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Safety Recall


Guest ROUSE

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this just popped up on my I.N.

Rouse

:thumbsup:

August 31, 2007

Dear Honda Motorcycle Dealer:

SAFETY RECALL NOTICE

AFFECTED UNITS: All 2002-2005 VFR800/VFR800A Motorcycles

American Honda is conducting a SAFETY RECALL on affected models per the description above. The recall will correct a defect that exists in the wiring harness of 2002-2005 model year VFR800 motorcycles. In limited circumstances, the ground wire terminals inside the connectors between the main wiring and fairing subharness can overheat, resulting in the melting of the connector and a loss of power to various circuits. As a result, a loss of critical lighting or engine power could occur without warning, which could result in a crash.

Effective immediately YOU MUST NOT SELL any affected model in either your new or used motorcycle inventory until the required repair has been completed. Please make sure ALL DEPARTMENTS in your dealership - Parts, Sales, and Service - are made aware of this action. Any sale of an affected motorcycle after receiving this notice and prior to the required repair is a violation of Federal law.

The instructions, procedures, and parts necessary to repair affected motorcycles will be made available to your dealership as soon as possible. Date-specific information as to each of these items will be sent to you the week of September 10, 2007.

American Honda will mail a notice of this Recall to owners of all affected motorcycles beginning September 10, 2007.

If you have recently sold an affected model, please submit the warranty registration information. If you have any further questions, please contact either American Honda’s Techline or your District Service Manager.

Thank you for your cooperation.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Robert E. Clever

Senior Manager – Service

Motorcycle Division

extra info:

Summary:

Make : HONDA Model : VFR800 Year : 2003

Manufacturer : HONDA (AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.)

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 07V359000 Mfr's Report Date : AUG 14, 2007

Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

Potential Number Of Units Affected : 6952

Detailed Desciption:

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:

HONDA / VFR800 2002-2005

Recall Number: 07V359000

Summary:

ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, THE FRONT FAIRING SUB-HARNESS (SECTION OF THE WIRING HARNESS) TRANSFERS THE ELECTRICAL GROUNDING LOAD OF THE HEADLIGHTS, FRONT TURN SIGNALS, INSTRUMENT PANEL, AND VARIOUS RELAYS TO THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS VIA AN 18-PIN CONNECTOR. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, THE GROUND WIRE TERMINALS INSIDE THE CONNECTOR CAN OVERHEAT, RESULTING IN MELTING OF THE CONNECTOR AND A LOSS OF POWER TO VARIOUS CIRCUITS.

Consequence:

AS A RESULT, A LOSS OF CRITICAL LIGHTING OR ENGINE POWER COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING, WHICH COULD CAUSE A CRASH.

Remedy:

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A RE-DESIGNED SUB-HARNESS. IF DAMAGE IS FOUND, THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS WILL ALSO BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING SEPTEMBER 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-866-784-1870.

Notes:

CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION¿S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

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  • Member Contributer

Interesting.... :unsure:

When checking this website:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/motorcyc...onda/index.html

that recall appears to only be for the non-abs models...is this true or just a mistake on the website????

I would be curious to know out of all the bikes that had this issue were any of them ABS?

This one as well just says VFR800:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems...ecallsearch.cfm

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Had my bike in today for an oil change and my service manager said he had some interesting news about "my bike." I replied "recall on the wiring harness?" He was amazed that I knew this already. Told him what a bid deal it was and the entire community had basically been making changes to the harnesses to keep them from shorting out. I asked him if people had made modifications to their bikes how would that be looked upon. He said as far as he was concerned this is not warranty work and it wouldn't matter what someone had done to their bike. Also, he said it would be some time before the customers would receive notification as Honda has to fill the pipeline of parts to put onto the bikes. Once a safe stock of parts is established you'll see the letters.

Now for the interesting part. I told him that was cool but it wasn't for my bike as it's an 07... right? Cause he said "something interesting about YOUR BIKE." He continued to explain that Honda did finally determine that the wire harness ALONE caused the fire on my 02. He got an additional email from our District Service Manager to him personally explaining the findings which were a major point with moving forward with the recall. One part of the letter basically expressed Honda had a MAJOR concern that what happened to my bike could/would happen again and that the next poor bastard might not be so lucky as to get out only with a hot ass. I am glad that my down time last fall ends up with a positive note.

I just hope that everyone gets their "fix" before there are any more situations like mine. If your bike is running fine one minute and then starts missing really bad... and cuts in and out really bad.... assume the worst and pull over and check everything out. Don't do like I did last fall and try to ride it out. The end result was bad for me.. could be worse for you.

Kevin

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Can anyone tell if they are upgrading just the harness or also all the other wiring too (RR, 30 Amp fuse, etc) like Tightwad's VFRness?

According to American Honda's Defect Notice letter to the NHTSA:

Program for remedying the defect:

The owners of all affected vehicles will be contacted by mail and asked to take their

vehicle to a Honda motorcycle dealer. A re-designed sub-harness will be installed,

and if damage is found the main wiring harness will also be replaced, free of charge.

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I wonder how many years it will take before Honda Canada helps us. You lucky bastages from the States!!

+1 Lucky litigious Yanks!!!

As far as I know Honda Canada is still denying the alternator recall issue let alone the 30 Amp fuse and blue ground connections.

I'm gonna have to disagree here. The Alternator recall was done on my bike, and here's the newest

from transport Canada: Harness Recall from Transport Canada

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Does anyone know how to get in touch with Honda of N.A. or know the website where they post the safety recalls? I've changed addresses since I bought my 03' and there is at least one recall that I know I never received a notice for (the rear break solenoid gasket) so I don't think they have the right address.

Thank God they finally admitted to this problem. I just suffered the results of it on Wednesday when my 30A buss fuse finally melted down. I was actually really lucky that it burned out as I was coasting into a parking spot instead of trying to maneuver on the road. I gotta get this done.

Call this number (1-866-784-1870) and have your VIN ready. They should have on file what recalls are required and which have been done.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest ScottyDo

It doesn't look like anybody has posted the details of the actual recall notice from the NHTSA so here it is for your viewing pleasure...

Summary:

Make : HONDA Model : VFR800 Year : 2003

Manufacturer : HONDA (AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.)

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 07V359000 Mfr's Report Date : AUG 14, 2007

Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

Potential Number Of Units Affected : 6952

Detailed Desciption:

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:

HONDA / VFR800 2002-2005

Recall Number: 07V359000

Summary:

ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, THE FRONT FAIRING SUB-HARNESS (SECTION OF THE WIRING HARNESS) TRANSFERS THE ELECTRICAL GROUNDING LOAD OF THE HEADLIGHTS, FRONT TURN SIGNALS, INSTRUMENT PANEL, AND VARIOUS RELAYS TO THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS VIA AN 18-PIN CONNECTOR. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, THE GROUND WIRE TERMINALS INSIDE THE CONNECTOR CAN OVERHEAT, RESULTING IN MELTING OF THE CONNECTOR AND A LOSS OF POWER TO VARIOUS CIRCUITS.

Consequence:

AS A RESULT, A LOSS OF CRITICAL LIGHTING OR ENGINE POWER COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING, WHICH COULD CAUSE A CRASH.

Remedy:

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A RE-DESIGNED SUB-HARNESS. IF DAMAGE IS FOUND, THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS WILL ALSO BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING SEPTEMBER 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-866-784-1870.

Notes:

CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION¿S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

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I know there is one grounding point to the frame on the left side between the battery and gas tank. Is there any other grounding points on the bike, like maybe in the nose of the bike? I am about to take care of this grounding problem with the blue connector and want to know where if any other ground points are?

Thanks

See this post to answer your questions:

Blue Wire Fix

:thumbsup:

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Guest viffer05

Here is what I find interesting regarding the details of this recall in the document found on the NHTSA website: http://nhthqnwws111.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms...07V359-9716.pdf

What if you own one of the following model years but your bike has a production date or VIN outside of the scope listed below? Are you then screwed or are the bikes in between these ranges miraculously OK...?

"Section 573.6©(2) Identification of potentially affected vehicles"

Make/Model Description VIN Range/Dates of Manufacture

2002 model year

JH2RC461*2M400002 - JH2RC461*2M400006

September 6, 2001

JH2RC461*2M400008 - JH2RC461*2M402149

February 6, 2002

JH2RC464*2M400002 - JH2RC464*2M400006

September 5, 2001

JH2RC464*2M400009 - JH2RC464*2M400536

November 22, 2001 - May 13, 2002

2003 model year

JH2RC461*3M500001 - JH2RC461*3M501519

July 19, 2002 - September 19, 2002

JHWRC464*3M500001 - JH2RC461*3M500496

July 9, 2002 - July 30, 2002

2004 model year

JH2RC461*4M600001 - JH2RC461*4M601209

October 15, 2003 - December 19, 2003

JH2RC464*4M600001 - JHRC464*4M600310

October 15, 2003 - October 28, 2003

2005 model year

JH2RC461*5M700001 - JH2RC461*5M700552

August 17, 2004 - December 27, 2004

JH2RC464*5M700001 - JH2RC464*5M700186

July 8, 2004 - September 9, 2004

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Just got my Canadian Recall notice. Here is a copy.

I'm also in the group that is waiting for someone else to have the work done first. After buying my bike (used) this summer I have probably put about 40 hours worth of work into the bike, not counting the endless hours reading this forum and the service manual. I am very happy with my current setup and, I think, understandably worried about letting the techs do the work on it.

For those that don't work on their bikes this is an easy decision --- let the Honda guy do it.

For those that spend a bunch of time working on our bikes, I think it's only fair to feel a bit concerned about letting the kids at the shop work on them.

I would love to get the parts and do it myself. I would like it even better if there was a tech at my local dealer that I knew and trusted. AND - I would love it if the trustworthy tech let me hang out and help (ok supervise) the work.

PS - I'm riding daily and I don't plan to stop... call me crazy.

gallery_11167_3051_46226.jpg

Safety Recall Honda Canada

Edited by talus
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  • 2 weeks later...

I called my local Honda dealer on Saturday asked if they were aware of the recall on the VFRs. The guy I got was totally up to speed on the issue and assured that they had done the recall work on several other VFRs (good because I didn't want to be the practice bike). They had the replacement parts in stock and booked me an appointment for Monday morning so down the the dealer I went - in the pouring rain. I dropped off the bike at 9am and picked it up at 2pm just as they forecast.

I had a quick look at the new harness kit before it was installed... it comes in two bags. One bag had the new "Starter Battery Cable" assembly - the new red/white charge wire going into the 30 AMP fuse appears larger - a good thing - and that is all thats new with it.

Next I took a look at the "Front Sub Harness" (sorry I should have taken picture). Where the stock one only has one 6P Natural connector that plugs into the Regulator/Rectifier (RR), the new harness has two 6P connectors ("natural" is the color of the plastic BTW). If your familiar with Tightwad's excellent harness "VFRness" you will understand how this works.

BTW I don't think this obsoletes Tightwad's harness since I still feel the single factory charge wire running the long way back to the battery is insufficient AND this recall only address the 2002 VFR's onwards. However, I do think you will have issues plugging in Tighwads mod and this recall harness if only for all the other plugs now on the right hand side - it is very crowded over there.

Things I wish I did:

  1. brought my tube of dielectric grease and greased all the connectors myself right there in the service department'
  2. took a photo of the new recall harness for VFRD (if anyone gets a chance lets get a photo),
  3. asked for my old harness back so that I could dissect it, and
  4. stuck around a watched install and took some pictures - out of curiosity and because I have never had the front cowl off.

When I picked up my bike I checked that all fasteners were re-installed and that all lights operated correctly. Then I brought it home and took the right panel off to see what it looks like. Here are the before and after pictures.

NOTE: I had modified my harness this summer before bringing it into Honda... see here. The service guys left everything I did alone - none of it interfered with what they were adding anyway.

gallery_11167_3051_119993.jpg

BEFORE. Note the original, single, 6P connector in the top right of the photo.

gallery_11167_3051_203774.png

Safety Recall - AFTER.

I have left my extra wiring on the bike. I like the redundancy of the extra charge and ground wires. I have also left the RR White/Black wire running directly back to the Battery. I have not put the volt meter on the new recall harness to check the recall white/black wire but I suspect Honda has now bypassed the ignition. Correct me if I'm wrong.

For those that don't work on their bikes this is an essential recall item - although the urgency of your recall letter is probably a little overdone - we have had this problem for years HONDA!! For those that do work on their bikes the recall simply address the issues we have all been fixing ourselves.

So in summary it looks like Honda addressed three issues with this recall:

  1. they upgraded the red/white charge wire at the 30 amp fuse,
  2. they had done "something" to the blue connector to address the grounding issue (I didn't look at yet), and
  3. they have addressed the white/black RR sensing wire issue.

I think Honda is reading VFRD. Now if I can only get my money back for the new RR, stator, battery, and battery harness that I replaced myself this past summer. :blink:

Edited by talus
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  • Member Contributer

Took mine in last Wed. for the recall. Running just fine as usual. Picked the bike up later that afternoon......bike ran like crap.

Frustrated <_< but had to leave bike at the dealership. Two days later the service manager called and explained that they found a burned connector that's part of the main wire harness(not part of the two being replaced under the recall) and that he had contacted Honda's techline and sent pics etc. to them.

At this point, I'm told that a new main wire harness should be sent out for my bike hopefully this week.

Here's the burned connector...left side just forward of the the battery compartment

gallery_326_40_103523.jpg

Burned connector after recall

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So here are some pictures my service center sent me of the wire harness.

gallery_1591_3509_131548.jpg

JH2RC46143M500995_2.JPG

gallery_1591_3509_77847.jpg

JH2RC46143M500995 _1.JPG

Additionally they noticed that the wires to the R/R and stator were pretty well fried as well. They looked at the stator and apparently all but one or two of the coils were charred!! :blink: Thankfully Honda picked up the cost of the stator and R/R! :unsure: I'll post pictures of the stator and R/R when I get them tomorrow.

Make sure your service shop checks these things as well. You could be eligible for some new equipment on Honda!

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Took mine in last Wed. for the recall. Running just fine as usual. Picked the bike up later that afternoon......bike ran like crap.

Frustrated <_< but had to leave bike at the dealership. Two days later the service manager called and explained that they found a burned connector that's part of the main wire harness(not part of the two being replaced under the recall) and that he had contacted Honda's techline and sent pics etc. to them.

At this point, I'm told that a new main wire harness should be sent out for my bike hopefully this week.

Here's the burned connector...left side just forward of the the battery compartment

gallery_326_40_103523.jpg

Burned connector after recall

That is one of the ground blocks. Others have had the same problem with them.

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I have had the recall work done with the VFRness installed. They just left it disconnected and zip tied it together with some of the other wires. They even apologized for not being able to hook it back up saying that since it was a safety recall they weren't allowed to mess with the new harness in any way. Who knows.

Hooking the VFRness back up took a little extra time just to get everything to sit where you want it to be - things are pretty tight under there now.

I just got my bike back from the dealer. The recall work was done while I had an extra ground wire run to the Front Harness and the VFRness installed. I told the service writer about both modifications when I dropped the bike off.

The dealership didn't disconnect the VFRness from my bike. When I got it back the factory harness & the VFRness were both working and each had a 30amp fuse installed.

The new factory wiring for the 30amp fuse is nice and thick! I also noticed that my dash lights are much brighter than they used to be. Who would have thunk it? (grin)

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Cool, I guess I shouldnt worry then. I got a call yesterday from the dealership and they said Honda has authorized the repairs even though I had modified the harness. I said that it was good that they did because it was their fault I modified the harness to begin with.

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Got the two letters, called my local dealer and they made an appointment for today. Dropped off at 9:30, picked up same day.

The Good:

- Bike runs like a champ

- No (observed) questionable work or "service dings" added

- No problem at all with the warranty parts or service

The Better:

- My suspected faulty CCT was both observed and confirmed

- Parts for THIS issue ordered and will be repaired under extended warranty :wheel:

The Best:

- Kids Toy Run tomorrow, have my bike and will not miss it! :unsure:

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was supposed to pick up mine today after 4 days in the shop... so at 5PM they call me and report that the connector at the starter solenoid is totally burned... mother honda is now replacing all my harnesses front and back AND buying me a new starter solenoid...

Bad news is newest estimate for completion puts her in the shop for over a week.

Good thing she's not my sole means of transportation... oh wait.... DAMN IT!!!!!

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was supposed to pick up mine today after 4 days in the shop... so at 5PM they call me and report that the connector at the starter solenoid is totally burned... mother honda is now replacing all my harnesses front and back AND buying me a new starter solenoid...

Bad news is newest estimate for completion puts her in the shop for over a week.

Good thing she's not my sole means of transportation... oh wait.... DAMN IT!!!!!

So she finally got finished tonight... picked her up, but left her in the parking lot b/c the family was going to dinner... figured we'd pick her up on the way home. Anyhow, got on, started right up, proceeded to head home. I only made it about a mile and a half. Stalled during acceleration. Restarted in neutral, but the second i put it in gear, it died again... did this process twice. While still rolling down a major road in Vegas, made sure the kickstand was up all the way and tried again. Managed to conserve enough momentum to get her off the road and onto the sidewalk. Tried to start again, but now the battery is dead. So, I send my wife (who i thoughtfully told to trail me home) back to the dealership to find everyone is closing up. 3 workers are standing around and tell my wife to call a towtruck. Seeins how i was only just over a mile away, I say f!@# you and start pushing. Eventually, one of the dudes arrives and helps me push the remaining 1/3 of a mile to the dealership.

WTF!!!

So i told the dude honda has 3 options.... 1. give me a loaner while they unfubar my bike, 2. trade me straight up for a new VFR, or 3. call my loan square and give me a HUGE discount on a new VFR...

I doubt i'll make much headway on either 3.

So now, I'm back to bipedal transportation....

DAMN YOU HONDA!!!!

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  • Member Contributer
Does anybody have the honda part numbers for the replacement harnesses?

06320-MCW-305 Harness for 02-03

06320-MCW-306 Harness for 04-05

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DAMN YOU HONDA!!!!

That's your Dealer, Not Honda. :beer:

The other side of this Recall work is that I would NOT drop my bike off at the Dealer if they did not also have a Main Harness in stock otherwise if they find a problem like with this one they need to order a main harness now and you'll have to wait days longer w/o your bike. sad.gif

Sorry your having problems!

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  • Member Contributer

I took my 05 in last Saturday, and I was surprised when the service advisor told me that the bike had to be inspected per the recall instructions. When it was finished I was told they didn't find any wiring problems at all...I had already done the "blue connector/green wire mod", plus the "monitor wire re-route to + battery terminal" and "30-amp fuse fix"...and in that instance the recall instructions said to only replace the front cowl sub harness. Has anyone else run into the dealer inspecting and then only replacing the front headlight harness? I was really hoping I would get the revised 30-amp fuse harness, but I supposed I can buy my own if my repair job fails (doubt it...).

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