5Th Gen Charging Woes

[Snake81]

So I am having charging problems. For starters bought the bike 2 years ago from State 8 in Hudson OH. When I bought it known changes from stock are paint, exhaust, and connector for battery tenderer. All I have changed is brake and clutch levers and Sargent seat. Unknown if anything else is stock or not. Below are picks not sure if the electrical is original or not. Connector with three yellow from stator looks brown like burning. Bike will start and run fine. Has died once at intersection on way home from work. Sat through three light cycles when it died. Took to shop, they checked connectors and said started charging fine could not fine problem. Battery was only a month old. Two days later was riding for a while and turned off bike to take phone call. After call bike would not start. Clock reset on trying to start. Got a jump and drove to dealer this time they said the battery was bad and swapped it for another won. Two days later riding for a while and stopped, would not restart same symptoms. When bike is cool I can start it over and over again. Quick jump it to start run for a minute or two and shut off. It will start over and over from there.

One hour after coming of charger 12.75v

Ignition on 11.9 volts

Right after start up 14v idle

Right after start up 13.2v 5000rpm

106° 12.1v idle

106° 11.8v 5000rpm

Full temp 12.v idle

Full temp 10-7v 5000rpm

Bike off 12.3 v

Checked ohms through stator connector A0.0 B8.0 C18.0

The connector gets hot. The R/R also gets hot

[Cogswell]

Visit the electrical forums - plenty of pinned threads on this problem.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/forum/7-electrical/

Voltage dropping as rpm's increase is a classic sign of a failing R/R. My '99 did exactly the same thing. New R/R = problem solved. You have additional issues though - the R/R appearing to be one of at least several.

[jeffyjeff]

Snake81,

your ohm readings suggest something wrong with the stator. Normally, the readings are taken A-B, B--C, A-C, then A - ground, B -ground, and C-ground. The A-B-C readings should all be low (like 0.5 to 2 ohms.) and the A-B-C to ground readings should be infinite (OL on the largest ohm setting on your meter).

Cogswell is right, there is plenty of charging system diagnosis info out there. I prefer the diagnostic procedure available from Electrosport http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/diagnosis-center/fault-finding-guide. However, I hasten to say that the one stator I purchased from them failed within 10,000 miles, and I have used only OE Honda stators on both my bikes since then.

I have experienced melted three wire connector on my VFR as well. After many tries at connector replacement, I finally gave in and hard wired the stator to the regulator-rectifier. That was 18,000 miles ago and haven't had a problem since.

Good luck, bro. Jeff J

[mello dude]

+1 to all above and add in - your stator connector looks like it may need some attention - pull it apart and take a good look.

[Snake81]

Might have put info wrong ohms test was resistance through stator connector. Still trying to figure the right real world tests that are talked about in other threads. The stator connector does not come apart. Can push the latch piece down but connector does not move at all.

[mello dude]

Might have put info wrong ohms test was resistance through stator connector. Still trying to figure the right real world tests that are talked about in other threads. The stator connector does not come apart. Can push the latch piece down but connector does not move at all.

- Sounds like you gotta work at it, -- its a must do for checking your system.

Here's the rest of the stuff for checking it - kinda straight up step by step list.

Go through all your connectors for burnt leads, dig deep. Crispy wires? Not good. Fix first!

Then---Go through this starting point quick list. You will need a multimeter too.

Steps:

- Recharge battery overnite - then to take it to Autozone or similar to load test. -- Good? Bad? – An iffy battery can fake you out and act like a bad R/R. Buy new if needed.

- With good battery fire it up, warm up for a minute or two.

These are R/R quick checks---

--- With voltmeter at battery get voltages -- idle volts? 5000 rpm volts? What’s the numbers? Should be in 13ish min idle and in 14s at revs. If in the 12s at idle, try at 1900 rpm.

- Check stator

- 1. Pull connector apart. Set meter to resistance. Check pin to pin, 3 yellow wires, A to B, B to C, C to A. What’s the numbers? 3 separate readings --Should be less than 1.0 ohms. (Engine off)

- 2. Check continuity from each A,B,C pin to ground, -- -should be infinity - nada nothing. no continuity. -- 3 separate checks. (Engine off)

- 3. Crank it back up. Do another pin to pin thing, but set meter on AC volts. idle and 5000 rpms. What's da numbers? Should start 15 -20ish and climb 50ish and more. Again – 3 readings

- Repeat hot.

This quick list will catch the obvious stuff, but if you need to dig deeper check this chart.

http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf

Good luck

[jeffyjeff]

Might have put info wrong ohms test was resistance through stator connector. Still trying to figure the right real world tests that are talked about in other threads. The stator connector does not come apart. Can push the latch piece down but connector does not move at all.

The connector does not pull apart because it is melted,,,fused together. It's not supposed to be that way.

[Snake81]

Thanks for the tips and info. Hopefully I can test during the week and not have to wait till next weekend. Nothing like having this happen during busy season at work while in the middle of buying a house. Thank god at least my car is under warranty. One expense I don't have to worry about If it wasn't for the house i would just buy new r/r stator and harness from tightwad and be done with it.

[jeffyjeff]

Snake81,

good luck to you, bro. If you cannot pull that connector apart, cut the wires close to the connector and take your measurements from there. That connector is toast anyway, evidenced by the discoloration on the stator side terminals and melted condition. Aside from that connector and the reliabilitly/durability of the OE regulator/rectifier, I think the core wiring harness on the VFR is fairly solid. My bike had a VFRness and some electrical mods on it when I bought it. There was an AWG 10 wire in the main fuse circuit. Shit! My house wiring has an AWG 10 wire to power my clothes dryer! I took out all that crap and rewired back to stock, replaced the R/R with a Rick's unit, and (eventually) hard wired the three wire stator-R/R connection. Fortunately for me, no problems since.

Keep us posted on your findings. Jeff J.

[Snake81]

So finally cut out the bad stator connector and temporarily used quick disconnect connectors to rerun the tests. Idle hot and cold 13+ volts and same at 5000 rpms. Stator also seemed to test fine. No continuity to ground. High teen vacs at hot and cold idles. 62 at 5000 rpm cold and mid to high 50s hot at 5000 rpms. .3 when testing resistance between wires when off. So if no one sees any problems with these numbers i should be good. Will put in a new connector from wiremybike.com this winter. Until then just use my temp connection. Oh and best test did not die in 20-30 minutes idling in driveway. Heres a pic of crappy temp connection. And again thanks for the help.

[Snake81]

The saddest part of all this is the dealer had the bike for a month and could not find that bad connector. Even when I told them the stator r/r and connector in between are problimatic on these bikes. While testing at some point it charged and they said it must be good. The only positive I paid for the physical brake pads and no labor what so ever. But still I took fairings off and found that and posted in 20 minutes of fairings coming off. Learned my lesson of where the maintenance of my bike will occur. Have to speed up on learning now.

[wagzhp]

Subscribed. This thread has a bunch of good links and concise info.

My 3 yellow wire stator connector looks the same. I had an issue with the bike stalling a while ago and had written it off to a tired battery. Then it died the other morning 25 minutes into my 30 minute ride to work. Had to tow it home (grrr). Swapped the battery with a brand new one. Fired up better than ever, so I figured that was the end of it. Died again the next day on the way home from work.

I need to check all of the voltages to make sure nothing is fried, and if all is good, I'm just going to remove that connector and solder the stator/rr wires together.

Sent from taptalk with spell check and political correctness disabled

[jeffyjeff]

Snake81,

When you get back home after a good ride, leave the engine running while you take off your gloves and reach under the cowl. Feel your connectors for any temperature increase. If your connection stays cool, you're good to go. If it heats up, (and if it does, there will be no doubt) you might consider a hard crimp connection sheilded with heat shrink. Jeff J

[wagzhp]

Subscribed. This thread has a bunch of good links and concise info. My 3 yellow wire stator connector looks the same. I had an issue with the bike stalling a while ago and had written it off to a tired battery. Then it died the other morning 25 minutes into my 30 minute ride to work. Had to tow it home (grrr). Swapped the battery with a brand new one. Fired up better than ever, so I figured that was the end of it. Died again the next day on the way home from work. I need to check all of the voltages to make sure nothing is fried, and if all is good, I'm just going to remove that connector and solder the stator/rr wires together. Sent from taptalk with spell check and political correctness disabled

Well, I borrowed a multimeter and tested everything. (Thanks VFRCapn) The RR and battery are fine, but the stator is shot. Do folks strongly recommend the Rick's powersports unit over a stock Honda replacement unit? My local shop usually offers decent prices and can get parts pretty quickly if they don't already have it in stock. Does anyone know long would it take tightwad over at wire my bike to ship one to California?

[Snake81]

Subscribed. This thread has a bunch of good links and concise info. My 3 yellow wire stator connector looks the same. I had an issue with the bike stalling a while ago and had written it off to a tired battery. Then it died the other morning 25 minutes into my 30 minute ride to work. Had to tow it home (grrr). Swapped the battery with a brand new one. Fired up better than ever, so I figured that was the end of it. Died again the next day on the way home from work. I need to check all of the voltages to make sure nothing is fried, and if all is good, I'm just going to remove that connector and solder the stator/rr wires together. Sent from taptalk with spell check and political correctness disabled

Well, I borrowed a multimeter and tested everything. (Thanks VFRCapn) The RR and battery are fine, but the stator is shot. Do folks strongly recommend the Rick's powersports unit over a stock Honda replacement unit? My local shop usually offers decent prices and can get parts pretty quickly if they don't already have it in stock. Does anyone know long would it take tightwad over at wire my bike to ship one to California?

Did you remove the bad looking connector before you tested the stator? The bad conector was messing up my readings. Just want to mmake sure you are not buying something yoh don't need.

Snake81,

When you get back home after a good ride, leave the engine running while you take off your gloves and reach under the cowl. Feel your connectors for any temperature increase. If your connection stays cool, you're good to go. If it heats up, (and if it does, there will be no doubt) you might consider a hard crimp connection sheilded with heat shrink. Jeff J

Thanks for the heads up. Deleted my last post saying that. Oops.

[wagzhp]

Subscribed. This thread has a bunch of good links and concise info. My 3 yellow wire stator connector looks the same. I had an issue with the bike stalling a while ago and had written it off to a tired battery. Then it died the other morning 25 minutes into my 30 minute ride to work. Had to tow it home (grrr). Swapped the battery with a brand new one. Fired up better than ever, so I figured that was the end of it. Died again the next day on the way home from work. I need to check all of the voltages to make sure nothing is fried, and if all is good, I'm just going to remove that connector and solder the stator/rr wires together. Sent from taptalk with spell check and political correctness disabled

Well, I borrowed a multimeter and tested everything. (Thanks VFRCapn) The RR and battery are fine, but the stator is shot. Do folks strongly recommend the Rick's powersports unit over a stock Honda replacement unit? My local shop usually offers decent prices and can get parts pretty quickly if they don't already have it in stock. Does anyone know long would it take tightwad over at wire my bike to ship one to California?

Did you remove the bad looking connector before you tested the stator? The bad conector was messing up my readings. Just want to mmake sure you are not buying something yoh don't need.

Snake81,

When you get back home after a good ride, leave the engine running while you take off your gloves and reach under the cowl. Feel your connectors for any temperature increase. If your connection stays cool, you're good to go. If it heats up, (and if it does, there will be no doubt) you might consider a hard crimp connection sheilded with heat shrink. Jeff J

Thanks for the heads up. Deleted my last post saying that. Oops.

No, I didn't remove the connector. I'll have to do that tonight and recheck it. Thanks for the info!

[wagzhp]

Only slightly better values with the connector gone and only clean wires to test with. Looks like I'll be ordering a new stator tomorrow.

Sent from taptalk with spell check and political correctness disabled

[jeffyjeff]

While you are at it, dont forget the gasket for the left side cover. The old one will likely tear on disassembly. The hardest part of the job is cleaning all the old gasket material off the engine case and cover. Be careful, dont gouge the aluminum, and make sure the parts are clean when you assemble. There are two hollow studs that will help align the case and cover when you put it together. They might come off with the cover or they might stay in the case. Make sure they dont get lost. good luck Jeff J.

[Guest]

I am also experiencing a similar electrical problem with my 1999. I have gone through two new batteries, both low charges, figured that meant I needed to use a battery tender & started using one. Today my bike left me stranded, just died while at idle waiting for traffic light. Turned key off/on, not enough power to motor & clock reset. Acts like classic electrical issue! (May very well be just another drained battery, but why so many drained batteries?-time to check known VFR electrical causes).
Thanks for the concentrated electrical info in these postings!

[Snake81]

I am also experiencing a similar electrical problem with my 1999. I have gone through two new batteries, both low charges, figured that meant I needed to use a battery tender & started using one. Today my bike left me stranded, just died while at idle waiting for traffic light. Turned key off/on, not enough power to motor & clock reset. Acts like classic electrical issue! (May very well be just another drained battery, but why so many drained batteries?-time to check known VFR electrical causes).

Thanks for the concentrated electrical info in these postings!

I was having problems just like yours. All it was on mine was the connector between stator and r/r was burning out.