My 99 5TH GEN DIES.

[nobby01]

Hey all,

So, My reg/rec died on me (right outside my house haha) about a year ago. Rather than run the risk of further failures I invested in a mosfet and vfrness from wiremybike. On my first ride after installation I was at a petrol station (i had done about 3km so still not up to temp) when the bike died, no clocks , no gauges, no engine, nada. I turned the key off and on again and she came back to life. I continued on my test ride without further problems, went home, checked the installation work again, couldn't find anything wrong.

Over the last year the same thing has happened to me another 3 times. Always just after starting, always at low revs. always fires again when turning the key off and on again.

Then last week the same thing happened but at the end of my ride so she was plenty hot (i cant recall now if the cooling fan was running or not) again, at low revs, in traffic but this time I didnt need to touch the key. I pulled over to the side of the road, no clocks/guages nothing but then she came back to life by herself.

It doesnt seem to be related with riding over bumps, she doesnt see much rain. the tickover sometimes seems lumpy at low revs (i ve just adjusted the tickover to see if this helps this)

Of course, the first place to start is the battery but im getting readings of 12.75v standing charge. 12.43v with the ignition on(no lights) 11.94v ign + lights and 14.30v engine running. so all good in this 'hood, right?

I ve got a pan european trip planned for July ( from Spain to Wales and back ) and would really like to get this sorted for piece of mind.

 

Do these symptoms ring any bells to anyone? Where do I go from here? Any pointers most gratefully received!

Cheers!

[Dutchy]

Measure the AC from the 3 yellow wires from the altenator as well, with engine hot as per the workshop manual.

Have your battery load tested.

 

[MaxSwell]

On 4/30/2017 at 8:06 AM, Dutchy said:

Measure the AC from the 3 yellow wires from the altenator as well, with engine hot as per the workshop manual.

Have your battery load tested.

 

How old is your battery. They are pretty cheap compared with having issues going pan-european.

[nobby01]

Thanks for your imput guys! First of all, Dutchy, would a failing stator cause such an intermittent fault. Some of these incidents have been months apart. Still, I tried your suggestion, but couldnt get stable readings on my multimeter (which I no longer trust) Same question regarding the battery. (which is 2 years old max) 

For what its worth, I cleaned the connection between the stator and reg/rec. and the fuses/vfrness fuses. Took the bike out again, It died at a roundabout (off the gas) about 3 km from home. but came back to life by itself. As it was a bank holiday monday with deserted roads I continued on my way and did my 40km trip without any further problems. 

Given how drivers here really tailgate  when driving this really could cause a catastophe! Im deeply concerned.. will keep at it.

Thanks again guys!

[daved]

Would also be worth checking the connections to and operation of your engine stop relay, especially the pink wire/connection.

I had similar problems to those you describe, in my case the relay itself was failing intermittently, I swapped it with the fuel cutoff relay (they are the same) to diagnose the problem.

 

[nobby01]

1 hour ago, daved said:

Would also be worth checking the connections to and operation of your engine stop relay, especially the pink wire/connection.

I had similar problems to those you describe, in my case the relay itself was failing intermittently, I swapped it with the fuel cutoff relay (they are the same) to diagnose the problem.

 

So when your bike was dying you were losing all power? What is confusing me is that the dash dies completely, not just the engine. I will check these 2 relays (and the starter relay as someone else has suggested) Are they easy to find ie right under the tank?

Many thanks for your imput Daved!

[daved]

56 minutes ago, nobby01 said:

So when your bike was dying you were losing all power? What is confusing me is that the dash dies completely, not just the engine. 

I don't think I lost all the dash lights, but, as you say, when you lose all engine power at speed, you are mainly looking for a place to stop.

In my case, sometimes it was just for a few seconds other times I came to a stop and it took several attempts to get the engine to re-start.

The engine stop relay is behind the rear cowl on the right of the bike near the rear brake fluid reservoir, the fuel cutoff is a little further back on the same side near the pillon footrest.