hellindustries Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 It's a fun, fun time as i'm sure anyone who has broken down knows. Thankfully, the AA were with me inside 20 minutes, they gave the battery a bit of juice, and i was home 15 minutes later as i'd broken down about a mile from home after a brief 50 mile ride out on my own. I should have noticed the early warning sign in my heated grips turning themselves off (a power saving feature when it thinks the ignition is off), but i certainly noticed stuttering when idling a few miles later. It's on charge now, so i'll at least be able to get in to work, where i can charge it fully, then load test it. I'll also test the charging system on the bike to see where the issue is. Working in a motorbike garage does have advantages ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobG Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 My Problem was the voltage regulator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 This is why all VFR800's are supposed to be fitted with a voltmeter and FH020aa/SH847 regulator rectifier by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellindustries Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 Indeed. I've got a new after-market RR coming tomorrow, which has better wiring and connectors etc.There's a voltmeter i want, but postage from the US to the UK is a good 120% the cost of the item, so that's out the proverbial window... And there's no European supplier and nothing on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Don't waste your time with that. A generic $3 waterproof ebay voltage readout will do much more good than a simple red/yellow/green led. That steady green range is huge and worthless and the steady amber range is tiny, while being equally worthless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted August 1, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2016 1 hour ago, CandyRedRC46 said: This is why all VFR800's are supposed to be fitted with a voltmeter and FH020aa/SH847 regulator rectifier by now. Or a SH775 and now there is SH875. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 I have heard that the SH775 was not designed for high rpm use, that it should only be used on engines with a redline below 10,000 RPMs. Also the SH775 can only handle 30 amps with proper cooling, while the FH020 and SH847 are good for 50 amps. I installed an SH775 on a friends zx6r and I can tell you that it made considerable heat compared to the FH020 on my VFR800. I think the SH775 on a VFR800 would be highly stressed, while the SH847 on a VFR800 would live a much happier and easier life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 2 hours ago, hellindustries said: Indeed. I've got a new after-market RR coming tomorrow, which has better wiring and connectors etc.There's a voltmeter i want, but postage from the US to the UK is a good 120% the cost of the item, so that's out the proverbial window... And there's no European supplier and nothing on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Voltmeter-DC-4-5-30V-RED-LED-Waterproof-Car-Motor-Motorcycle-Panel-Meter-/321350650042?hash=item4ad1fdc8ba:g:KIAAAOSwwPhWk1eo Something like this would provide much more useful info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellindustries Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 I've been looking at something similar. I figure i could attach it to the back of the ignition. to keep it looking tidy without making any cuts in to the fairing. Where's the best place to wire it in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 You are going to want to wire it straight to the battery, fused and with some kind of switch, either a simple push button or something more complex like a relay (powered by battery with a switching current from a head or tail light). I just used a simple push button switch and wired straight off the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellindustries Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 5 minutes ago, CandyRedRC46 said: You are going to want to wire it straight to the battery, fused and with some kind of switch, either a simple push button or something more complex like a relay (powered by battery with a switching current from a head or tail light). I just used a simple push button switch and wired straight off the battery. Righto. I'll get one ordered this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted August 1, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2016 I did what Candy described, installed a relay to control power direct from the battery through a fuse to the relay, then on to the voltmeter. The relay is powered from the tail light feed. I installed my voltmeter in the steering head, used a cheap garden hose fitting to make an adaptor that just pushes snugly together. I armoured the wires against chafing as they enter the bottom triple clamp with some vacuum hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellindustries Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 I shall be doing similar, but placing the voltmeter as another user did, like so: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted August 1, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2016 The criticism I have of my VM position is that it is hard to read in sunlight. If you set the voltmeter further down in the darker recesses of the fairing you'll have a better chance of reading it more easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellindustries Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 A fair point. I'll see what i can do when the unit arrives. And of course: Pics or it didn't happen ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GleninAus Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Just a point on where to place the Voltmeter. Honda made a dogs breakfast of the Earth system on the VFR and I would put it that many regulator fails happen when the earthing goes intermittent stupid so I suggest you wire the volt meter not to where it will show ideal condition of the battery but into the muck I call the green wire common earth harness maze. I wired between the positive ignition lock connector block and picked a random negative green wire connector elsewhere. On turning on the ignition the voltage shown is lower than battery voltage but it shows a circuit under load. Just use a multimeter to measure a healthy ( engine running and not running tests) at battery Volts +/- and compare to voltmeter +/- and that's your baseline. I had a proof of concept a few months ago after I had done some work on the bike. Went for a ride and the voltmeter was all over the place when I was at steady RPM. Seems I had done one of the most common sources of regulator fail. A loose negative battery terminal. My 5$ 1" voltmeter just paid for itself. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/252365106169?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellindustries Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 New RR on today. Back to usual service. Still need to get my low-beams working. I know it's not the switches, at least. Probably not the bulbs, but may be either the relay or some corrosion on the loom-side of the connectors to the bulbs. My money is on the relay. May also try out some LED bulbs for the brake lights. The one i've put in the front parking/side light is doing well. Nice and bright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted August 2, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 2, 2016 On 8/1/2016 at 3:05 PM, CandyRedRC46 said: I have heard that the SH775 was not designed for high rpm use, that it should only be used on engines with a redline below 10,000 RPMs. Also the SH775 can only handle 30 amps with proper cooling, while the FH020 and SH847 are good for 50 amps. I installed an SH775 on a friends zx6r and I can tell you that it made considerable heat compared to the FH020 on my VFR800. I think the SH775 on a VFR800 would be highly stressed, while the SH847 on a VFR800 would live a much happier and easier life. 46,000 miles on my SH775 with no heat and no failures, I am installing one on the RC51 Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Thats good to hear. It should be even happier on the rc51 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRMAN Posted August 4, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 4, 2016 On 02/08/2016 at 6:25 PM, hellindustries said: New RR on today. Back to usual service. Still need to get my low-beams working. I know it's not the switches, at least. Probably not the bulbs, but may be either the relay or some corrosion on the loom-side of the connectors to the bulbs. My money is on the relay. May also try out some LED bulbs for the brake lights. The one i've put in the front parking/side light is doing well. Nice and bright. Which RR did you buy? I got one from wemoto.com made by electrex, I got one of these cheap Chinese voltmeters like Terrys, must get it installed soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellindustries Posted August 4, 2016 Author Share Posted August 4, 2016 Part: RR881 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted August 4, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 4, 2016 51 minutes ago, hellindustries said: Part: RR881 Hi -- I am not meaning any kind of offense --I apologize to say, but you couldnt pay me to put that R/R on my ride..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRMAN Posted August 5, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 5, 2016 Jes I think that's probably the same or very similar to the one I fitted, is it crap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyRedRC46 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 13 hours ago, mello dude said: Hi -- I am not meaning any kind of offense --I apologize to say, but you couldnt pay me to put that R/R on my ride..... I know right? For that price he could have got a real r/r like an FH020aa. Or spent a tad more and gotten the SH847. Note the use of stator to rr connector and the lack of DC to battery fusing! Also definitely not MOSFET, let alone series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted August 5, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 5, 2016 15 hours ago, Saoirse32 said: Jes I think that's probably the same or very similar to the one I fitted, is it crap? Yep.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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