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Vtec electrical problems info post


Baileyrock

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Guest FactoryRC46

We lost all the great and important info related to the Vtec's wiring harness problems and I wanted to try and rebuild all the great info that was in the old post that included problems, cures, dealing with your Dealer's and Honda related to repairs. Contact numbers to file complaints with American Honda, customer service contacts and all the results members had with fighting to get these repairs done by Honda even when their bike was out of warranty.

Please post your past problems and stories here related to our 6th Gens wiring harness issues. All this old info was used many times with service repair numbers provided by other members that help them convince both Honda and their Dealer that this is a common problem and should be repaired. Even pushing for a Recall through the NHSTA(?) or whatever.

The only purpose here is to help anyone with future problems and repairs related to Vtec wiring harness issues. Please help! :thumbsup:

Thanks.

We lost the post "My first electrical problem" and " something's burning" among other's. i f you posted in any of these please re-post.

PS Vtec bashing not welcome from non-Vtec owners! Thanks <_<

Some of you may have read this from in another section, I know I've written it here before: had an '03 with 38k and 18 months on it, had the typical eletrical misbehaviors and actually found the fix on this site. I reported the issue to NHTSA at that time. The fix lasted for about six months before I had all sytems fail on a moonless night on a mountain road (engine, lights, everything). After I got home and put on a clean pair of drawers I called the initial contact ar NHTSA. The next day I had the VP of Norht American Honda Service call me an ask that I bring the bike in for a complete wiring replacement. Two days later, the night before I was scheduled to bring her in, the problem happened again and Honda picked up the bike with a truck.

They finished the job in a day and all was good. Then, a week later I was called again by Honda HQ, and they offered me a new '04 as a replacement. They've really gone out of they're way to maintain a good relationship in this respect, but I still kick myself for not holding out for some hard bags;-) The rest of their service has been only so-so at best, and I've vented about that here as well.

So, here are all the names and numbers you need to proceed with Honda and NHTSA, best of luck to you all:

Steve Chan

Safety Defects Engineer - This is the NHTSA person most familiar with our issue.

ODI/NHTSA

(202) 366-8537

(202) 366-7882 fax

Steve.Chan@nhtsa.dot.gov

Art Ridgeway, National Service Manager, North American Honda

310-783-3815 x17567

Chris Capicci, Honda North America

310-783-3989

Mary-Ellen, sales and service North American Honda (liason - Impartial Services Group)

310-783-3741

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  • Member Contributer
So, here are all the names and numbers you need to proceed with Honda and NHTSA, best of luck to you all:

+1 on the Thanks for all the contact info. I took my seat off last week, and found the 30 A fuse was getting all rippled from heat, and the wiring was even more cooked.

When the first 30 A fuse blew and I got stranded last Fall, I cleaned everything with contact cleaner, and used dielectric grease. A while back I'd noticed the fuse looked somewhat stressed again, and now it looks really bad.

I decided I'd better check this thread again to read the latest news on the problem(s). Mine's an '02 with around 12K, and it has an extended warranty, but when I last called a dealer about the problem, the Service Manager claimed if I put dielectric grease on the all the contacts it wouldn't happen again.

I asked the Service Manager if he could tell me why my other bike, with 45K on it , hadn't ever had a bit of dielectric grease on anything but had never blown a fuse, and he couldn't explain that one... :joystick:

Thinking of going out both days hopefully. Don't have anything specific for tomorrow....maybe the Santa Monica Mtns to be near some cooler air but might be open to other options?

Sun. may be going out with another group...not sure yet?

Any interest?

Craig

Cooler air sounds awfully good... Tomorrow's out, but Sunday maybe - if my newly repaired back is ready for a longer ride. It's been three weeks, it's not going to mess anything up, it just may hurt a little more than I'd like, but - smile.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

I pulled the "Blue" connector apart today (the one that is on the left side of the bike, above the left Rad). I was looking to see what kind of shape the internal connection was on the GREEN ground wire terminals.

It was absolutely perfect. No buildup of any corrosion or crud, immaculate.

My 02' had the beginnings of the 30 AMP main link wire burning up issue, but I snipped it and spliced in a serious duty 10 gauge wire and heavy duty fuselink about 18 months ago.

I wonder if the preventive measure I took on the 30 AMP link, had something to do with the Green ground terminals inside the BLUE block being in such good shape?

THe blue block is easy to seperate - just push the tab in, and using a small flat head screwdriver, gently split the connector in two. Piece of Cake to inspect, and worth your time - I did it cause I changed the oil and had the fairing off today.

:thumbsup:

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer

Because of an issue i had with my '02 last weekend, I'd like to check into this post and post my issue....even though i dont have the fix yet....

Took the bike from LA to Portland. Everything was perfect. Riding up at Mt St Helens one day, i hit a very large bump in the road, which caused the bike to die out upon the front end hitting it. Shut off instantly, like someone turned off the key. No sputtering or anything. Then, a second later it was back on. Of course i got nervous and turned around to head back to portland. Hit every bump i could for the 45 minute ride back, and the bike was fine, even though i couldnt find any that were as severe as the one that caused the bike to die. I left the bike at my buddy's place in portland after i flew home here; he called yesterday to say he was riding it and it died at a stoplight, but started right up again. Just sitting there; no bumps or jostling of the bike at all. It was fine for him the rest of the day, which was about another 3-4 hrs of riding.

Now thinking back, i did have a problem with the headlights not turning on a few weeks ago. At this time, i cycled the key and highbeam switch to get them back on, and to my knowlege has been fine since. But, most of my riding is during the day, so they may have failed since then and i didnt notice it.

Last fall, i did have the main wiring harness replaced by the dealer per the extended warranty because of worn through/broken wires which resulted in a misfire. Should i still be looking at the infamous blue connection? Upon hitting this bump last week, i was thinking that maybe the bank angle/stop sensor up front got jostled around too much, but then the headlight thing popped into my head as i read some of the previous posts on this thread.

So basically, intermittent dying out which only started after hitting a severe bump. And previous headlight failure. There was alot to scroll though in this thread, so dont scream at me too much yet for not looking back before posting. Thanks in advance.

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  • 2 weeks later...

02 18,000 miles

Symptoms i had:

headlights died to a very faint dim

motor shut down, and blipping the throttle made it bog like flooding the motor

the dash lights flashed from dim to bright eratically

and a buzzing sound from behind the dash like a relay going crazy.

the fuel pump would not prime.

it usually started back up after a couple seconds, but after about the 10th time it finally quit for good. Only seemed to do it at night hence running my high beams.

Solution: I took a wire and ran it from the ground in the blue connector up front to the frame and it started right up. I just spliced that wire into the ground and grounded it at the frame and its working great.

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Guest flatlander

Well I've joined the 30 amp fuse problem brigade. '02 with over 20,000 miles. I had checked it before and saw nothing that would cause me any alarm. Labor Day weekend I went to go for a ride and all I got was the relay clicking. I keep my battery on a maintainer so this surprised me. I checked voltage and it was very low. It was in the 'dead" range of below 10v. I put the battery on the charger and left it until it showed charged. The bike started OK. I had charging voltage but the little wire became extremely hot! The insulation began to discolor. I shut the bike down and checked voltage the battery had dropped to below 12v. I inspected the wire; there had actually been some deformation of the insulation (melting) at the connector that has been identified before. I put the battery on a special charger I had and was able to confirm that it was dead. $ Years I can live with. Hot wires I can't.

I separated the connection and noticed it was a very loose fit. I used a very small glasses screw driver to bend the female end so that it made a tighter connection, used dielectric grease and assembled the whole thing. Put in my new battery and started it up. The wire became warm but no where near as hot as it had been with the bad battery. I rode to work on a cool morning and when I got there I quickly took the seat off and checked the wire, it was cold. Hmmm. Rode home and did the same thing, the wire was warm. In the morning the temp had been in the mid 50s F in the evening it was in the 80s. Rechecked the connections and went for a short ride. The wire was warm. Hmm I ran the bike in the garage until the fan came on - wire temp shot up! The bike was pretty warm by now and the fan kept running the wire got pretty hot though again not as hot as with the bad battery.

I have not had any of the other problems as far as losing power and I have checked many of the other connections. It appears that there's a problem right with the one connector creating a hot spot. Possibly a bad crimp took place on some bikes. I plan on contacting Honda to at least let them know. I?ll take some pictures as well. Funny thing when I checked for alternate 30 amp fuse holders and connectors in the aftermarket they all seemed much heavier duty and weather protected then the stock set up. Not impressed by what looks like something that Honda just had left over being put in.

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  • 1 month later...

Well it looks like I am in the club. I have checked my 30 amp fuse and wiring since new. Bike is an 04 with 15k miles. I have never seen any discoloration, and they always look fine. I have not had any problems. I checked yesterday and the plastic at the fuse and the small wire connector are discolored slightly. The short wire is hard and brown. The short wire started getting so hot and melted some plastic in the battery tray and the red plastic sheath on the wire to the battery. Looks like I am going to radioshack.

I do not see a good how-to on installing this fuse block. I am sure it is simple, but it is not clear to me exactly what I need for the wiring, except for the radio shack block with 10g wire.

I also noticed some photos towards the beginning of the thread have been lost, as well as some important thread links.

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gallery_6879_2316_97786.jpg

Fuse Stock 2002 fuse holder

Please help me replace this bugger!!

1. Am I supposed to replace the larger red wire on the left of the photo with 10G wire? If so where does it lead to or terminate?

2.The other small connector that has red/white coming out of both ends does all of that wire get replaced with 10g wire and again where does the end that disappears lead to or terminate?

3.Do the metal clips inside the main fuse and the other smaller connector just pull out?

4.I am assuming that if I am replacing with 10g wire that I have to get new male or female connectors?

5.Does the new fuse holder from RadioShack support the use of 10g wire and connectors?

6.How much dielectric grease should be used, where does it go, and how is it applied?

I would also like to know if the stock fuse holder is typically just kind of tucked away or is it supposed to mount some where or attach to something. Thanks

Edited by drb
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  • Member Contributer
gallery_6879_2316_97786.jpg

Fuse Stock 2002 fuse holder

Please help me replace this bugger!!

1. Am I supposed to replace the larger red wire on the left of the photo with 10G wire? If so where does it lead to or terminate?

2.The other small connector that has red/white coming out of both ends does all of that wire get replaced with 10g wire and again where does the end that disappears lead to or terminate?

3.Do the metal clips inside the main fuse and the other smaller connector just pull out?

4.I am assuming that if I am replacing with 10g wire that I have to get new male or female connectors?

5.Does the new fuse holder from RadioShack support the use of 10g wire and connectors?

6.How much dielectric grease should be used, where does it go, and how is it applied?

I would also like to know if the stock fuse holder is typically just kind of tucked away or is it supposed to mount some where or attach to something. Thanks

you are replacing the thick red wire, the fuse holder, anf the red/white wire.

clip off the connector on the wire harness side on the red/white wire.

remove the fuse holder and thick red wire which goes to the battery+.

connect your new wire to battery+ terminal and run it to your new fuse holder.

from the new fuse holder solder splice to where you cut off the connector on the wire harness side

just tuck the new fuse in where the old one was

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Thanks for the details too.

Wouldn't clipping it between the harness and connector still leave a lot of thin gauge wiring throughout the harness?

I'm sure doing this would help temps come down between the battery (through the fuse) and harness, but after saudering the 10gauge wire to the harness, heat can build up downstream.

Are the harness wires able to handle 30amp? Sounds like its at the threshold of burning up. What if we did this mod and add in a 25amp fuse?

What systems are in need of 30amp? I'm guess at least the low and high beam lights, which in turn may blow up the fuse smile.gif So is there a way to limit the draw of current down to 25amps? I'm sure there's folks out there that use more than 25amps with grip heaters, high beams, GPS, etc....

Well I only have 2k on mine, seems like I'm going to have to check the power and ground wires like I check my underwear.

Also decided to buy some of that "liquid insulation" think covering the ground wire on the blue connector should help.

Man, VFRs remind me of the Star Trek Enterprise. Nice ship, love her, but remember how many electrical/plasma issues that ship has...when it gets jolted a little but..EPS conduits explodes out of no where and your control panels. Wouldnt it be great whenever your computer decided to crash or gets a virus your keyboard and monitor goes BOOM!

Edited by warp10
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  • 2 months later...

Wanted to add this post from a member sharing his problem with us, he mentions a Regional Honda Service admitting a problem/defect in the harness.

thanks 442soul :thumbsup:

OK - '03 ABS with one major problem related to main wiring harness. (How's this for a doozy - the western region Honda service rep. asked me not to mention this problem on a discussion board).

While riding the bike it would kill, slow speeds, highway speeds!, it didn't matter (thank goodness for an alert OTR truck driver), usually after warming up for approx. 15 minutes. It would sometimes kick right back over and off I go until it rapidly happened again. This was a very scary/disturbing thing to happen to a recreational/commuter type rider. I took it to one shop who could not repeat the problem. I was wondering if I had bad fuel or needed the valves adjusted - just sort of grasping at straws, but had those items checked to no avail. When it happened again and I had it towed down to a different shop an interesting thing occurred. It's down at the shop and I am trying to explain this gremlin to a mechanic, he gets called in the background and tells me I'm in luck, the Western Region service rep. happens to be there on his rounds and wanted to tackle this problem.

After a week or so, this rep calls me back and states that there is a defect in the main wiring harness that manifests in voltage dropping as the bike heats/warms up. These voltage drops resulted in complete shut down of the bike - he stated it was a recall issue and that Honda would handle parts and labor on the repair. I got the bike back and haven't had the problem again going on over a year now.

I hope this helps a Viffer out there somewhere.

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  • Member Contributer

Just want to add my 2c to this rather leangthy post.

I checked my 30 AMP fuse wire and had to replace it as well. Just like all the rest, my wire, just the short 2in portion that leads from the fuse holder to the conector, was brittle and discolored from temperature.

Unlike others that replaced the entire red wire all the way from the battery + terminal, I only replaced the fuse holder and the connector by cutting them off and splicing in a new fuse holder with a 12GA wire.

In my opinion, the red/white wire that comes from the battery as well as the one that leads past the connector is not the problem and does not need to be replaced. The problem is the smaller guage 2in wire between the fuse holder and the connector.

After making this change, I noticed an improvement in the way the bike starts. Apparently, the smaller guage wire had acted as a resistor and reduced the current available to starter. My starter would sometmes stumble during startup before. Each stumble was accompanied by a momentery loss of power, which would reset the clock and the trip meters. After the fix, this no longer happens, so I guess the fix worked fine.

While I was "there", I also used dielectric grease on ALL terminals and connections that I could get to with ferrings off. Now, the electric system should be bulletproof :goofy:

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  • 4 weeks later...
Just want to add my 2c to this rather leangthy post.

I checked my 30 AMP fuse wire and had to replace it as well. Just like all the rest, my wire, just the short 2in portion that leads from the fuse holder to the conector, was brittle and discolored from temperature.

Unlike others that replaced the entire red wire all the way from the battery + terminal, I only replaced the fuse holder and the connector by cutting them off and splicing in a new fuse holder with a 12GA wire.

In my opinion, the red/white wire that comes from the battery as well as the one that leads past the connector is not the problem and does not need to be replaced. The problem is the smaller guage 2in wire between the fuse holder and the connector.

After making this change, I noticed an improvement in the way the bike starts. Apparently, the smaller guage wire had acted as a resistor and reduced the current available to starter. My starter would sometmes stumble during startup before. Each stumble was accompanied by a momentery loss of power, which would reset the clock and the trip meters. After the fix, this no longer happens, so I guess the fix worked fine.

While I was "there", I also used dielectric grease on ALL terminals and connections that I could get to with ferrings off. Now, the electric system should be bulletproof +1.gif

Not So, I did everything you mentioned and more and still had the Failure with the No Start, Buzzing behind dash, etc. which is typical of the Blue Connector failure but w/o the blue connector failing. Added the extra ground to frame like done when the blue connector fails and it fixed the problem. My Blue connector is still perfect(looking). :goofy:

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Was asked to post this up from another How-To i made here:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=29737

There was a writeup before, and a couple different people saying how they did things, but no pics. So we were replacing Teague's last night ( and mind even though mine wasn't shorted out, just for prevention ), and I decided to take a few pics of the process. Any questions let me know.

30amp_02.jpg

30amp_03.jpg

30amp_04.jpg

30amp_05.jpg

30amp_06.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow! I finally got signed in to this VFR board and got caught up on all the wiring harness issues. I identified this problem back in 2003 and performed the connector bypass with thicker wire and changed the OEM fuseholder to a beefier and more sealed automotive design. I might have been the first one to do this, which I docuemented on the Yahoo board back then. I'm not trying to blow my horn, I'm just perplexed and dismayed that this problem persists on later model years and Honda still doesn't look like they have addressed the problem (at least not stateside.)

For the record, my original fix is still going strong. I periodically check it after running the bike in hot weather (after the cooling fan has been kicking in) and it barely gets warm. My blue connector has never shown any sign of heating either.

Paul Kolbo

02 VFR

94 ST1100

Edited by PKPK
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer
HI all, sorry if I missed the answer to this question, but I'll ask anyway smile.gif

I'm having an overcharging issue on my 02 vfr, the battery will get so hot that it actually makes a buzzing noise for 20 minutes or so. I found that out because I had to ride it home, and it hummed for quite a while.

Now, after researching, I'm thinking it's the regulator, my question is this; Is there anyway to test the R/R without the bike running?/battery fully charged? The reason I ask is that now my battery won't hold a charge, and I didn't want to buy a new battery just to do the test, and then ruin the new battery also somehow. Any help?

Buy the new battery to do the test. You are not going to fry the new battery in the time it takes to do the test. Just hook it up and turn it on and check the system voltage immediately. If it is under 16 volts, let it warm up and test it with high beams at 5500rpm. If it is over 16, check the R/R monitor wire, and go through the troubleshooting for the R/R and stator.

If you are really worried about frying an expensive Yausa, any 12v battery will do, I think you can get generic 12v batteries at wall mart for $20-$30 that would work fine to test it out with.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest VFRLAWYER

This is why I love this board. Everyone knows just about anything. As some of you may know I am brand new to the Viffer and biking community. I was taking my first extended Saturday ride and I decided to make my way to downtown Atlanta from Marietta. (About 20 miles, all streetway no interstate) I figured this way I'd learn some throttle control with of of the start/stop traffic. Anywho, I get to downtown ATL and the women are all gawking at my bright Orange/Yellow/Woodgrain marvel then all of a sudden...NOTHING! The instrument panel went blank and the bike stopped, in the middle of the main street in the ATL (Peachtree). I pulled over to the side walk and after screaming for about 10 minutes I called my motorcycle guru, who happens to own a Blackbird. After telling me to calm down he told me that my main fuse probably went out. Unfortunately I left my owners man at home and I had no idea where the main fuse was. After looking under the seat I found what I thought was "something important" and it turned out to be the main fuse. I put a 30A fuse from Autozone in it and I was back running again. 20 minutes later, the fuse blew again. Luckily I had some spares and I reinstalled another fuse. I got back home with no problems. But now I am paranoid. What if this happens on the interstate? I want to know if there is something a novice like myself can do to solve this without shelling out a fortune or effing up my whole electrical system?

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Figured I would post this from a different thread since its pretty well related to this one:

Got my bike ripped apart rewiring everything I can think of and decided to add the RR>Battery rewire to the list. Did mini writeup. Most of the stuff should have been covered through the rest of this post, but heres a couple pics of what I did. Haven't got the bike back together to test it but I'll let you know what my results are when I finished, hopefully by Sunday.

rrpost1.jpg

rrpost2.jpg

rrpost3.jpg

rrpost4.jpg

rrpost5.jpg

It sits at 15.0 at just above idle (~1300 rpm), but if I rev it, it does not fluctuate much. The real test will be the riding test. I hit 16V between Rolla and KC yesterday, and that scared me.
So relating to what you posted about running high voltage, I finally got my bike back together after doing the wiring mods, then hooked up multimeter, started her up, woooooooo 16.0vdc. Not cool. Well that wasn't right thats for sure. So, I got a different Multimeter because I have blown several Amp fuses in that meter and was thinking maybe somehow I damaged the meter, since I pretty much just use that meter for amperage testing. So, new meter, boom..... 16.0vdc. Well, I wasn't happy. So, I remember Jeremy mentioning to me that he had this problem and it was an issue with the R/R's Monitor Feed ( Black Wire > Ignition ). So pull that fairing off again, backprob the 'black wire from R/R with one multimeter, while leaving the other multimeter hooked directly up to the battery, ( Battery showing: 16.0vdc, Black wire showing: 12.3vdc ). Cha..ching! So, pulled the black wire out of the stator connector harness, hooked it separately ( out of the connector ) up to the battery direct to she if this helps the problem, plugging the harness back up which connects all the wires but the ' black > white / black '. So hooked this wire up, boom, voltage charge dropped instantly from 16.0vdc to 14.7vdc. So hook up a perminant wire from stator voltage monitor wire ' black wire ' to battery, still solid 14.7vdc. Slapped fairing back on, good as gold.

Edit:

if you run a new wire from black monitor wire to the battery, you have to, have to, have to disconnect the black wire to white/black wire from eachother in the harness. If you don't when you turn the key off, the bike will keep running because it wills end a reverse 12v feed to the ignition switch, tricking it to thinking the key is still on.

Edit End:

Come to find out, this high voltage problem has been going on for a while I suppose ( haven't checked voltage in about a month, was good then though ), but didn't test voltage before I started this project, so... lesson learned, but problem solved. So, back to what this thread is about. I ran the two new 12guage stator wires ( red/white ) from regulator to battery to lower resistance while keeping an additional 30amp fuse in each wire. So, pulled the fuses out of the new wires, tested voltage, 14.5 vdc, put fuses back in and tested voltage, 14.7vdc. Not a huge improvement in my case, but dropped resistance on the feeds for sure. Have been pretty constant on doing a lot of preventative stuff without any problems, excluding the new R/R monitor wire I stated above, which has been my first electric issue thus far. Some people get better results than others, but its a peace of mind and worth the time to prevent issues before they occur for me, instead of waiting for things to blow then figure out what happened. :thumbsup:

So, does this wire need to be switched? My black lead into the R/R is not hot when the bike is turned off. I don't have me service manual on me, so I can't double check what wire is what, and verify that this is the voltage regulator monitor wire.
You can run it constant w/ no problems, but you have to disconnect it from the 'White/Black' wire on the female side of the R/R Connector and cut it off or tape that wire off or it will send a 12 volt feed backwards to the ignition, causing the bike to keep running even when you turn the key off. You don't have power to that black wire when the key is off because its reading voltage from the ignition, but its just monitoring the voltage, not actually putting it to use. Running it constant instead or switching it the way it is factory, makes no difference, all the R/R cares about is how much power is at the battery, when the bike is off, voltage is still feeding to the monitor wire, but its just sitting there, no current draw from it at all. Next week I'm going to look at trying to track down exactly where and what is causing the resistance problem in that 'white/black' wire that seems to be a known issue. Not sure if its a short somewhere in the wire or a connector problem along the way. Its a tiny wire, so short could easily be a problem, but it appears to be a progressive problem, slowly getting worse and worse, which makes me think its heat related. Will keep you informed. If that doesn't make sense let me know, I'll draw up a diagram.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Mine did this again at ~ 32K miles. Same BS, 30 amp fuse holder melted and wires. I still think it's a problem with the R&R, full wave, 3 phase SCR controlled rectifier, SCR = silicon controlled rectifier and they can lock on, must be reversed bias to turn off or commutate and if not you have a line to line short and high current. It's not the voltage at all. Energy or heat = current = I^2R. Checked mine with clamp on DC amp probe, high current > 30 amps and like before finally goes away. Fuse and wires hot to the touch. R&R hot to the touch. I still have my replacement R&R as I never ended up needing it as it did the samething, it just stopped doing it. 2 days later, current running about 12 amps, normal, low beams are 55watt over 12 vdc = 110/12 = 9 amps, add in running lites and you get about 12. So it's gone again. Rewired fuse and wires, carry on and just hope it doesn't do it again for another 4 years. But like all good Hondas I knew it was acting up, FI lite flashing, ABS lite flashing, haul butt home, smell burnt wires, dies in the driveway. Pull seat, wrap the 2 bare wires together, ride it to the barn. Fix it the next day.

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Guest jcarruth

Three weeks ago I had the same problems associated with the blue molex plug on my 2002 ABS model. Buzzing relays, would not start without pulling the headlight fuse, etc. I had all of my buddies helping me figure out the problem, one was a VTEC owner - he called me and told me about the ground wire at the blue plug fix, I fixed it with a jumper, everything was cool, I thought.

I then checked the main fuse, it was cooked so bad at he two inch 14ga wire that the wires had fused together, bypassing the fuse!

I replaced the harness with a homemade heavy gauge one as described in previous posts. Everything was cool. However, I own two Acuras, one Civic, a ST1300, a Honda mower, and this VFR. All of this stuff, with the exception of the mower, is on the Honda owner link. The guys at Honda could tell instantly that I am and have been a dedicated Honda customer. I then called Pat at 1-866-784-1870 and reminded her of this.

Both of these issues are a PITA, but more important - they are SAFETY issues. If you don't crash from a dead engine in traffic then you get to burn up!

Pat was very nice, worked with my local dealer who is also very nice, and together they provided me with two new wiring harnesses #s HO32100-MCW-L10 (main) and HO32102-MCW-A00 (front) along with a new battery cable #HO32401-MCW-D00 and starter motor cable #H032410-MCW-D00.

$360.00 worth of labor and $407.30 worth of parts, $767.30 total, all paid for by American Honda. Cool! I thought.

I got the bike home it ran fine, etc. They had screwed up my accessory harness and horn wiring, but that was easily fixed. I then went for a ride.

Once the bike got up to temperature, 171 degrees, the engine temp fluctuated from that to 240 degrees within minutes, then back and forth. The fans never came on. Also, the fuel gauge fluctuated from four bars to red , then back. +1.gif

I took the bike back to the dealer. They got on the phone with their tech guy and together they determined that my combination meter was bad due to the grounding problem that had just been fixed. Part # H037110-MCW-L11 and 1.2 hours labor later, I was good to go. $463.26 parts, $72.00 labor, all paid for again by our friends at American Honda.

Total bill $1,302.56, Honda did me right on this one. Sometimes it just pays to raise a little hell. :D

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Guest jcarruth
Pat was very nice, worked with my local dealer who is also very nice, and together they provided me with two new wiring harnesses #s HO32100-MCW-L10 (main) and HO32102-MCW-A00 (front) along with a new battery cable #HO32401-MCW-D00 and starter motor cable #H032410-MCW-D00.

<snip>

Total bill $1,302.56, Honda did me right on this one. Sometimes it just pays to raise a little hell. :D

Unfortunately you didn't cure the problem John. The replacement parts will also be prone to heating.

How do you know this?

Do you know that Honda has not updated the harness and connectors? I don't.

I do know that the infamous short wire on the main fuse holder is a heavier gauge than the original 2002 version, it appears to be 12 ga rather than 14 ga. So is the one on my buddie's 2004 model, which is in perfect condition. The main fuse harness that I fabricated from a 30amp auto fuse holder was more robust than even the replacement harness, but now I know what to look for and if anything else messes up and I have a dealer history to fall back on and not homemade repairs.

My reason for doing this was to make Honda aware of the problems that I had and seek a remedy. It worked. Hopefully their database will become so full of these complaints that they will issue a safety recall on all affected bikes like they did with the ST1300 a few years ago.

In any case, Honda did right by me on a five year old bike.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest floridarob

I read the entire post and I am dizzy.... I have made notes to bring to the dealer mechanic to give him some direction....would I have any luck with honda doing/paying for anything?

here is my problem briefly, any feedback would be appreciated to see if it agrees with the notes I've taken.... I am handy but don't have all the tools or the time, I like the free time to ride , not repair....know what I mean?

Thanks for any input

here goes:

I have a 2002 VFR with about 17k miles. This bike has seen a lot of

rain but

the dealers have said it shouldn't matter. one dealer replaced all 4

headlights, headlight relay and turn signal relay, no different, their

next

suggestion was to change the ENTIRE wiring harness....I couldn't go

along

with that. They said they called the tech line and that Honda has never

heard of this problem.

Now its at another dealer waiting to be looked at, some of the

mechanics

suggestions were to look at the battery and alt conditions.

When I was bringing it to the 2nd dealer, I went over a "selfislhy wasting bandwidth" and the

headlights came on but shortly after went back out. whenever I use the

turn

signals, even on the highway, the engine dies. I noticed that when I

turn

the ignition switch on anf the FI light on the dash illuminates and the

sound from the fuelpump sounds very week and doesnt stop after a few

seconds

like usual, it just keeps hummming, like it's dieing. Oh, and the

instrument

cluster isn't as bright as it used to be, kinda dim.

I'm thinking some sort of short but didnt want to replace the entire

harness and pay for it anyway.

then it be something like an ignition switch, fuel pump or just the

battery.....

any suggestions, I really like this bike still but don't want to try to

rebuild it from the ground up (electrically anyways)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest talus

Hi Everyone,

I would like to add to the list of electrical issues.

I'm a new (used 2002) VFR owner and rider (but rode Motocross a bunch as a kid). Anyway I have been reading all the great posts on the site and learning a ton. My thanks to you all!!!

After reading about the main fuse wire (red/white stripe) issues I checked mine and sure enough it needed replacement. I took care of that two weeks ago.

After that I was hyper sensitive about electrical issues and bought a battery tender and read up on everything I could find. Then I noticed a burning smell, like burning nylon rope (not quite electrical burning - I know that from years of MGB ownership!). Anyway it seemed to be coming from the right hand side of the bike near the upper fairing. It would come and go, being more noticeable when stopped in at a light - anyway I decided to check it out today and pulled the right hand fairing.

This is what I found...

gallery_11167_3051_25719.jpg

Right side - problem is the toasty lower connector.

gallery_11167_3051_62019.jpg

Doesn't look too bad.

gallery_11167_3051_78219.jpg

Might have a problem.

gallery_11167_3051_61299.jpg

Plastic oozing from inside connector - not good

gallery_11167_3051_157004.jpg

Closeup of the melt.

gallery_11167_3051_98822.jpg

White connector block with cover pulled back.

gallery_11167_3051_53991.jpg

Totally melted white connector block.

I assume that the three yellow wires coming out of the frame are from the stator. They were all 16 gauge wires going into the white connector block but 14 gauge coming out of the block and going up to what I assume is the Regulator / Rectifier (r/r) near the steering head (fins visible when you look down onto the frame on the right hand side).

Anyway I clipped the wires on either side and rewired everything. I marked them with colored shrink tube just in case it mattered (and accidentally may have mixed them up anyway - f##$!).

gallery_11167_3051_230352.jpg

Rewire almost complete

gallery_11167_3051_10104.png

2002 VFR Stator and RR wiring diagram

I would have put another connector block in but I needed to get to work and this was all I had. I did need to extend the yellow wires a bit to make up for the missing block. I also threw some electrical tape on the right had radiator hose temporarily. Mine was rubbed by the fairing more than I liked (see first pic) - you might want to look at yours.

Here are some thoughts and questions though:

1. Do the three yellow wires come from the stator and go to the r/r ? (pretty sure they do from wiring diagram)

2. Does it matter which yellow wire goes to which? (again, pretty sure they do from wiring diagram)

3. After the rewire, I started the bike I notice that ONE of the yellow wires got quite hot - hot enough that I was thinking about putting a fuse in there. The other two yellow wires seemed normal. Any thoughts on this?

4. Could this be an indication of a problem with the stator? What about the r/r?

5. The previous owner never rode this bike for a year and the battery was weak but has never let me down. Even when I connect a Battery Tender Jr to the battery it goes into established mode (green light) in just a few minutes. Could this be a battery issue?

6. Prior to the main fuse wiring improvement, I had the right fairing off for cleaning before and I noticed the brown discoloration on "clear" rubber boot - so I don't think that the repair to the main fuse wiring harness caused the meltdown on the opposite side. BUT I did notice the smell more AFTER the main fuse wire fix. Your thoughts? Did the improved main fuse wiring cause another problem?

7. The bike has tipped over twice before (once before I bought it and once my fault ). It has also been exposed to west coast salt air (I noticed one of the wires has some copper corrosion on it). Could the tip over or the corrosion have caused enough damage or resistance to cause the white block to melt?

Note: I don't really think the tip over hurt the block - just throwing it out there in case someone had some info.

8. Lastly, I called three Honda dealers and passed on my VIN. They say there are no outstanding recalls for my bike. For you Canadians (or other countries) out there...has Honda replaced your Alternator as per the 2002 USA recall?

Edited by talus
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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest garysciascia

Hmm,

I did not use a relay. I tapped directly into the headlight positive connector. I do have a 5 amp fused between the grips and the headlight. I have the variable adjustor on the heated grips, so there is no resistor.... It only draws the power it needs to heat, thus the actual draw is low. No popped fuses.

However, per your suggestion, I'll look at adding a relay this weekend.

I did replace the wiring around the main fuse again. I cleaned it up with a larger wire. IT gets mighty warm, but no discoloration or fuse melting...

thanks fo rthe in put.

----Sounds like you have Hot Grips like i do with the variable resistor (controller). I used the wire coming right off the ignition switch to energize the 30Amp relay's coil. You can take the power from the head light to energize the relay coil also. Then the 5amp fuse connected to the battery goes to the relay main contacts and then to the grips and then to a convenient ground. This way the coil will only be energized and power will only be available to the heat grips via the 5 amp fuse, when the bike ignition is energized (bike is on) so you can never forget to turn off your grips and accidently drain your battery. More importantly the amount of current needed to energize the relay is real small (approx. 100mA)and easily supplied by the headlight circuit without any overload/overheated of the installed wire harness.

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