let the car get down to under 200 degrees. As it climbed at idle to 204 degrees the fan came on for exactly 45 seconds and stopped. The temp on the guage said 199 degrees. I waited again and once the temp got to 204 the fan came on again for exactly 45 seconds. Temp was down to about 194 the next time.

Shouldn't the fan stay on until the temps get down to a reasonable temp range?

Also when I had the rig up to 221-222 degrees I heard the fan come on but didn't have my stop watch. It then quit well before it got down to 204 degrees. I imagine it was running for the 45 seconds and stopping. The temp from 221 went down to about 216 before the fan stopped.

 

Alaska guy,

There is a 20 amp circuit breaker under the battery box. It sounds like it is opening after 45 seconds, and close when it cools down.

It hangs off the side of the main harness.
These are noted for getting wet and corroding, which leads to cooling issues.
RZR owners that submerge their machines on a regular basis have extended harness leads and mounted breaker above high water line.

The photo is looking down at chassis, with battery box removed.

 

Thanks. I found the relay and it was all rusted and corroded it had probably about a pound of dirt in a 1 foot section of the wire loom. I am headed to the auto parts store to get a new relay and extend the wiring

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Relocated the circuit breaker behind the seat and covered in plastidip. Took it on the same stretch of road and came back and never saw temp over 208. I think that was it. Great forum!

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