Member Contributer Aegisranger Posted July 15, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2016 Hi VFR folks, I've been away for a couple of years... got pretty wrapped up in ZX14's and my Ducati 748. So about 2 years ago I was riding the VFR to work and my lights and instruments went out while I was on the highway. The bike still ran fine, so I made it to work and home ok. I pulled it onto the workstand and took some panels off and started poking around... decided it would be a good idea to rewire my accessories while fixing this issue, so I went to wiremybike.com and ordered a VFRness, an accessory fuse panel, and the Blue Connector Quick Fix. This would be a better way to handle my heated grips, airhorn, LED lights, power commander, etc. So the parts arrived, then life happened. Other projects took priority, the ZX14 and the 748 were keeping me busy, and the VFR just sat there... for two years. My son came home on leave from the Air Force and gave me a hard time about the abandoned VFR, so I started working on it last night. I installed the wiremybike items, new battery, and fresh gas. Bike fired right up and runs smooth. My electrical problem was still there though, so tonight I started troubleshooting. I downloaded the color schematic and found the fusebox in the front right fairing. The "E" 10a fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse and turned the key to ON and the new fuse immediately blew. Something was shorted to ground for it to blow that fast. The schematic showed the circuit is the Brown wire with Blue stripe, so put my meter leads on that wire and ground and read 0.00 ohms... which is a short. I started on the left side of the schematic and worked my way to the right. I disconnected each item powered by the circuit and checked to see if the short went away. When I disconnected one of the rear light bulbs, my short went away. I couldn't believe it... that was the last thing I expected. Bulbs usually 'open' not 'short' when they fail. I compared the two bulbs, the bad one failed in a way I've never seen before. The filament was gone (normal), but one of the metal posts that hold the filament melted and shorted to the other post. Strange. So I let my VFR sit for two years because I had a bad lightbulb :) Tomorrow night I'll clean and oil the K&N, get it all put back together with a new bulb, and give her a bath. Saturday will be oil change, and a nice test ride. Sunday I'm riding her from PA to Wisconsin... so wish me luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer paulmeisterpk Posted July 15, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2016 I've never seen that before. Good catch. Too bad it took two years. Where are you headed in WI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer TomP Posted July 15, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2016 Wow, that's gotta be a first. Nicely done diagnosis, and thanks for sharing. Have a great trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zupatun Posted July 15, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2016 Agreed, haven't seen that before. Good find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 2 things Why do you have hyperwhite bulbs in the tail light housing? You need to use the motorcycle specific bulbs that have the anti vibration filament support. Non supported filaments do not last long in vfr tails that always seem to be loose and bouncing around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Aegisranger Posted July 16, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 16, 2016 @paulmeisterpk I'll be in Pewaukee/Waukesha for the week for work. @CandyRedRC46 Those were the bulbs that were in it when I bought the bike... no idea why those were in there but I put almost 20K miles on the bike with them in. I'll get the proper bulbs at the dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 proper bulbs should last about twice as long. especially after a few years when the plastic tail support tears and the rubber grommets don't hold anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Aegisranger Posted July 20, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 20, 2016 After I got the bike running and put back together, I had a great ride to the Milwaukee area. 611 miles on Sunday. Everything has gone well, and I'll be headed home Friday night. Since the bike was sitting for so long, I changed the oil and cleaned and oiled the air filter... glad I did because there was a mouse nest in the air filter. You never know what you'll find :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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