Guest VFOr Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Don't be lulled into a false sense of security just cuz your bike wasn't one of the recall years. At a minimum clean/inspect electricals annually. I cleaned and lightly greased with dielectric last spring and had a meltdown today. Not sure exactly what happened yet but I will be giiving a thorough inspection after I finish repairs. Stock wiring, no accessories. This melted fuse also blew. Cleaned connections and replaced fuse and limped home. The starter relay still worked ok. fuse ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyminds Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Hmm, I figured it was just a matter of time. That recalled front sub harness was just one of the minor problems in the 6th Gen harness. You have extended warranty? I'm pretty sure that most of the wiring problems that occur on our bikes are never actually recognized by Honda because we just fix them ourselves once warranty is out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Sorry to hear I've had zero issues with all of my bikes using just wd40, including the vfr , Dielectric grease is not conductive, it will only make a bad connection worse, increasing potential heat buildup and possible melting. I do not use it for that fact, but am aware VFR ers are loading up on it. What I do is ensure a good clean connection, prepped with wd40 then ohm check through the connection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checksix Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Dielectric grease is not conductive, it will only make a bad connection worse, increasing potential heat buildup and possible melting. The purpose of dielectric grease is to waterproof the connector, thereby preventing corrosion, not to improve conductivity. I doubt that the grease would make a bad connection worse, but it won't help it either. You're supposed to clean the contacts first, then apply the grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Nope, no extended warranty. I am aware dielectric grease in non-conductive (hence the name). I use it only on the outside of the metal contacts for its anti-corrosion properties, not on the metal to metal points. I'm pretty sure use of dielectric grease did not contribute to my issues, but more due to inspection and cleaning frequency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Nope, no extended warranty. I am aware dielectric grease in non-conductive (hence the name). I use it only on the outside of the metal contacts for its anti-corrosion properties, not on the metal to metal points. I'm pretty sure use of dielectric grease did not contribute to my issues, but more due to inspection and cleaning frequency. I check prep mine once or twice a year on 06 , So far nothing has shown any heat issues at all. I did have a stato go out at 56,000 mile , about 15,000 mile ago. The three yellow wires on new stator got the wd40 prep and ohms cheack through the connector. Old unit fried but no connector heat issues at the plug I'm completely stock, no blue wire fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dutchinterceptor Posted May 9, 2010 Member Contributer Share Posted May 9, 2010 That's pretty much what happened to mine recently. Have you ridden very much in the rain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer IntAceptor Posted May 10, 2010 Member Contributer Share Posted May 10, 2010 Deoxit for anti-oxidation of connectors then dielectric grease to keep them that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Don't be lulled into a false sense of security just cuz your bike wasn't one of the recall years. At a minimum clean/inspect electricals annually. I cleaned and lightly greased with dielectric last spring and had a meltdown today. Not sure exactly what happened yet but I will be giiving a thorough inspection after I finish repairs. Stock wiring, no accessories. This melted fuse also blew. Cleaned connections and replaced fuse and limped home. The starter relay still worked ok. fuse ok. So, what is the fix for this so this doesnt happen? Flash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer NorthernVFRDave Posted May 10, 2010 Member Contributer Share Posted May 10, 2010 How many miles on your 07? I'm pushing 35,000miles on my 07. May have to pull the faring off and take a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Not sure how you all care about your bikes but a lot seem to do things that makes me think:if it aint broke dont fix it. ofc you love your bikes as much as i did (sold it 3 weeks ago) but i changed oil and washed it like a baby but i never did anything about the electrical,maybe we have different versions in europe? anyway hope you get it done and can ride again :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jasonsmith Posted May 10, 2010 Member Contributer Share Posted May 10, 2010 I give mine a real good check during my oil changes, so far so good. A good reason I guess to keep a good eye on everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 So far made similar repairs others have done. Replaced Main Fuse "B" fuse holder and 12 gauge wires and also repaired the wire/spade connector on the red wire going into the starter relay Main Fuse "A". Tested the repairs between rain storms for a hundred miles or so and all is well. Not certain of root cause but I'm leaning towards corroded terminals overheating. Don't think it was RR overcharge cuz my voltage monitor has been showing normal range and I don't think there was a short because no additional fuses have blown since the initial fail. Confidence is still low re: future reliability so I prepared a spare plug 'n' play fuse harness for both main fuses. Since the starter relay just provides a hot tap for Main Fuse "A" my new spare harness just taps off the battery and connects to the stock red wire terminal. I used a couple of 30A delphi WeatherPack fuse holders connected to a ring lug on one end and spade terminals to connect to the stock wires at the other ends. I fondly refer to my new fuse harness as FUHrness...where things go to cook... or even better the Fuck U Honda harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Nope, no extended warranty. I am aware dielectric grease in non-conductive (hence the name). I use it only on the outside of the metal contacts for its anti-corrosion properties, not on the metal to metal points. I'm pretty sure use of dielectric grease did not contribute to my issues, but more due to inspection and cleaning frequency. Fyi... I had to look it up and copied their def.... A material such as glass or porcelain with negligible electrical or thermal conductivity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dutchinterceptor Posted May 24, 2010 Member Contributer Share Posted May 24, 2010 Nicely done. The diagrams are most helpful and the "back-up" harness is a good idea. :warranty: So had you been putting in a lot of miles in the rain when this happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Nicely done. The diagrams are most helpful and the "back-up" harness is a good idea. :warranty: So had you been putting in a lot of miles in the rain when this happened? I don't ride much at all in the rain, I guess it's just the general humidity here. I hooked up the backup harness and ran the bike for a while to be sure it didn't do something unexpected, contemplated leaving it hooked up but decided to just carry it as a spare for the time being. My Valkyrie uses the identical start relay so I'll toss it in spare parts kit for long trips. The Valk has been utterly trouble free for 12 years and 70k miles, partly what pisses me off so much that Honda snafu'd the VFR electrics. Oh well, I'm loving on the VFR more every time I ride it so I guess I'll hope that wiring woes can be eliminated with more frequent attention to corrosion removal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ryanme17 Posted January 5, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted January 5, 2011 Not to hijack your thread, but I need to replace the wiring on my Main Fuse A harness. How far back did you take it? Did you just splice the new harness into the old wire? Here's what mine looks like: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Dielectric grease is an insulator , it will make poor connections, that will generate heat and melt down will procede. 82,000 miles wd40 only and tested for good mechanicle connection, my wiring is as clean as the day i bought it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 The VFRness still fixes these issues as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trace Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Dielectric grease is an insulator , it will make poor connections, that will generate heat and melt down will procede. That is simply not true, as was mentioned by others here. A poor connection is a poor MECHANICAL connection, which is the big problem with the 3-wire stator/RR connector as I discussed in this post:. http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=forums§ion=findpost&pid=750761 The terminals inside the white plastic " terminal holder" don't make good contact....which means high resistance, which means heat and meltdown. The 6th Gen 30-amp fuse holder problem is similar in that the terminal's crimp connection to the wire is probably gimpy from the date it was manufactured, and maybe the wire isn't robust enough for high amp situations....and eventually this causes high heat. I believe that dieletric grease will not prevent this meltdown, because I "greased" a friend's 6th Gen only to have that fuse do a meltdown a month later. Grease certainly can't fix poor connections, but if a set of terminals has good mechanical contact (as they should!), dielectric grease is scraped away from the metal-to-metal connection at the contact points, and then is simply an anti-corrosion coating for the rest of the terminal's metal areas. It DOES NOT adversely affect a good, tight-fitting terminal, nor will it prevent problems in a loose, crappy OEM terminal. Grease is neither the problem or the solution, but it IS good to have on good connections. I suggest replacement of these well-known weak spots in the VFR system using either Tightwad's products, OR good, new crimp connectors, wiring, and solder joints for those of us who are comfortable with our simple 12V electrics. It really is simple....just fix the poor connection problems before meltdown and the bike will last forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Thats correct on the mechanical connections, and the first step for success. They can be tightened up and tested for resitance through the connector, but as a protectant for prevention of corrosion and heat buildup and conductivity, Ive had oustanding success with wd40 only, it cleans and protects. Yet the Silicone grease guys continue to implode. Ignore my results , but you got to go with what works IMO im pointing to my success, with original OEM parts and design BTW , my bathroom light switch had become flakey, i wiggled and Jiggled it, still flakely, a shot of wd40, its been perfect ever since. what did the wd40 do to the contact points? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Not to hijack your thread, but I need to replace the wiring on my Main Fuse A harness. How far back did you take it? Did you just splice the new harness into the old wire? Yes, just connected to the original wire, but replaced the spade connector with a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dutchinterceptor Posted January 5, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted January 5, 2011 I kept stripping insulation until the copper seemed shiny. While pulling the electrical tape off I found this blue tape which was covering a factory splice so I cleaned the wires and made a soldered joint instead. I also would recommend that you leave off the connector and probably wouldn't hurt to add a better fuse holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I kept stripping insulation until the copper seemed shiny. While pulling the electrical tape off I found this blue tape which was covering a factory splice so I cleaned the wires and made a soldered joint instead. I also would recommend that you leave off the connector and probably wouldn't hurt to add a better fuse holder. Good info all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Infidel Posted June 7, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2011 The VFRness still fixes these issues as well! Clicked on your site and didnt see a VFRness for a 6th Gen, only the 98-99. Same as the 07? (forgive my noobness) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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