[Jtozer]

Hey guys,

New to the forum and new to any type of wrench work so hoping for some advice.

I picked up a 2020 Kodiak 450 EPS last week for our new farm acreage. It has under 500km and was lady driven, apparently her arthritis is too bad to continue using it so I purchased it. Seemed like a good deal for a basically new machine.

After putting a few hours on it, I am seeing the engine overheat light come on. The first time I saw it I turned the engine off for half an hour and turned it back on and it was gone but after riding it again for 10-15 minutes it came back on again. I did install a quadivator plow onto it for some basic snow removal and have used it a little bit around the property, although we have not had any snowfall so it really hasn’t been working hard.

I checked the coolant levels and they seem fine. Tried to remove some of panels to have a look at the radiator. The reservoir there is full too. I’ve attached a few photos. Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge of what I should try first to fix this. Part of purchasing this was to learn some more mechanical skills but I was hoping that wouldn’t need to happen in my first week of owning it.

Thanks
Jordan

 

[Coder]

Hi and welcome to the Forum,

Just curious, does the fan turn on before you get the high temperature light? If not, it may be unplugged, clogged with dirt or just faulty?

 

[JimP]

If the fan is working you may have a bad or stuck thermostat.

 

[TRW]

That old lady got into the dirt and or dust more than most. By looking at the pictures, I would check to see if you are getting air through the radiator.

 

[Code54]

SOAK the rad with water, let it sit for 5 minutes and soak it again. Then wash it out with a little bit of pressure (not a pressure washer)
I am thinking the dust has built up and hardened. It can be tough to really get them clean. They look fine but are plugged up. Cleaning it really well won't hurt a thing and if you do have a bad fan, fuse, thermostat, it will just work even better.

 

[RedRocket]

That old lady got into the dirt and or dust more than most.

LOL. First thing that came to my mind was the scene in Napoleon Dynamite where grandma is out ATVing and jumps that dune 🤣

That radiator looks pretty filthy. Bet old grandma had that thing out mudding it a time or two.

 

[Jtozer]

Lol ok I guess grandma likes tearing through the deep mud. I would watch that YouTube channel.

After I saw the warning light go on I turned the engine off with the key still on and I could hear the fan going. It did have a bit of a gurgling sound to it.. not sure if that is normal.

I will give the rad a good soak and cleaning as a first step and see if that solves it as that seems to be the general consensus. I’m trying to find a tutorial or YouTube video on how to remove it to clean but haven’t really found anything other than preventative cleaning with it installed. I’m new to all of this. Does this involve a decent breakdown and draining coolant to soak it?

 

[Coder]

Lol ok I guess grandma likes tearing through the deep mud. I would watch that YouTube channel.

After I saw the warning light go on I turned the engine off with the key still on and I could hear the fan going. It did have a bit of a gurgling sound to it.. not sure if that is normal.

I will give the rad a good soak and cleaning as a first step and see if that solves it as that seems to be the general consensus. I’m trying to find a tutorial or YouTube video on how to remove it to clean but haven’t really found anything other than preventative cleaning with it installed. I’m new to all of this. Does this involve a decent breakdown and draining coolant to soak it?

I would just try to clean the radiator via "garden hose" pressure not high pressure(as mentioned earlier), and clean it more than once? Because if the radiator fins are plugged and not allowing air thru, the fan or bike forward movement air flow will not be able to pass thru the cooling fins, thus no cooling. I don't think you should hear gurgling from the fan? The fan should be a steady strong sound? I would clean the fan area also..
If your hearing gurgling; that would point to air in the cooling system! yes that would cause overheating.
I know with my kodiak even in winter the fan will come on especially at low speed work. BTW, you should be able to hear the fan turn on and run, even with the motor at idle? With a properly running system, at a certain temperature the fan comes on and reduces the temp then shuts off.