Thermal fan switch 08-11 KLR MOD

Big Booger

Big Booger

New member
Well at 71000km on my 08KLR the fan switch in the bottom of the left side radiator quit. I called Kawasaki and was told $138! I thought about by-passing with a toggle switch($10) but instead went on a quest for a less expensive solution. Seems any Honda Car between 1993 and 2005 or so has a switch that fits but the plug for the wiring is different. A quick trip to the auto wreckers and some soldering and good as new. The Honda part from Lordco was $30 and the pigtail from the wrecker was $5. Saved $100 over OEM.:clap:
 
Big Booger

Big Booger

New member
Actually the fan does seem to engage at a slightly lower temp, maybe 10 degrees. The Factory switch seemed to wait too long to engage the fan anyways. Time will tell. I also have the thermo bob mod.
 
Big Booger

Big Booger

New member
The thermo bob mod is great, before it during winter commutes the temp gauge wouldn't even register and in warmer weather would fluctuate allot. With the "bob" the bike warmed up sooner and stayed put. Bike also shifted smoother as the oil temp was warmer and in the correct range.
 
C

cheeseburger

New member
Big Booger said:
Actually the fan does seem to engage at a slightly lower temp, maybe 10 degrees. The Factory switch seemed to wait too long to engage the fan anyways. Time will tell. I also have the thermo bob mod.
Click to expand...

Huh, interesting. I used to have trouble with heat during longer 1st gear sections out on the trail and I found it strange that the factory switch would let it get that hot before turning on the fan. When it's cool it runs fine but once the needle crosses the halfway point it starts pinging and stalling under load at low rpm. The fan doesn't kick in till the 75% mark. I worked around the problem as you considered by installing a toggle switch on the dash that allows me to switch the fan between on and auto. When I remember to hit it it works great, keeping the needle at a solid 30% (I have the thermobob mod too), even in the heat of the Dead Zone.

Of course, having a fan switch that trips at a lower temperature would be a more ideal solution. How much needle movement is 10 degrees?
 
Big Booger

Big Booger

New member
The new fan switch engages the fan well before the "half way" point. So far the fan seems to engage at long traffic lights and in heavy stop and go traffic. The new switch is surely to make the fan work more but the KLR charging system is more than capable of handling the extra duty.
 
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