Where is the Fan Motor relay located?

I've discovered that my fan motor doesn't kick in. I've checked the 2PC connector direct to the battery and the fan is working OK. My next step is to check the fan motor relay.

This is the diagram from the service manual



Now I have pretty good powers of observation but that diagram is vague, to say the least. By using painful dexterity I can feel two relays which are effectively located behind the 'left' indicator.

Can somebody confirm for me that this is the relay I'm looking for and whether it can be replaced without removing the entire front cover?

Yes, one of those relays is the low beam relay, the other is fan motor. Those two relays are interchangeable. So you can exchange them. Then if the low beam doesn't work then you can reasonably assume that that former fan motor relay is defective. I hope that makes sense.

If all is well with the relays then you’ll need to jump out the fan motor circuit and see if the fan motor actually works. 

So then if the relay works and the fan motor works then you’ve got to have a serious look at the ECT Sensor. However before replacing the ECT Sensor you should check the wiring for breaks and terminals for corrosion.

Thanks Tim, it does make sense. The fan is definitely working so I'm hoping it's the relay and not the sensor. If there's no short-cut to access those relays then I'll take off the front cover.

I don't mind taking that front cover off but it's a bit of a PITA.

Assuming you have adequate coolant, did you try blocking off the radiator, say with a piece of cardboard, to see if the coolant temp rises more dramatically? That should trigger the fan motor sooner rather than waiting “forever” for it to kick on.

Yeah, I setup a hot fan blower onto the radiator while it was idling and sure enough, the gauge went to the top and the light came on....but no fan. I already jumped the fan connector so I know the fan itself is working.

Here's a few diagrams I created today, I like to do this to simplify things a little when I troubleshoot things and is kinda fun, hopefully swapping relay positions will work, but this gives you another view of what happens at relay, etc. 
 The Blue with black stripe wire goes directly from relay to ECM and is the relay activation/trigger wire, should have continuity at both wire connectors, as a precaution disconnect battery before undoing ECM connections, maybe cleaning them will help ??

 I think we have already discussed how the ECM produces the trigger signal for fan from other info it gathers from temp sensor, etc.

 Hope this helps !!

Thanks for going to that trouble zrx212, I always like to keep diagrams like that for future reference, however, in my case I think I've found the problem. I decided to remove the front cover to get stuck in there and, after some struggling to remove the relays from their socket base, here's what I found:



Those are the sockets and here are the relays:



The upper 'horizontal' pins were nothing more than dust. Miraculously, the low beam headlight was still working but the fan was not.

It's time for some surgery and wire grafting so I'm going to make my own relay holder when my new relays arrive from Honda.

I want to make my new relay holder watertight and air tight. Can anybody tell me if these relays ever get hot and will need some ventilation?

Wow that amount of corrosion damage, etc, is incredible, there had to be a dissimilar metal/galvanic corrosion, a chemical reaction by moisture or road salt, etc   IAC those relays generally don't get too hot, the best way IME for sealing connections, connectors, components is to coat/encapsulate with electrical safe RTV, then apply shrink tubing over it, etc. IAC some part of the RTV has to squeeze out and contact air/moisture to properly cure.

I'm going to second the WOW. Was that relay assy. attached in normal position or hanging upside down?
I've seen some relays hanging down and water would fill them and fail but this is severe corrosion for sure. UK year round riding and salty air, roads could be a factor. Fixable I'd try and find a wire harness for cheap and splice new parts in.

First generation Yamaha FJR 1300 had some issues with wiring harness under fuel tanks not weather proof and things failed.

Dissimilar metal corrosion and moisture would be my guess. The relays were upright in their holder properly attached to the little lug on the frame. Yeah, what a mess though. I've sourced some micro ISO relay holders with the required spade grips so I'll reposition them to a more accessible spot.

Fortunately those relays and connectors are common(I buy them at surplus store for aprox. $3 Ea. new, I keep a few around they work on most vehicles) and usually have the wiring diagram stamped on case, with that and the diagram above or shop manual wiring diagram it should be fairly easy to wire in.

 As much as sealing from moisture is important and placing in area that's more protected, ventilaton and drainage is obviously as important, IAC looking at mine soon.

Took a look at relays with my endoscope/borescope camera and inspection mirrors after removing windshield "Garnish", everything looks clean/good, definitely not a good place if you ride in inclement weather a lot, may take apart later on and coat with dielectric grease, or relocate, etc.

Glad to hear it zrx212. Our climate over here should be taken into account with this issue. I don't ride on salty roads anymore but I've had to in the past. Even so, that is an immense amount of corrosion. I wonder whether the fairings and ducts around the front of the bike might be sending water or spray in that direction?

While I've got the front end off I might as well have good look around for any other areas which might need some future-proofing. It gets kinda messy under there.

We don't have any of those winter issues here in Florida and generally we are fair weather/pleasure riders overall, but we make it up with plenty air moisture and fog, a 100% percent humidity with 90F+ temps are fairly common in our 6-7 month summers !!   Things will rust just as quick as grass grows(fast)!! Worst close to the coast.

I think there's plenty ventilation in general in that area, is just the relays are in a bad spot IMO, the rectifier lives there and it does get warm, maybe relocate relays to similar area on LH side ??

We're only about 1/2 a mile from the sea here and I think that my SW has spent most of its life close to the sea.

Now I have plenty of time to contemplate where I'll put the new relays, I'm wondering if I can keep them in the same area. I could almost reach them in their original location before removing the whole front cover. If they had been 'tilted' backwards by 45 degrees or more I could have got to them through the gap left by the removal of the screen and the garnish.

My relay holders and spade grips arrive tomorrow; but how long until my relays arrive from Honda?

If you can cancell the oem ones ??, you should be able to find the exact ones at any good auto parts, very common. There's really no need to access relays once you seal all the connections, etc.  Yes, sea moisture is real corrossive, lived in a Tropical island in my younger years, regular fresh water rinse on vehicles is best solution. There's also some HD corrossion preventive sprays you could use, not WD-40 !!

The OEM ones I ordered should be here tomorrow....too late huh? I looked around for alternatives but the specs confused me due to my limited knowledge of this stuff, so I just played it safe.

So far I've snipped off the old one-piece relay base holder, re-spaded the wires and inserted them into the new base holders:





I've found a new home for them which will allow easy access for the future. Once they're fitted I'll post the result. I haven't line tested the new fitting as I am pretty confident in my handywork....I think

Just general PSA, when part or component is identified with "ISO" it means is standarized.

What does ISO mean on a relay?


Many of the electromechanical relays used in automotive applications are termed . An ISO relay is one which adheres to a standard pattern for its electrical terminals that has been spelled out by the International Standards Organization

I'm thinking of buying a couple of these:

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/non-latching-relays/6995979?cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_Relays_Whoop-_-Non-Latching+Relays_Whoop-_-6995979&matchtype=&pla-476598467651&gclid=CjwKCAiAxJSPBhAoEiwAeO_fP6PsYFhqOb9uUxfK7F6hh33IBdkWt39rz0KXaB-hBwOh7lM-Td0q3RoCdwYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Can somebody confirm if these are a suitable replacement for the fan motor and dipped headlight ones on the SW? They are identical in everyway, even the tiny numbers next to each pin are the same as OEM.

It says they are rated at 35A but the fan runs on 10A. Is this a problem?

Yes the relay would work as is ISO standard configured, the 35A rating is the amount of current the contacts in the relay, that supply voltage to the high load items (i.e. fan, fuel pump, headlight, etc.) can handle. The amount of current actually needed/used is based on the fan or other component design, wiring is sized to accommodate amps needed, BTW the fuse size i.e. 10amp is the current limit of the 'Wiring" in a circuit, not the operating amp draw of item. 

 You could try to look for a 5 pole mini iso relay, more common at Auto Parts, etc., it will work/fit exactly the same. the 5th pole won't affect operation. Here's a pic from a few surplus I got.

Thanks zrx212, very useful info again. I checked a few local suppliers yesterday who only had the five pin version so I declined, darn it! I don't remember if they said they had them in stock though. I'll call them again in the morning.

Otherwise I'll order the ones form RS Components with next day delivery. Today, I checked with Honda regarding my order for the OEM ones which I placed last Monday!!!!!!...they said they won't be available until 4th February. NO WAY! I want my money back!

I placed my order with RS Components last night at 7.30 and they are due for delivery today at 12.30.

Now THAT'S what I call service!

Sorry to ramble on but I can hardly contain myself!

The relays from RS Components are identical in every way to the OEM ones, even down to the logo 'NAiS' on the top. The fan is now working fine and I'm guessing the headlight will be fine when I put all the tupperware back on.

All the information posted above from everybody has been invaluable in sorting this out and I hope we all learned something along the way. I'll post a pic when I've fastened the relays into their new home and put this topic to bed for now.

BTW, the rectifier on the 2001 model is not located under the front cover but is rearward of the two ECM modules behind the left side cover. Who knew?

Great News !! 

As promised, this is where I have relocated the relays:





They should now be accessible after removing the screen and front garnish. I might coat them in electrical sealant or make a rubber protector in case of stray road spray.

So now if anybody asks 'where is the fan motor relay located'?, the answer is.."well...it depends"!