Debris blocking the fan

mcmxcivrs said:

Its is not uncommon for the fans on the 800s to get stuck from a bit of grit or dirt getting into them, particularity for the GSs if they are run in the dirt.

I had the same experience a couple years ago when mine stuck. I was riding to work in traffic and when the fan failed to run, the engine light came on. Of course that leads to a bit of panic and I quickly shut down of the engine while in traffic, less than an ideal situation. I restarted it and the light was off, I was just a block from work so I continued on there. Later I searched a bit and found that BMW decided to use the engine light as a warning if the fan fails to run even if there is not an overheating issue immediately. I checked my fan and found it stuck, a bit of working it by hand and it freed up. Once back home I pulled the fan out and gave it a thorough cleaning and lubing. It has been fine since, but I do make it a habit to periodically check it to be sure it spins freely.

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ksterner said:

I had the check engine light come on during a ride on some Forest roads. I turned off the bike and restarted and the light never came on again. I took it to the dealer so they could hook it up to the computer and see what the issue was. They said there must have been some debris blocking the fan which tripped a breaker. This caused the check engine light to come on. I guess my question is it tripped a breaker why did the light go off. Secondly my fan has been working all along. I guess it could have been a temporary blockage. Because they said there was still some debris around the fan. The other mystery is how did it get there. I don't remember riding through any brush and the bike was never down. I was riding through some mud. Could that get up into the fan area and cause problems. Has this happend to anyone else.

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