Electrical Problems

[telboy68]

A couple of weeks ago a funny thing started happening. On the odd occassion when I would start up my VFR the clock and tripometer would reset them selves, this only hapopened on the odd occassion, just last week it started happening every couple of days. Yesterday whilst riding I thought I noticed my Malfuncion Indicator come on for a split second but when I looked it was off, so I though tit was just my mind playing tricks on me. Whilst riding today the Malfunction Indicator came on, but then I noticed it was coming on randomly, sometimes when I brkaed it would come on, sometimes when I put my indicators on it would flash the same time my orange indicator light came on. I read up on this and found that if you turn your ignition on and let it idle while on the side stand and count the number of flashes it will assist in the problem finding, the only problem is it doesn't come on till I brake or turn my signals on. Now I am assuming there is a short or something and wondered if there was anyway I could look at this myself or would I need to fork out for a mechanic? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

T

[turtlecreek]

i would think that would indicate your battery is getting weak.....all aok until you crank it, which pulls the battery down and resets your clock. does it seem to turn over ok?

bottom line, check your voltage on your battery and see what you get off, idle and 4-5k rpm and report back.

[Rivcyko]

"Malfunction Indicator" ?????????????????

Start with the ground wire fix.

The smarter will chime in.

[telboy68]

"Malfunction Indicator" ?????????????????

Start with the ground wire fix.

Pardon my ignorance, but whats the ground wire fix........

[telboy68]

i would think that would indicate your battery is getting weak.....all aok until you crank it, which pulls the battery down and resets your clock. does it seem to turn over ok?

bottom line, check your voltage on your battery and see what you get off, idle and 4-5k rpm and report back.

OK , I will post back my results later this evening.

Thx

[Rivcyko]

Opps. My bag. 2001. T.C. has you. Check the batt.

[Tightwad]

I would also check your 30 amp fuse(under seat near battery)...these are notorious for having the wires at the holder fail.

[telboy68]

i would think that would indicate your battery is getting weak.....all aok until you crank it, which pulls the battery down and resets your clock. does it seem to turn over ok?

bottom line, check your voltage on your battery and see what you get off, idle and 4-5k rpm and report back.

All is ok with her, she turns over ok, and runs the same as always.

I did the voltage test and got 14.4v at idle and 14.4v at 4,500rpm.

[HispanicSlammer]

"Malfunction Indicator" ?????????????????

Start with the ground wire fix.

The smarter will chime in.

Ryv, this is a 5th gen not a 6th gen

[turtlecreek]

ok, so from that response, you would 'assume' your battery, rr and generator are ok. i would check/do the 2 things mentioned above next:

1. check 30A fust holder/wire and see if it is charred and replace

2. due the ground/blue connector fix

i am not sure, but did the recall apply to 5th gen or was it just 6th gen?

[telboy68]

ok, so from that response, you would 'assume' your battery, rr and generator are ok. i would check/do the 2 things mentioned above next:

1. check 30A fust holder/wire and see if it is charred and replace

2. due the ground/blue connector fix

i am not sure, but did the recall apply to 5th gen or was it just 6th gen?

Checked the fuse and wires and all is ok.

What is the ground/blue connector fix.

[turtlecreek]

here is the post:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...=BLUE+CONNECTOR

look in first post as it has another link with 'how to'

again, someone needs to tell you if this applies to 5th Gen. i have 6th gen and post seems to target 6th gens. only...

also, go to the 'electrical maintenance forum and search around on ground or electrical problem or 30a fuse fix or....to find tons of posts.

[Rivcyko]

Opps. My bag. 2001. T.C. has you. Check the batt.

"Malfunction Indicator" ?????????????????

Start with the ground wire fix.

The smarter will chime in.

Ryv, this is a 5th gen not a 6th gen

Miuglle, yup. LOL.

here is the post:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...=BLUE+CONNECTOR

look in first post as it has another link with 'how to'

again, someone needs to tell you if this applies to 5th Gen. i have 6th gen and post seems to target 6th gens. only...

also, go to the 'electrical maintenance forum and search around on ground or electrical problem or 30a fuse fix or....to find tons of posts.

Not sure, but my recall says no.

It's tough enough try'n to keep up on 6th gen electrical. My next guess is the R/R. Again, to my recall, it SEEMED, that tell tail signs of it going was the display gett'n goofy. Where's Magellan, when you need him. LOL.

[ki-speed]

I still say bad battery. Just because you had those reading while the bike was running only really says your regulator / rectifier (RR) and your stator are working correctly.

It really does not address the condition of the battery.

That's the same symptoms I had when my battery started going bad. I replaced the battery and all was well.

On a weak battery, when the motor is started, it takes all the juice the battery has to get the motor to turn over. This takes the battery below the acceptable lower linits of some of the electronics, causing things like you clock to reset.

[turtlecreek]

I still say bad battery. Just because you had those reading while the bike was running only really says your regulator / rectifier (RR) and your stator are working correctly.

It really does not address the condition of the battery.

That's the same symptoms I had when my battery started going bad. I replaced the battery and all was well.

On a weak battery, when the motor is started, it takes all the juice the battery has to get the motor to turn over. This takes the battery below the acceptable lower linits of some of the electronics, causing things like you clock to reset.

thats a good point. did you measure the battery voltage with the bike off? 12.2 or so volts or...just hit the starter a couple of times without starting and see what the voltage is at rest afterwards....might be down to 11.5 or so and then you would know. actually, watching the voltage WHILE you crank would help too... it should drop, but not too much...again, maybe to 11.5 or so

[telboy68]

Well I got a new battery and the light still came on, then to top it all off, I was on my way home from work today and all of a sudden the thing cut out while riding along, I tried to start it and it started ok, I carried on riding and then 5 mins later the same thing happened. This time I tried to start it and it started but felt like it was only firing on 3 cylinders, I tried to limp along and as I got further down the road it felt like it dropped ddown to 2 cylinders, then a bit further down 1, until it was completely dead and would not start. Now it is stuck in the middle of nowhere and I don't know whether it may be best to just take it to a mechanic.

[Guest]

R/R? how many miles on bike?

[backonabike]

I have a 99 and it did a very similar thing. My problem ended up being that the connector between thr R/R and the Stator started to fry itself, I mean it literally started to burn up. To fix this, after checking the r/r and Stator I cut the connector out and hardwired the connection. It has run fine since. I talked to a tech and a couple of guys here on the VFRD and they said that if that connector gets dirty it can build up resistance and heat, also said can be remedied with dielectric grease if the connector is not all burnt up like mine was. As a side note I have talked to Tightwad on VFRD and he makes alot of wiring for the 5th and 6th gens so if you have needs he may be one to look up. Good Luck.

[telboy68]

R/R? how many miles on bike?

27,000 miles.

[telboy68]

Well I finally had time to go retrive my baby. I started her and she started fine, the Malfunction (FI) light is on and if I use the turn signal or apply the brakes the engine begins to splutter and almost stall, when I release the brakes or turn the signals off it goes back to normal idle. I haven't had a chance to look at her yet but will do tomorrow, does this sound like the R/R.

[Tightwad]

Sounds like either the R/R or a bad connection....and if you are getting 14 volts I am leaning towards a bad connection. Check both connectors, as well as the 30 amp fuse, and be sure everything is nice and clean.

[Auspanglish]

No no no no no.

This is exactly what happened to my 98 5th gen. Soon after buying her second hand with 50,000 km on her.

One day fine, the next a disaster. Battery flattening. Clock reseting. One day won't start.... It will at least be your Regulator/Rectifier and possibly a few other related bits. The problem with these R/Rs is that they don' necessarily just die and that be it. They can fluctuate between normal and abnormal functioning for months. Sometime just one of the three phases goes (take readings at yellow cables) and you can go on like that for years.

Just buy Tightwads R/R for your model... or do the Phanteon R/R mod. Then check all your related wiring and connectors. Do the "Beef up dem wires" modifications too... I'm hoping to do the latter soon as well... just wish I could make sense of the thread. The 5th gen doesn't have that blue connector people have mentioned... but apparently it does help to run an auxiliary wire or two (with 20 Amp fuses) from the R/R red cables through to the battery... and beef up the ground wires too...

Once you have the new R/R in place, put a PC fan to it to keep it cooler when stopped at the lights.

[telboy68]

OK, well I was out of town for a couple of weeks. When I got back I tried trouble shooting and couldn't come up with anything so I decided to take it to the Honda dealer. I took it in and they had an hour scheduled to look at it, this was 3 weeks ago. Well I finally got a call today and theysaid they have fixed it, they only charged me 2 hours at 80 bucks an hour so I was slightly pleased but a bit dubious as ot having fixed it, the description was They found a short on a ground within a connector in the wire harness. CDI was searching for a ground connection that caused the issue, all fixed and tested ok. Made up. Went and picked up the VFR, on the way back to work it stalled twice pulling away from the lights and I thought that was strange as i haven't done that for ages, but thought I was just a bit rusty as I hadn't riden for a couple of months. So finally finished work and started to head home, then this is were things go from bad to worse. With out warning, no FI light or nothing the thing just kept dying. Sometimes it would restart but sometimes all the light sand display went off and I had to turn her off and leave it for a bit then it woudl start again. I had to turn around and head back to work, I would have took it to the dealer but it was too far away. I called them and they said to bring her in again. I want to just buy a new one, but I have had this baby for over 3 years and never had 1 problem till now and its draining me. ANy ideas?

[zs6af]

Have a look at the Plug that goes into the RELAY next to the battery ,that is where the 30 amp fuse is also situated on my 2004 Honda VFR Vtec .

https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Solenoid-Relay-Honda-Vfr800/dp/B00434W548/189-1038901-5579200?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

There is 4 connectors , I think 3 is used ,the one on rear inside is the main positive voltage connected to the thick wire which I assume is the main wire that goes to ur ignition, cos if u pull that plug off , there is no power on lights , display starter solenoid or brakes . So the lug that goes over the solenoid top part seems not to make very good connection and became very hot that it burned the plastic on side away so u can now see the actual inside of the connector .

 

There is also another 20 Amp fuse for the Petrol pump , mine also melted and have left me stranded a few times . Not sure if this fuse feeds via that 30 amp fuse ? or is it directly connected to the battery positive side . Can I connect this wire on the 20 amp fuel pump directly to battery positive ? I think not as it has to run via the ignition , I would just like to try to bypass high current switches that will eventually start causing resistance , heat and melts and fail on me.

 

 

I have run DECENT 20 amp wires from battery to EACH light relay ( low and high Beam ) in front on positive side to reduce voltage drop and a EARTH wire from battery  to EACH light . Remove the light fuse in FUSE HOLDER when u do that .