Fi Light And Loss Of Power

[Wurnman]

Hey All, not sure if i should post here regarding my '98 Viffer or VFR Tech section. Anywhoo here goes.

I bought the bike a while back from a bike shop who was selling it for a customer. Basically he was selling it to pay for the repairs on the bike which was second hand Regulator, loom, CDI and some other electrical wiring. So basically it did the old regulator burnout dance as they are known for.

Now ive been riding the bike a good few months when one day as i was excellerating fast as i like to do the Fi light came on briefly and i lost power. Almost as if the whole bike was shutting down slowly. It did this now and again riding to work.

I took the bike to a Honda dealer and of course they could not find any problems. They cleared the codes as apparantly there were too many to get a good reading. The bike's been fine until last week Wednesday after i started to use teh brights a little more than usually for the traffic. So next week im taking it back to them after the Fi light started to come on more regularly and again it looses power when it does come on. So it looks like it could be related to teh TP sensor as i understand it.

My question to you guys is this, it seems whenever i have my standard lights on or use the indicator or brights for long time minutes later the Fi light comes on. IF i switch off my lights completely then it seems to be fine. So does this look to you guys like a Regulator/loom issue or maybe a faulty CDI which as i have said is second hand or just a faulty TP sensor? Ive checked myself all the plugs and fittings on teh loom and cleaned with an electrical cleaner what i could but it only worked for a while it seems.

I am hoping the Honda dealer can read the error messages stored onboard as i have tried to read it but it's all over the show.

THx in advance.

Lataz....

[Knight]

Did you examine the stator for burnt wiring? Also check its impedance with a multimeter per the factory service manual.

Here is a reference for thorough electrical inspection. Apologies to all, this is the first I know of albeit on the "other" VFR site:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/39277-How-to-fix-common-regulator-Stator-failures

[MaxSwell]

I believe there is a thread called "the drill" for diagnosing electrical issues. Quite a few of us have gone through the r/r and stator failures. Since electricity is FM to me (F'n majik) I'm not one to give specific suggestions.

Welcome to the asylum. Good luck.

[Grum]

Your FI knows nothing about your headlights HOWEVER it will be sensitive to the supply voltage, so loading the electrical system with the added hi beam lights may be showing signs of a failing battery or charging system.

How old is your battery? Are the battery terminals tight and clean? Strange things can happen with a poor battery and bad connections.

What is the code given by the FI light.?

A simple charging system check - With the bike NOT running take your voltmeter and measure your battery voltage this should be around the 12v range. Now start your bike with lights on etc. and re measure your battery voltage it should now be up around the 14v range.

Good luck hope this helps somewhat.

[MaxSwell]

For extra assurances perhaps taking your battery in to be load tested will show it's condition. That seems to be what everyone recommends.

[BusyLittleShop]

Start with the battery for it's the weakest link in the whole system... To
determine the condition of an Maintenance Free battery give it a
refreshing charge... wait 30 minutes... measure terminal voltage...

12.8 or higher is a good battery...
12.0 to 12.8 is a insufficient charge... recharge...
12.0 or lower... battery unserviceable...

If your battery has passed everything up to this point you want to
determine with the engine running what is the voltage recharging the
battery... start the bike in neutral and establish a steady idle...
with a multi meter measure voltage at the + and - battery post... now
increase the RPMs up to 5000... you should see steady volts or a
slight increase... you should not see a drop in volts as RPMs
increase... report back to VFRD the volts at idle and at 5000 RPM...

[maxredline]

Do yourself a HUGE favour and upgrade the grounds on your bike. Sooner of later you will have to do it, sounds like you are there now.

search FI light and pay particular attention to the orange ground block on the left hand side of your bike.

Before I did this mod my bikes FI light flickered when I applied the brakes (for about a month while on a major bike trip). Then after another month I was riding home from a weekend trip the bike lost power and died just to start up again 5 minutes later. Needless to say I lost any confidence in the bike at that point. This happened and second time, but I made it home. I made sure it didnt happen a third.

Do all your electrical checks replace what you need, if any as it could just be your grounds..These wiring harnesses do not last forever in stock form...Good luck but get her done 8)

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/63743-fi-light-woes-are-a-thing-of-the-past/

Like others I soldered the ground block and upgraded other grounds including the two from the egu directly to the frame.