Was the fan operating properly? If not, that's your culprit. If fan is good, dirty radiator is another common issue. Was the system full of coolant to start with? If there was air in the cooling system from the start, cooling will be insufficient. There will now be air in the system for sure, and "burping" after refilling will be necessary. The burping procedure is outlined in the owner manual. Finally, a stuck (closed) thermostat is a possibility. A cracked head or blown head gasket is a possibility, but much less likely than the other issues.
Commander Over heated
Hi!
Looking for some help/ideas here. I went to a buddy's cabin last weekend and his commander overheated.
We were only driving it for about 10 minutes going up a trail, temp bars started to rise so we shut it off to cool down.
Started back up and the bars were half way, within 2 minutes it starts climbing till it hit max. Check engine light starts flashing, messages on screen were something like "overheated, limp home". Before we could get to a point that we could turn the vehicle around, smoke started shooting out of the front. We popped the little plastic hood off and the coolant was boiling out of the reservoir and literally dumping coolant everywhere.
I tried to see if it was leaking from anywhere, but as far as I could tell it was just shooting out of the cap (cap was still on) and spraying.
Once it cooled down I filled it with some water so we could turn it around and limp it home.
Where should we start? I know absolutely nothing about UTV's, but have done some work on my car in the past.
I have seen people say that the radiator could need cleaned? Do I have to remove it from the vehicle or can I clean it while its installed and then refill the coolant?
Any common issues that happen with the commander and overheating? We are wanting to try a couple things our selves before paying a shop to fix it.
I have seen people talk about a Fan override switch too, worth trying?
Thanks!
Looking for some help/ideas here. I went to a buddy's cabin last weekend and his commander overheated.
We were only driving it for about 10 minutes going up a trail, temp bars started to rise so we shut it off to cool down.
Started back up and the bars were half way, within 2 minutes it starts climbing till it hit max. Check engine light starts flashing, messages on screen were something like "overheated, limp home". Before we could get to a point that we could turn the vehicle around, smoke started shooting out of the front. We popped the little plastic hood off and the coolant was boiling out of the reservoir and literally dumping coolant everywhere.
I tried to see if it was leaking from anywhere, but as far as I could tell it was just shooting out of the cap (cap was still on) and spraying.
Once it cooled down I filled it with some water so we could turn it around and limp it home.
Where should we start? I know absolutely nothing about UTV's, but have done some work on my car in the past.
I have seen people say that the radiator could need cleaned? Do I have to remove it from the vehicle or can I clean it while its installed and then refill the coolant?
Any common issues that happen with the commander and overheating? We are wanting to try a couple things our selves before paying a shop to fix it.
I have seen people talk about a Fan override switch too, worth trying?
Thanks!
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
Neither of us know a lot about the machine, but during the overheating we both didn't think the fan was working. Would the UTV overheat that fast and boil the coolant just from the fan not running?Was the fan operating properly? If not, that's your culprit. If fan is good, dirty radiator is another common issue. Was the system full of coolant to start with? If there was air in the cooling system from the start, cooling will be insufficient. There will now be air in the system for sure, and "burping" after refilling will be necessary. The burping procedure is outlined in the owner manual. Finally, a stuck (closed) thermostat is a possibility. A cracked head or blown head gasket is a possibility, but much less likely than the other issues.
I would assume it would've been full of coolant, but not entirely sure. It was in for a service and fluids last season so I would trust they burped the air properly.
Reach in and see if the fan spins freely. If not it’s bad. The fan doesn’t come on till 215 ° and back off at 205. So they are pretty well over heated when fan comes on. The light doesn’t kick on till about 240. So it’s already boiling by the time light comes on and it goes into limp mode . If the bottom five roles are clogged it will over heat. You really need to take the grill out to get it clean . But the shroud on back can block dirt from getting out so bottom can look cleans but should keeping the back side blocked . You can remove the two bolts in the shroud pull bottom back and use something to hold a decent gap. Then spray till clean water coming through the very Bottom roll.
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Appreciate it thanks! Its 4 hours away and were going up this weekend.Reach in and see if the fan spins freely. If not it’s bad. The fan doesn’t come on till 215 ° and back off at 205. So they are pretty well over heated when fan comes on. The light doesn’t kick on till about 240. So it’s already boiling by the time light comes on and it goes into limp mode . If the bottom five roles are clogged it will over heat. You really need to take the grill out to get it clean . But the shroud on back can block dirt from getting out so bottom can look cleans but should keeping the back side blocked . You can remove the two bolts in the shroud pull bottom back and use something to hold a decent gap. Then spray till clean water coming through the very Bottom roll.
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Ill take a look at the fan, im assuming there are some fuses to check too.
If the fan spins freely is there an easy way for me to test that it is faulty or not?
Okay, great. Yeah the fan didn't seem to be on at all throughout the entire drive.Yes. That is why the fan is there. That is also why most install the fan override. A few use the override to turn the fan off during deep water crossings. Most use it though, for more cooling. It's like more cowbell.
View attachment 68038
Ill take a look at the fan, im assuming there are some fuses to check too.
If the fan spins freely is there an easy way for me to test that it is faulty or not?
I believe the Can Am site may have the Owner's Manual as a free download so you may at least have some ideas of fuse locations and fan relay if applicable.. Also be sure to check the fan ground. UTVs can be bad about poor grounds after sitting for a while. You did not say what model it is so if older more chance of it being a bad ground.
Thanks, I will look into that.I believe the Can Am site may have the Owner's Manual as a free download so you may at least have some ideas of fuse locations and fan relay if applicable.. Also be sure to check the fan ground. UTVs can be bad about poor grounds after sitting for a while. You did not say what model it is so if older more chance of it being a bad ground.
My best guess is around 2013.
Thank you!!There is a fuse and relay for the fan. Their locations are identified on the fuse panel cover. If that is a '13, the fuse is a 25 amp ceramic thermal reset fuse. You would check it with a meter. The relay is the same as the accessory relay. You could swap them.
View attachment 68039
You're welcome. Fuse #9 in the picture is the fan fuse, in case the panel label is missing. It looks different from the rest, also.
Also if the fuses are good pop the wire off the temperature sensor . Once it’s unhooked the ecm will turn fan on immediately. It’s a fail safe so it doesn’t over heat if sensor fails . But good way to check fan if fuses aren’t bad .
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Thank you man, sounds super easy.Also if the fuses are good pop the wire off the temperature sensor . Once it’s unhooked the ecm will turn fan on immediately. It’s a fail safe so it doesn’t over heat if sensor fails . But good way to check fan if fuses aren’t bad .
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is the sensor easily accessible?
Can the fan assembly be removed without removing the radiator?
You can unbolt the radiator at the top, lift it up (the bottom of the rad sits in 2 rubber grommets), and push it forward without disconnecting the hoses. If you have a winch, you may have to unbolt it also to push the rad far enough. I had to unbolt mine.
I changed my fan as you describe without issue and it has a winch.
Once it cooled down I filled it with some water so we could turn it around and limp it home.
Where should we start? I know absolutely nothing about UTV's, but have done some work on my car in the past.
Where should we start? I know absolutely nothing about UTV's, but have done some work on my car in the past.
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
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