cooling fan By sncshiner (Read 841 times)

[sncshiner]

I have a roketa 54-250 and when i ride it the fan comes on at just below the half way mark on the temp gauge. does good but have a question. When i shut the scooter off and the fan is running, should i let the fan continue to run until it cools down or is this just wasting power?

[bhinch]

My scoot does the same thing and I just turn the key. I do check the kill switch for proper action on a random schedule. It is nice to know that it does work.

[ellpee]

I should think since coolant is no longer being pumped through the engine, there's not much point in leaving the fan running after shutdown. Unless the water pump is electrical, which I doubt. Actually, from an engineering standpoint that might be a good idea, cool the engine down a bit more after shutdown. But what do I know ....

[bobf]

Well, you can always shut the engine off with the kill switch and let the fan run for a minute or two then turn the key switch off. That would help get the cooling started but also is a drain on the battery as the lights are also on.

I usually use the kill switch first, then the key switch. But never really worried about the heat once the engine is off.
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[ellpee]

I almost never use the kill switch. Not really sure how much of a problem residual heat presents with an aluminum engine, and as I said, if the coolant isn't circulating any more, the only thing the fan is doing anyway is cooling down whatever liquid is in the radiator at the time. I suppose we can assume, since aluminum-block engines have been around for many years, that the accumulated heat isn't a concern, or they'd have figured out a way to keep the coolant circulating until the actual engine temp drops.

One thing I DO know from my Roketa since I installed a voltmeter is that the fan really sucks volts when it kicks on. Have read here about alternative fans that are less power-hungry, but I'm postponing that until I have some other reason to open up that end of the scoot.

[bobf]

Interesting in your comment that you never use the kill switch. I did not buy my scoot till I had passed the motorcycle safety course. If I flunked that I was not going to take the chance of owning a two wheel transit system like my 250 scooter.

I took the course and in it they always said we should use the kill switch to shut down and remember to turn it on before starting the engine. That is where I got into the habit of using the kill switch. I was just looking for my safety course book to see what it had to say but can't remember where I put it. We moved a year and a half back and lots of stuff is just where ever the movers put them.
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[ellpee]

What little I've read here about it suggests that the kill switch is for emergency situations, and as I understand it, it only cuts off the ignition, leaving all the accessories still on and sucking juice. Of course 99.9% of the time one would shut off and remove the key anyway, which gives you double insurance on ignition and also shuts down almost all accessories (exceptions would be clock and alarm/remote system, I presume). I managed to pass the motorcycle tests without a formal class, so don't know if they teach anything about it there.