Fan not working on '02 500 Sportsman

[bigswede]

I was plowing the other night and had jusat though to myself that the fan had not kicked in. About 2 minutes after that happening, teh temp light came on. I shut down and put it in the garage. I looked to see if I could see any unplugged wires or cut or torn wires to no avail. Just wondering where to go from here. I hate to take it to a shop, but maybe that's what I'lll have to do.Any suggestions??? Thanks

[rundrave]

if your fan is not running, your radiator temp sensor is not working. thats what controls the fan. the sensor in the head is the one that reads motor temp, and switches on the hot light. so then your definitely running hot.

make sure you dont have any snow packed in or around the fan, and make sure your radiotor isnt covered with snow

it could be as simple as a bad sensor as well, you could try buying a thermostat for it at an auto parts store and see if you really are running hot

[arctic_scrap1]

yep, most likely the temp sensor went bad which means your fan will not come on. had the same problem on my '02 500.

[bigswede]

Thanks. Is this something I can change on my own or do I hgave to go to a shop???? I am fairly mechanically inclined so if it does not invlove tearing the motor down I thin kI would be okay.

[Macgyver55]

Temp sensors are simple to replace and they are a fairly common problem. To test it, unplug the sensor and put a jumper across the plug.(harness side) The fan should work then. If not, you have another problem. If so its an easy fix, unplug it, remove, and if your are quick enough screwing it in you wont lose much coolant at all.

[Dave]

On the 2000 Sportsman 500 the sensor was on the bottom of the radiator, so, a bit more work was involved.

[bigswede]

Thanks for the help guys. I will look at it today.