Need your guys help (those with cooling fans) re electrical issue

[woodlandfarms]

OK, so tomorrow I am on the plane. But tonight I needed a break so I pulled the old PT out of the garage and went mowing. Half hour into it and the breaker pops. Now I am trying to pay attention to why, one thing seems to be a constant is heat.

So now I am thinking maybe it is my cooling fan. Last year it stopped working all together. Ordered a replacement but then decided to spray DW40 and pound it a bit. Well, it took right off. So tonight I get back in the shop, I put my hand on the fan motor (it is running, spinning at what I believe is the proper speed) but the motor is very hot.

If you guys are out clunking around enough to activate the cooling fan, can you put your and on the motor and let me know if it feels hot or if they run cool. I know this is subjective but as it is not position (twisting of the tractor) related and seems to only happen after running a while I am looking toward either the PTO / Draft circuit or the Cooling circuit

 

[ponytug]

By amperage, the PTO & Draft circuits are only a couple of amps, while my fan is up around 12 amps, if memory serves me right. 12 amps x 13V = 156W, more than your average hot pad, so yes, it should be warm. I am guessing that your fan is a SPAL fan at least 12" in diameter, with straight blades.

Why not put a ammeter on it and see how much it is drawing (assuming that your ammeter can read more than 10 amps-mine don't)?

Now if the circuits are intermittently shorting or popping from ground, you could get a lot of surges that might pop the breaker.

All the best,

Peter

P.S. You might want to think about a Thermal Strike Ranger for when you get back from your trip. Google it...

 

[BobRip]

I would try this. Start out with it cold. Jumper the thermal switch so that the fan runs even when the PT is cold. Drive the PT and see if the breaker trips a lot sooner. If it does it's probably the fan or wiring to the fan just past the thermal switch.