Jump to content

Vfr Sixth Gen Electrical Problem Poll


Ducatti20

VFR Sixth Gen Electrical Problem Poll  

55 members have voted

  1. 1. What year 6th gen did you have electrical problems with?

    • 2007
      0
    • 2006
      0
    • 2005
      4
    • 2004
      13
    • 2003
      14
    • 2002
      24
  2. 2. If and only if you had failures, did you have added electrical accessories?

    • Yes
      16
    • No
      39


Recommended Posts

  • Member Contributer
Have you done the monitor wire fix? Since I did mine, no matter what draw there is the voltage stays at 14.3 at all times.

No I haven't. I did perform the harness mod three years ago but was not aware of the monitor wire fix until today. Are you certain you are able to maintain 14.3 at ALL RPMs with the high beams, cooling fan and brake light engaged? I have always believed the alternator output just wouldn't allow that sort of draw at lower RPM, no matter how good the wiring is.

I just went and tested it, I was actually off just a bit, with the fan, brights, and brake light on it actually dips 0.15 volts. Voltage is the same at all RPMs. Voltage just after starting from cold is about 13.8 and ramps up to 14.27/14.28 within 10 seconds.

At idle

idle.jpg

Brights on

brights.jpg

Brights and brake light

brake.jpg

Fan, brights, and brake light

fanbrights.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What type of Voltage Meter are you using? Where have you tied your voltage meter wires to? I am looking at voltage meters and wondering what people are using and where they tie into to get accurate voltage.

Thanks,

Jay

I have a Datel meter mounted in the front of my tankbag. I used a piece of aluminum inside the bag as a support. The bag serves as a point for power distribution but I have a master switch and the whole bag plugs into a Jastek socket. The power is direct from the battery.

http://www.digitalmeter.com/cgi-bin/websho...and=link--order

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just went and tested it, I was actually off just a bit, with the fan, brights, and brake light on it actually dips 0.15 volts. Voltage is the same at all RPMs. Voltage just after starting from cold is about 13.8 and ramps up to 14.27/14.28 within 10 seconds.

Well, I'll have to give that monitor wire a try. What happens if you let the idle fall to 1000 rpm with all that stuff powered?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

I thought you might ask that, so I turned it down after these pictures, it doesn't make a difference. I keep my idle up high to reduce engine braking / wheel hop on downshifts and because the VFR tachometer reads about 400 rpm high at idle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
I'm slightly bothered by the second question pertaining to accessories. My accessories consist of heated grips and heated vest, both are only used for a few months in Minnesota (so are mainly off.) The current draw for both are nothing close to the second set of stock lights and the cooling fan, which can run alot in the summers. So if I answered YES to running accessories, I feel like I am indicting myself as THE PROBLEM when that can't be the cause.

I do have a voltmeter installed and can tell you the voltage drop is substantial when the high beams are on, the cooling fan is running and sitting at a light with the rear brake light engaged and a blinker on. In this particular situation, the voltage is registering 12.3 volts and suggests that not only is the regulator not keeping up but also a slight discharge is occurring. This will heat that subharness like nothing else. In my opinion, the root of the problem is not riders running accessories, rather Honda's failure to beef up the wiring system to handle the extra load when they had the neat idea of adding a second set of lights. Maybe the poll question could ask if riders use the high beams alot and ride in conditions that result in extended cooling fan cycling.

But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On a related note, I have had more orders for my harness from people in Washington state than anywhere else. More than any 2-3 other states combined.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.

The other thing the poll shows is that the older the bike the more likely a problem, not that it's really related to specific years. :goofy:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.

The other thing the poll shows is that the older the bike the more likely a problem, not that it's really related to specific years. :goofy:

I think this is key. When people get Honda to replace their harness, it restarts the clock on all those crimped connections that gain resistance over time. In most cases the wires don't go bad, it's where they conenct, flex, move, and arc against each other. Anyone who has looked at a set of points after use knows what happens when you break an electrical connection multiple times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.

Honda won't care about what the poll seems to be suggesting. They would only care that I had a harness fail and that I ran accessories....case closed as far as they are concerned.

In other words, Honda would probably look at this poll and say 26% of the failures can be attributed to running accessories while the other 74% remains unknown. I've seen that sort of creative interpretation going on all the time in the high tech industry. <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
Last night I finally dared to open it up and look I found a huge wad of electrical tape holding it all together. My fuse was a little melted but the wires are Crisp to the point that they wont bend. I located the part number for the factory replacement 32401-MCW-D00 and my dealer wants $73.00 for it. I am sure the dealer would just replace the wiring not fix the problem. I am the second owner of the bike the origina owner had put 3500 miles on it and I have added another 1000 miles, so it is not an issue of mileage. I am looking at tightwads fix or maybe building my own. I have not had any luck opening up the existing connections so I can just replace the wire with larger wire.

Here is the photo of what the wires look like.

gallery_10798_3279_23318.jpg

DSC02467.jpg

Just did this to my 2005 this past weekend. My wiring looked pretty close to yours.

Uggghhhh.... :pissed:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

My 30amp fuse started to brown and I found the bike charging at 16 volts at 5k. I bought a VFRness and all is well. Will be doing the blue connector mod very soon. 04' abs with 6800 miles, just bought 2 months ago (used).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can guess why we in western Washington State are getting the electrical shaft here. We ride year round. We get used to the winter drizzle, it gets us wet but not severe enough to get us off the road. Thus corrosion.

I went 47k miles in 4 years with out any electrical problems. I used heated gear regularly, no problem. This summer I added a head light modulator and started using my high beams, then bam! 30 amp fuse and the stator fries on my trip to Utah this summer. Stranded in Salt Lake and Honda stators have a 1 month back order. Had to buy after market stator to get home.

Last summer a guy on our ride to Oregon fried his stator (2003 VFR) He was riding with his high beams on all day long. Made it home draining a new battery with disconnected headlights.

Makes me think it is the extra ~100 W when all 4 head light bulbs are burning that put us over the edge.

I did the 30 amp fuse fix and stator w/ labor $450.

Now I am wondering about the other fixes for prevention. Blue thingy ground wire and some sensor thingy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am closing this thread as it is doing a exactly what I don't want it to do, take away from the original "vtec elec. problems" thread. Two threads of the same info only makes it harder to keep track of the problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.