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2005 Starter relay connector meltdown.


TedJake

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If there's already a thread on this, I apologize but couldn't find it. My '05 has just over 40k miles on it, been a reliable bike, but after starting recently, it quit, and electrics went dead. Pulled the seat off, and next to the battery is the starter relay, and the connector and relay were melted, especially to the larger-gauge red wire.

 

I bought a replacement starter relay connector, and just found & ordered (on wiremybike.com) the connector. I am surprised that searches on sites like BikeBandit or Amazon net me zero results for the connectors.

 

The optimist in me wants to think that assuming I make this repair correctly, I should be good to go.

 

The pessimist in me worries that I need to continue down the electrical system - what say all of you, with the above information - are there checks I can do on the R/R or stator, and should I start that while my connector is en route?

Starter Relay meltdown.jpg

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Hi TedJake.

Very common issue. The Red wire carries all your bike electrics with the exception of your EFI stuff (handled by the other 30amp fuse B.)

The Starter Relay houses main fuse A 30amp and feeds the Red wire by only one of its two available terminals. So if you are able to add the extra spade terminal and splice the wire into the existing Red wire this should help things greatly by spreading the electrical load over two terminals. See the link below.

Also if your R/R was giving issues like being shorted this would effect main Fuse B.

Once you have the Starter Relay and wiring sorted you can run the engine to verify your charging voltage and system, a simple voltmeter test.

 

P.S.... I have absolutely no idea why the graphic shown in the link above has a hand drawn connection to the Red and the Green/Red wires!!! THIS IS NOT CORRECT there is NO connection as such. And this does not appear when viewing the actual linked thread!

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I recommend getting replacement connector that has 2 red wires for 4-wires total. Then join those two red wires together to connect with harness. That way, electrical load is split between 2 terminals instead of 1 so there's less heating.

 

Also remove terminals from connector and solder ends of wire to crimps. This will improve electrical conductivity (less heat) and prevent moisture from seeping down wire and causing green-black wire disease. Then heat-shrink wrap over that section of wire+crimp for extra weatherproofing.

 

Then use correct lineman/western-union splice to joint connector pigtail to harness. Follow with solder and adhesive heat-shrink wrap.  Most secure and durable joint possible to prevent future issues. Don't pre-tin with stranded wire, makes it difficult to tie western-union knot.

 

 

Always go for better specs than stock. Too late now, i'll add for future searches. You'll want to get solenoid-connector kit that uses tinned or zinc-coated terminals instead of bare-brass for future-proofing your repair by resisting corrosion. Problem with factory connectors is bare brass corrodes from moisture over time and increases resistance of connection. Thus the heating up and melting of connector.

 

uc?export=download&id=106bsc0DSJ0Y-il-KP

 

With bare terminals, you can also avoid having to butt-splice wires onto factory-harness. Just cut off original terminals where they crimp onto wire. Then crimp & solder new ones on. Only lose about 5mm of harness-length. Use 50mm segment of wire to create 4th terminal connection to double up red wire like Grum's post shows. Tie and solder it back onto original red wire.

 

 

Remember to slide on section of heatshrink tubing before crimping on terminals. Need 2 pieces for red wire.

 

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, TedJake said:

The optimist in me wants to think that assuming I make this repair correctly, I should be good to go.

 

The pessimist in me worries that I need to continue down the electrical system - what say all of you, with the above information - are there checks I can do on the R/R or stator, and should I start that while my connector is en route?

 

First, good on you for finding the failed starter relay connections. Many owners have already replaced the stator, rec/reg, and battery before noticing it was the culprit. 

 

So, yes, you should inspect and open & clean every connector on your bike. Pay particular attention to the connector on the alternator feed harness, and at the rec/reg. If you are feeling adventurous you could remove the alternator cover and check the condition of the stator. Any blackening of the coils is bad news - see below. Don't forget to have a new gasket on hand.

 

 

 

Df-J14030b.jpg

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On 1/23/2021 at 7:06 PM, Grum said:

P.S.... I have absolutely no idea why the graphic shown in the link above has a hand drawn connection to the Red and the Green/Red wires!!! THIS IS NOT CORRECT there is NO connection as such. And this does not appear when viewing the actual linked thread!

Odd eh? Perhaps preview stored some other picture. Anyway, here proper pic of your great idea to double-up on power wire.

Starter_Wirind_Mod.png

 

 

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All outstanding tips & pics, so thank you! Since it's not exactly riding weather here, I may take that alternator cover off in the coming weeks.

 

DannoXYZ - for that connector, do you recommend any parts site for that connector? The one I ordered on WireMyBike doesn't exactly look identical to the one I have, although it does come with the 4th wire it says I may/may not need, and searches net me a red connector that doesn't specify VFR800, and shows 15A instead of 30A.

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Hi, try this one https://kojaycat.co.uk/epages/950000457.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950000457/Products/SFC4WR&Locale=en_GB

 

Another idea is to ditch this design altogether and improve it. See how power flows from battery to starter solenoid, then fuse-A circuit taps for power from starter-solenoid terminal? You can bypass that cable section and 2 connectors by connecting fuse-A directly to battery like fuse-B. 

 

Then use better design-specs on fuse-holder and wiring. Factory ATC/ATO fuses max out at 30a and you have issues well below that with bare brass spade terminals and corrosion. I prefer to upgrade to MIDI fuses with ratings starting at 30a and goes up to 200a with coated connectors entire way.

 

uc?export=download&id=1Uvq9MdXRwIC_Wcdit

 

 

1/4-hole solder-lugs, for new battery cable and Red power wire

- MIDI fuse holder
- 30a MIDI fuse
  


This is what I use on my sailboat. Tin-plated contacts are way more corrosion-resistant. Clamping pressure from bolt-on interface give better power-transmission and keeps water out. Once installed, you can be sure this is last time you have to deal with fuse-A... for 50-yrs at least!

 

I prefer to use solder-lugs rather than ring-terminals for power applications. Much more robust, corrosion-resistant and handles much, much more power-transferred without heating up. All lugs are crimped, soldered and adhesive heatshrink-wrapped. For wiring of fuse-A, we can probably use hand-held hex-crimper. Don't forget to slide on adhesive heat-shrink wrap 1st.

 

uc?export=download&id=1kV4azrSGxWj9VMil0

 

Wire connections are tied, soldered and heat-shrink wrapped in pro-motorsports, military and aerospace applications for performance, reliability and durability. If it can be done better, I prefer to do it. Rather than just re-creating budget-minded flawed OEM designs.

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Finally an update on my starter relay connector project! 

First, thanks again to all for the helpful advice and details. The parts finally came in, and I had ordered a replacement gasket for the Stator, and when I pulled that, it looked identical to the pic Lorne posted above. I went ahead and ordered & installed both a new Stator, and R/R as well as a VFRness, just to cover all the bases.

 

After putting it all back together, and changing the oil since I had her all taken apart, she fired right up! I can say, thanks to you all, I did it RIGHT, but I can't say I did it WELL, lol...

 

While I have you experts together - I found two things unrelated to the issue on this thread. Mind if I pick your brains one more time?

 

Thing 1 - I noticed neither of my O2 sensor connecters are together, and both seem to be intentionally blocked - 2 pins jumpered on the bike side, 2 pins plugged. My guess is that this might've bypassed an error message, but I hadn't found anything like this in the forums. I've owned the bike since it had 8400 mi and it has 44k now, so other than bad gas mileage, there is no apparent downside to this. Thoughts?

 

Thing 2 - there's a small female connector right by my right-hand ECU/fuse box. I cannot find another lonely connector - my bike has ABS, but perhaps this goes with another optional feature, as it appears OEM & not aftermarket. Thoughts on this?

 

Again - thanks for the assistance on this - getting the bike back just in time for Spring, and now my track Daytona can go back to being a track bike.

VFR O2 Sensor Plugs.PNG

VFR Mystery plug near RH fuse box.PNG

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Connector near your ECM is probably the Service Check diagnostic connector should have a Green and Brown wire attached to it.

Top is the O2 sensor connectors with a load resistors connected to satisfy the ECM. Try unplugging the resistors and removed the black caps, plug them in and see how it goes. Might explain your poor fuel economy.

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O2-sensors are bypasssed with resistor to not throw ECU code.

Fools ECU into thinking heater-circuit of O2-sensor is still connected.

Two of terminals is for O2-sensor heater and other 2 is signal & ground.

 

6232_d_grande.jpg?v=1552097261

 

Here's how it's bypassed on VFR.

gallery_4428_747_79599.jpg


Squirrel! What's question again???

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Without O2-sensors connected, fueling base-maps in ECU tends to be very rich for U.S. bikes. O2-sensor feedback is then used to lean out mixtures to stoich. In European markets without O2-sensor, base-maps tend to be spot-on for max-power without needing corrections & adjustments.

 

On Bosch Motronics ECUs I've examined, they contain 3 maps for different regions of world. Selecting maps for non-U.S. markets such as European or R.o.W. tends to give best power (and MPG too!). For example Motronic 3.1:

 

1. R.o.W. fuel map

2. USA fuel map

3. EU fuel map

 

uc?export=download&id=1aHHrlBVVwIXE9ZbV6

 

4,5,7. various aftermarket performance chips

6. custom load-dyno tuned map for specific engine. Varies widely from any other map due to specific components and wear & tear level. Produced best power out of any chip.

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Thanks again - as always, very educational - I'm going to run a tank or two as-is, then try reconnecting the O2 sensors to see if it throws a code. If not, I'll ride for a few tanks and see if that'll get me closer to the 200-mile range my '03 had but this bike doesn't...

 

Didn't want to replace both O2 sensors @ $150 each after refurbing the electrical system!

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Also measure IAT, ECT, TPS and MAP sensors. Those being mis-adjusted or thrown-off due to vacuum leak will trick & fool ECU into thinking engine-load is higher than actual. Result is ECU injects more petrol than needed.

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