Clocks reset on start up

[trmoyer]

Occasionally on start up my lcd screen time & trips reset. It’s not every time though, maybe after the bike has set a week. 

 

I haven’t had time to dig into connections and grounding. On one of the Facebook forums someone else was having this issue but I didn’t see a result from a repair. A couple people jumped to the R/R as a culprit but there was no explanation of why so I'm skeptical. I replaced mine a couple years ago. 
 

Before I dig in and chase my tail, is there a recommended direction for tracking down a possible cause? 

[Skids]

Have you done a battery voltage test? 

Ignition OFF, engine at idle, engine at 5k rpm I believe is the usual method. 

 

Sounds like it's battery related possibly caused by R/R. 

[trmoyer]

I have not checked charging voltage yet or the battery yet. The battery is the simplest thing to start with. It is also a couple years old as I’d replaced it when I did the R/R. It’s plugged into a Tender during the off season. 

[raYzerman]

Was the replacement R/R an OEM or a mofset?

[trmoyer]

19 minutes ago, raYzerman said:

Was the replacement R/R an OEM or a mofset?

It’s a Super Mosfet Kit FH020AA from Jack @ Roadstercycle 

[Terry]

A clock resetting when you start the bike is a classic symptom of a dying battery. 

[trmoyer]

3 hours ago, Terry said:

A clock resetting when you start the bike is a classic symptom of a dying battery. 

Sigh….. I was hoping to get a bit more time out of it but I know all to well batteries are a gamble. They just aren’t made like they used to. 

[trmoyer]

Well, I still haven’t dug into the original question but I do know keeping the battery tender on it all week between rides keeps the problem from happening lol. I should just set down, spend the little amount of time really takes and trouble shoot this correctly. If it is the battery, I’ll probably nurse it along until the end of the season and put it on the “to do” list for next spring. 

[vfrgiving]

@trmoyer I'm not sure if you're still monitoring this thread, but I had similar issues with clock resets on starting.  This seems to have been fixed after I pulled and cleaned the blue connector and receiving socket on the back of the instrument cluster with an electrical contact cleaner.  That connector carries the power supply for the LCD display. I believe this issue to be related to a poor connection, probably from oxidation build up.

[VeeEffArah]

1 hour ago, vfrgiving said:

@trmoyer I'm not sure if you're still monitoring this thread, but I had similar issues with clock resets on starting.  This seems to have been fixed after I pulled and cleaned the blue connector and receiving socket on the back of the instrument cluster with an electrical contact cleaner.  That connector carries the power supply for the LCD display. I believe this issue to be related to a poor connection, probably from oxidation build up.

 

On that connector subject, did you do just a spray clean, let dry and plug back in ?

I've read a couple conflicting suggestions whether to add like dielectric grease or ox-gard or similar.

[vfrgiving]

3 hours ago, VeeEffArah said:

 

On that connector subject, did you do just a spray clean, let dry and plug back in ?

I've read a couple conflicting suggestions whether to add like dielectric grease or ox-gard or similar.

 

I just hosed the connector and socket down with Deoxit let dry and put back together.  So far that has fixed two connector related issues I was having on different VFR dashes, clock resets and a non-functioning turn signal indicator..  If a connector related connection issue pops up again in the future, I like the idea of putting little dabs of Ox-gard on just the connector pins before plugging back in, after the cleaning with a spray contact cleaner like Deoxit.  I did tweak the connector pins upwards a tiny amount with an o-ring pick, but I'm not sure that did much of anything.  I would just try the cleaning and ox-gard approach.

 

The copper traces in the socket are very delicate as they are part of the flex membrane circuit that covers the back of the dash.  I wouldn't be poking or scrubbing around in there.  Just the spray clean.

[Wilhermo]

Hello all,
I have just had this problem with my VFR 800 FI from 1999: I rode the bike on Sunday for 2 hours and then I rode again after work yesterday (wednesday) and I noticed that the clock and trips have been reset.
The bike took maybe 1 to 2 seconds longer as usual to start too.

I know that the electric can be a huge problem therefore I look for solutions online in order to find asap what it is.

I have tested the battery today: 

ignition off 12,4V

ignition on 11,7V

start and idle 12,3V

2000rpm 14,1V

5000 rpm 14,2V

then off again 13,4V

the bike was cold when I made the measurement

The battery is 1yo, the last owner has made the change during the last service in a garage and the rectifier is not teh original one (RX41 15H0) and seems to come from a GSX1300, but I don't know since when it is here.

Could someone help me to diagnose the issue ? do I need to change the R/R and the battery ?

[Mohawk]

Sounds like a duff battery or dodgy wiring. 12v battery should read 12.6v+ at rest. Anything lower is considered flat, as witnessed by the at rest with ignition on being below 12v. Suggest a good recovery charger be tried if that doesn't work replace the battery. 

[Wilhermo]

Hey,

thank you,

The bike stayed parked during the winter and I removed the battery during that time and performed a full cycle with a Ctek.

After that I rode 3 times in March and April without issue

If it is a sign of a duff battery, so spontanuously, it might have to be with a wiring issue or R/R issue too ?

[vfrcapn]

If you have a multimeter you can use this chart to evaluate the R/R and stator condition. And check the charging system connectors for evidence of overheating.

fault-finding-diagram.pdf

 

Can also download the chart here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1091/5694/files/fault-finding-diagram.pdf?235929069374954073

[trmoyer]

I’ll see soon enough if my problem continues again this season, I haven’t gotten the bike out of hibernation yet. I’m planning on a new battery so we’ll see if that cures things ans everything checked out previously with voltage while running and the R/R had already been replaced / upgraded. 

[Terry]

My 99 did the same thing after a hot restart; a new battery was all that was needed. Your voltmeter readings look good to me, IIRC Honda says 13.5-14.5V at 5000 and you are golden. 

[Wilhermo]

Thank you all for yours answers.
I have just put the battery on charge and then I will try the fault finding process from vfrcapn, it looks like a great tool to have, especially for me, having low experience with electrical issues.
I am just a bit worry that the battery has already been changed last year by the previous owner and it could mean that there is something else wrong in the system
Looking at some post, I understand that it doesn't seem unusual to change it every 2 or 3 years.

[VeeEffArah]

Battery is the simplest and most direct to begin with. And could be that battery is dead, even if fairly new. Especially if it wasn't kept on a maintainer over the winter.

From your previous post, it seems you just charged it once during the off season?

 

[MBrane]

I see you have discovered the battery replacement indicator.

 

Seriously charge the battery, and let it sit for 24 hours. If it doesn't show at least 12.6 V replace it.

[bmart]

And if it has been very low....you may be able to bring it back by connecting it to a known, good, larger (car) battery and then charging. Motobatt taught me that and I've used it a few times and the batteries lasted many years after. 

[St. Stephen]

Where’s Grum?

[Wilhermo]

On 4/17/2025 at 7:10 PM, vfrcapn said:

If you have a multimeter you can use this chart to evaluate the R/R and stator condition. And check the charging system connectors for evidence of overheating.

fault-finding-diagram.pdf 301.13 kB · 14 downloads

 

Can also download the chart here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1091/5694/files/fault-finding-diagram.pdf?235929069374954073

 

Hello all,

 

I have charge the battery and check after one night how much it has lost, it kept 12,8V after almost 24h.

I put it back in the motorcycle to start the fault procedure from VFRcapn and i found that at the battery I have more than 13,5V at 2500rpm and less than 14,8 at 5000rpm. Which is good.
Anyway I decided to check the 2 next steps to see what it would give me:

by checking the current between battery + and R/R output, I got 0,9V which is more than the 0,2V limit.

and by checking between the battery - and the R/R negative output, I got 0,25V

Which should mean that there are bad connections on the positive and negative leads of the R/R. I haven't investigate further so far, because it means going deeper in the electrical scheme.
Is it correct for you ? What do you think ?

 

If yes, as the R/R has already been changed to a Suzuki one (I don't know when), I suppect that maybe it has not been done very properly maybe and there is now a bad connection there.

[trmoyer]

Mine will do it sporadically, it could be after a lunch stop during a day riding, it might do it first starting it up with it being on a Battery Tender, then it might not do it for weeks. 

[Wilhermo]

Thank you again all,
I think that I will check long terms if it happens again and how often.
If it stays sporadic I guess it will stay that way. If not I will let the workshop check more precisely.