Member Contributer magicman Posted June 21, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2008 So, I'm about 2/3rds the way through my trip, and everything has been great! I pull up to the door of the place I'm staying at in Montreal for the concert, and when I go to restart the bike to park it, it dies. :unsure: Turn the key on, everything lights up okay. Hit the kill switch, and the fuel pump primes as normal. Hit the starter button, and you can hear it try to turn over, but the dash goes dead, and it's a no go. Clock and trip reset. At home, this wouldn't be a problem, but I'm not at home. I only have the small emergency tool kit, which seems to be missing the alan key I need to get under the fairings. I have no multimeter. I had no issues starting previously. And the last (and trouble free) start had only been about 25 minutes beforehand. It's like the battery doesn't have enough juice to crank it over, but it doesn't make sense that it could die in 25 minutes... I checked everything under the seat. All the connections are good. 30A fuse is fine. My alarm is still functioning normal. Except that it resets when I try to start the bike, so I know there is not enough power. Suggestions? Ideas? Anyone close by with tools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Check the blue connector behind the left side fairing, you may have to cut the green wire & jump the connector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rice Posted June 21, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2008 Mine did that before I replaced the thin wire that leads to the 30 AMP fuse. Try bypassing it with heavy gage wire and crank once or twice. If your fuse is not being blown, it is probably not going to cause issues. Also, look at the ground connection which is on the frame just left of the battery. Just see if it's nice and tight. You don't need to remove anything to look at it. Just lift the black rubber at the base of the tank. As a last resort, try push starting the thing. Travis has plenty of experience there :unsure: . Just use 2nd or 3rd gear. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magicman Posted June 21, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2008 Check the blue connector behind the left side fairing, you may have to cut the green wire & jump the connector. That the so called, "blue connector fix"? It's also going to be rather difficult... Only tools the person I am staying with has is this laptop... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Has the harness recall work been done? Is there any buzzing from behind the dash? How old is the battery? If the recall harness work hasn't been do I would simply add a ground wire to the frame at the blue connector green ground wire. A pocket knife, a 12" piece of wire and some elec. tape should get you going(if that's the problem) :unsure: I'll look up the thread http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...e+connector+fix If it's the blue connector issue, you'll need and alan wrench to at least remove the upper fairing bolts enough to get at the front half of the blue connector. The front side is the side that needs the ground, grounding only the rear side won't help because it's still trying to go through the bad pin in the connector. Just peal away some of the protective insulation on the green ground wire on the front side of the connector and wrap one end of the new wire around it as tight as possible and cover with tight elec. tap. Wrap the other end around the bottom of one of the 8 or 10mm (head) bolts just below the take and your done, if the battery is good it will fire right up! :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magicman Posted June 21, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2008 The recall was done. No buzzing. Battery I don't know. I only got the bike in Sept. But it's just so lame it could die within 25 min of working properly. I did find a tool box, but the only allen key in it was a 4 or 5mm... No help... Some zip ties though. I don't have much fuel in it, so, if I do need to bump start, I want to make sure the cause of the problem is fixed. Also, my "waterproof" GPS got some water under the touch screen, so now it's freaking useless... $109... lame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Polarbear Posted June 21, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2008 The recall was done. No buzzing. Battery I don't know. I only got the bike in Sept. But it's just so lame it could die within 25 min of working properly.I did find a tool box, but the only allen key in it was a 4 or 5mm... No help... Some zip ties though. I don't have much fuel in it, so, if I do need to bump start, I want to make sure the cause of the problem is fixed. Also, my "waterproof" GPS got some water under the touch screen, so now it's freaking useless... $109... lame. Hey, Sorry about you being stuck. I'm not a mechanic, so I cannot help you much. However, here's what I can say: you should be able to find a cheap but nonetheless useful set of allen keys at just about any store, convenience store or maybe even grocery store with any luck, and only for a few bucks. I'm not sure where you are in Mtl, but there should be some store around you. That would get you going. You said your batery is weak, could it be i? New battery? Last, but not least, being stuckin Mtl is not the worst thing that could happen to you. Go sit at a cafe and watch the ladies walk by... :unsure: There should be a number of members in the Mtl area, I'm sure that someone will chime in at some point. Good luck man. P.P-M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 The recall was done. No buzzing. Battery I don't know. I only got the bike in Sept. But it's just so lame it could die within 25 min of working properly.I did find a tool box, but the only allen key in it was a 4 or 5mm... No help... Some zip ties though. If the Recall work was done then I would look at a batery problem or loose connections if it's charging correctly! Got a Wal Mart close? You can jump start of a car, but DON'T start the car, just use the juice from the battery only. :unsure: Go out and pick up a cheap $10-15 volt meter and some jumpers if your buddy doesn't have any. See if it will jump start(battery only) and test voltage, go from there! :unsure: btw some older Gens seem to have issues with the start switch, you mentioned water/rain, you could pull it off and spray a little WD40 in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rivcyko Posted June 21, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2008 Pop the seat. get the 12mm open end wrench out, pull the starter relay switch rubber cover. Turn the ignition on, jumper the relay. If it doesn't start, it's the battery. The big question will be, is it because the batt. is old, or is the stater or R/R, the root of the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 The recall was done. No buzzing. Battery I don't know. I only got the bike in Sept. But it's just so lame it could die within 25 min of working properly.I did find a tool box, but the only allen key in it was a 4 or 5mm... No help... Some zip ties though. I don't have much fuel in it, so, if I do need to bump start, I want to make sure the cause of the problem is fixed. Also, my "waterproof" GPS got some water under the touch screen, so now it's freaking useless... $109... lame. my bet is bad battery, its 5 years old and been sitting alot, I'd start there first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I bet it's that damn Vtec engagement! :unsure: j/k are you running yet? :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Bling Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Turn the key on, everything lights up okay. Hit the kill switch, and the fuel pump primes as normal. Hit the starter button, and you can hear it try to turn over, but the dash goes dead, and it's a no go. Clock and trip reset. Sound like a dead battery to me. Â Remember, if your getting a jump from a car, make sure the car is turned off. If the car is running, the alternator can pump out too much voltage for the R/R on your bike to handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer seamus Posted June 21, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2008 I'd bump start it. If it starts and keeps running, the battery is dead. That should at least allow you to get home to figure out the rest of the problem. If it still won't start, you've got an issue somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magicman Posted June 22, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 22, 2008 I've been driving several hours each day for the last week. I hasn't been sitting. I'm guessing R/R, as I got stuck in traffic after the last start, and it did get pretty warm. I just got back from the Iron Maiden concert, so I haven't gotten any further. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Keep us informed and hope you enjoyed the Show!!! :fing02: :laugh: :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 I've been driving several hours each day for the last week. I hasn't been sitting. I'm guessing R/R, as I got stuck in traffic after the last start, and it did get pretty warm. I just got back from the Iron Maiden concert, so I haven't gotten any further. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. FYI, for a 6th gen to have a failed RR, is a real rarity, for a bike to have a failed battery thats been in there since june of 2001 is highly likely. Especially utilizing a life draining alarm system. Just because the bike has been ridden regularly in the last week, does not really play or mean much of anything, still very likely a battery issue. once you have a known (good) fully charged battery in the bike, then you can start testing the charge circuitry, and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmythecop Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 I am by no means a mechanic, but my brother owns a repair shop and he always yells at me about 2 things: Check for gasoline and make sure the battery is good before you diagnose anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magicman Posted June 22, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 22, 2008 Okay, so I got a multimeter. Batt disconnected, 12.02V Ignition on, 9V and dropping. Idle (after bump), 12.6V 5K, 13.4V I forgot to get allen keys, so I still can't get under my fairings. I am going to take a run to the gas station, and see if the voltage comes up at all. I'm on reserve. The alarm is disconnected now. Depending on how it works out, I may stay here another day, as traveling at night with a gimped bike is not something I'd like to do. If that's the case, I'll go buy a set of allen keys, so I can check the stator and R/R outputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magicman Posted June 22, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 22, 2008 Looks like we're going to try to slab it back to Mississauga. ~6 hours. Seems to be charging. Low, but charging. No idea what would have caused the problem, but at least for now, the symptoms are gone. It's just time we don't have to fool around with. I'll update once I have access again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Good luck! Couldn't have been the ground at the blue connector if you're running again w/o fixing it. Sounds more like the battery now. :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magicman Posted June 23, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 23, 2008 Made it. Little saddle sore. Will update on more findings tomorrow. I need to feel safe going back to Nova Scotia on Tuesday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Well, at the very least, you got to sign the Flaf, right? :beer: Good luck getting it fixed, after talking to Bernie, we were thinking it could be the monitor wire or a wearing of the front harness(which you just had replaced, I know). Some folks here have found that the new, larger front harness was not optimally routed by their installer, and was quickly being worn in some places. Could cause an intermittent short... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Battery is toast more than likely, and it won't be doing your R/R any good having to overwork. I would get a new battery in either case, and charge it before installing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Battery won't stay healthy long if the monitor wire needs fixing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer magicman Posted June 26, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 26, 2008 Yeah. Once I got to Mississauga, I checked it in the morning and it was sitting at 12.9V with the bike off. Started perfectly, and was charging at 14.2V. :blush: I took the right fairing off, and checked everything. It all looked fine. No signs of overheating connections or any being loose. I fiddled with a couple and made sure they were good, but at that point it was all goin well. Haven't had an issue since. I do plan on getting a batt soon, but that intermittent short sounds possible. Made it back from montreal yesterday in 11.5 hours (155KPH average) with a few stops for gas. 120kph = ~400km/tank 155kph = ~290km/tank :dry: Pilot Roads don't seem to like maintaining that speed for 11 hours in 25C+ weather. When you've got almost 1300km to go, you don't have many options. My Front kinda blocked off... \_/ Clearly flat, and a little swollen in the middle. Went away once it cooled down overnight. But that tire has about 15K on it and is only 70% worn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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