Tightwad
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Posts posted by Tightwad
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My wiring looks good. My connectors look good, and I am not getting any change the longer I ride. I would a assume that a symptom of bad wiring could be a decline in voltage as questionable areas become more so. While a VFRness is on my list, I am looking forward to getting a Shindegen and being done with it. My first replacement RR was verified bad by the seller. The second was a Rick's, and my voltage was very similar to PorradaVFR's. My experience with Ricks has been hit and miss in the past.
So I have the Shindegen on the way, and shortly thereafter, the VFRness.
Stator tests:
Ohms between pins: 0.2-0.3 on all three
Ohms to ground: no continuity
VAC at idle: 25ishV between all three
VAC at 5k: 80-90V between all three
I have only made 1 VFRness for use with the Shindegen R/R....just shipped it out today to the UK, so no feedback on it yet.
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And now....
Was it the switch contacts?
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I have a great relationship with Ricks and have witnessed them and their awesome service. They stand behind their products which i appreciate and they are very approachable as well. I haven't worked with Roadster Cycles but I understand the same is true for them.
Yeah, I was really impressed with their attitude and knowledge, unfortunately that unit was bad.
I haven't seen a single R/R provider that hasn't had a bad unit...like anything else they are subject to failure.
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After riding around for 45 minutes yesterday, mostly freeway . . . 13.3 idle, 13.7 at 5k low beams, 13.4 at 5k high beans. Requesting RMA.
How is your wiring? I have had quite a few riders report that the VFRness brought the numbers up. Is the Stator still outputting evenly (and over 60VAC at 5K)?
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I have a great relationship with Ricks and have witnessed them and their awesome service. They stand behind their products which i appreciate and they are very approachable as well. I haven't worked with Roadster Cycles but I understand the same is true for them.
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Not like it's a fun job, but I'd plan on pulling the stator cover offer, and visually examining the unit. If it looks pretty well burned I'd replace it as a maintenance item. Gasket for the stator cover may be a long lead part so I'd order that now.
Let me know if you need a gasket, I keep them on hand. Not generally worth buying alone but I hate cutting them as I am all thumbs at times!
The Ricks Stator is wound via a different method than the OEM. I wouldn't suggest a Ricks stator for a 2002 however as I don't know that it is compatible with the recalled rotor they used for that year. High AC voltage shouldn't be that big of a problem, the amperage potential is the same and a good R/R can handle it. If you get over 14.8V from an aftermarket R/R you have a problem. If you get over 14.8 from the OEM you have a monitor wire problem...if it has the VFRness and no recall work then check that the monitor wire at the R/R has battery voltage with the key on.
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Wiremybike is run by member Tightwad here - you can PM him, but the VFRness alone is not likely to solve your problem. If you read through some of the pinned posts in the electrical maintenance section, it could help you understand your bike better. Maybe look at it as a learning experience, so at least when talking to the mechanic you'll understand better what he's telling you.
Cogswell is right...the VFRness isn't magic...it simply improves the wiring without requiring soldering skills etc...simple install and can help if the wiring is to blame. Most likely you have a bad R/R or Stator as those are the two major components in the system. On my site there are videos showing how to test them, you just need a simple multi-meter (Radio Shack, Lowes, Harbor Freight) and a bit of time...it's easy.
Sorry if you tried to contact me via my site...apparently it has some issues, the code is 7+ years old now and I need to get someone to upgrade it as some features may not be supported anymore.
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Unless you are rewiring everything, the Shindegen R/R ends up with another connection to adapt it to the bike. I find that a good OEM style Mosfet R/R is perfect and solves that issue.
If your stator connector is that clean, don't change it! Usually a bad Stator connector is caused by corrosion or a stator beginning to fail.
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^^^^ Agree with everything that CR says, except on a 5th gen, VFRness not needed.
Why no VFRness on 5th gen?
This is a good question as I sell more VFRness for the 98-99 than all the 6th gen years combined! The 98-99 had ground issues, the 2002+ had + side issues as well as ground and the problem with the monitor wire.
I haven't personally used the other R/R's, the Ricks MOSFET unit has been very good.
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I currently have a rectangular Datel in that panel now, but the round Datel would work as well (untested but small enough from what I can see). I like the meter in the gauges tho...Nice one Anik!
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It's funny my volt's go down as my rev's go up but only when I'm running with my HID's on. at idle I get around 13.8 and on the highway I get around 12.4 without the HID's I get around 14.1 whether at idle or at 5000 to 6000 rpm
Going down to 12.4 is bad news...you have a charging problem (could be wiring only, but doubtful). HID (35watt anyway) use less power than standard halogen, so your problem would probably be worse if you changed back.
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I too built my own Headway cell battery and it was great...until i didn't ride for a few months and a power drain killed one of the cells. After this happened a couple time (I don't learn the first time apparently) I was left with only 3 cells...and was tired of the games. I did have one short out in a watercraft...that was interesting!
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My standard suggestion in these cases (not in the instructions to avoid confusion) is to go from 20A to 25A. As pointed out the split is not equal by any means and what you would see, if you watched the fuses blow, is that the VFRness takes most of the load, the fuse blows and then the main fuse B blows shortly after. 20A works for most people (99% of the time) but 25A should work in their place, without undue concern for over-amperage situations. Nothing sensitive will be protected by a 30 amp fuse, that is why the computer etc have lower values.
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Isn't there a pink wire in the starter switch wiring that has to be connected for the computer to work?
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Leon...your story is similar to mine...
I had a 1990 Yamaha Radian. I decided to take my first ever long ride (500 miles in one day) from Provo, UT to Denio, NV. I was meeting a friend who was driving there from Oregon and then we were to ride back together in his truck (with the bike in the back). I had been riding my bike for quite awhile so I was familiar with the fuel range...135 miles was the max. As Nevada is not exactly over populated I determined that while I could just make it from town to town to fuel, I would strap a 1 gallon can on the bike, to be safe. I gassed up in Salt Lake and headed across the Bonneville Salt flats. About 1/2 way there I remembered that I hadn't filled up my can...no worries, I should have about 15 extra miles worth of fuel. About 30 miles out I had to go to reserve, which was very bad. 18 miles out, in the middle of nothing bigger than a piece of dirt I was out of fuel. I had to hitchhike in to Wendover, with my empty gas can, then back to my bike. The rest of the trip I experienced the same mileage issues, barely making my fuel stops. When I arrived in Denio I was glad that my friend was to meet me there because fuel was 2x the going price at home!
After waiting for 2 hours past when he was supposed to be there (pre cell phone days) a lady told me she had seen my friend on the side of the road in the mountains...with a bad fuel pump. It was 100 miles BACK to the closest place to find a universal fuel pump that would get a 1972 Toyota pickup going...or 45 miles to where my friend was stranded...I opted to head his way thinking we could figure out a MacGuyver fix if we needed to. When I got to him he had determined that his fuel pumps diaphram was weak, not completely ruined, but because he had stopped on an 8% grade due to overheating the fuel pump wasn't strong enough to get the fuel up from the tank. We discussed a few options and decided to see if my 1 gallon can, in the engine bay above the motor would gravity feel enough fuel. It did and we made it off the mountain. We drove overnight to get back to Utah and installed a new fuel pump in the autoparts store parking lot.
When I finally got my bike back I took it to work (at an autoparts store) and a friend had an infrared thermometer. We determined that I had one pipe that was nearly room temperature while the rest were all hot. It turned out the main jet had somehow come loose and fallen into the float bowl, resulting in feeding 1 cylinder as much fuel as it could drink! Oddly enough I hadn't noticed much of a loss in power.
My VFR story is much more depressing...
I was laid up with a separated shoulder as a result of a low speed washout (2 days after returning from a 3300 miles ride to Colorado). During the time I couldn't ride I decided to adjust my valves. I read all the methods, got all the tools etc and went to work. After getting about 1/2 way in I changed tactics, having found a method that didn't require removing the timing gears. It took some time to get the right buckets in and put everything back together...at which time I forget that I had started by removing the timing gears. I took it for a 30 mile ride and everything seemed ok. On my way to work the next morning I started hearing valve train noise and just as I pulled off the tollway the motor died. I tried to turn it over with no luck, it was locked up dead. One of my cam sprockets had come loose and the chain had slipped off. I had 4 bent valves in the front head, couldn't even get them out as they were stuck in the guides. I keep one on my desk at work as a reminder.
Since that day (even after fixing the motor) I haven't commuted on the bike more than a hand full of times. I gassed the bike up last week for the first time in a year, my inspection sticker expired in October of last year! Somehow my enthusiasm drained out.
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I do not have this item in stock. I am in talks with Powerlet to make some especially for me but the cost rises about 20% to have them custom made. My site has been updated to reflect the availability.
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VFRness on a 4th gen is easy to spot...with the right side uncovered you will have an R/R connector just hanging there, as the VFRness replaces it but tearing it out isn't worth the trouble. Additionally you can look for the fuse holder and the stator wires in the black loom.
The VFRness has changed some over the years, with Leon having one of the first. Evolution of the VFRness has been interesting, I like to think it has gotten better and better.
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Rick's RR's are garbage too. A friend of mine was running the Rick's mosfet rr and a matching stator on her 2009 zx6r and it melted her battery, fried the ecu and blew all the lights. I would only use the newest of the Shindengen RR's as that is the oem supplier for most bikes. I have been running the newest of the Shindengens, the "FH020aa", which is the oem rr on the 2014 Yamaha R1 and many other bikes and have had great solid results. I bought it from here:
This is a pretty bold claim seeing as Ricks doesn't sell the R/R for the 2009 ZX6R. Did she try to install one designed for another bike?
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I doubt it is the relay, most likely it is the starter switch which cuts out the lights. Next time the lights are working, kill the engine with the key and turn it back on...the lights should come right on.
I do find it off that they aren't coming on at the same time...they are connected to each other unless someone has modified them similar to how the HID kit I made did.
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Looks good! Would have been ok to leave it with just one bolt (that is what Ricks suggest for the new OEM one that is the same thickness anyway). I am curious how it works for you...this is the first of it's kind!
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I finished the custom R/R for Dutchy. This is a MOSFET R/R from Ricks with a 3rd/4th gen R/R fitting...perfect for a stock upgrade or to mate with an existing VFRness modified bike.
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Stator numbers look good to me (still bringing you one however).
I thought the issue was a circuit blowing a fuse?
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Other than Seb's lights which i can make wiring kits for, the only lights I have left are 2 Hi/Lo kits that would fit a 5th gen.
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Look Ma....NACA ducts!
2003 Vfr Electrical Help, Mysterious Battery Death
in Electrical
Posted
The VFRness IS a connection directly to the battery via a beefy fuse...8 gauge wiring. I also agree on Electrosport...I haven't heard many good things about them but lots of problems. I find it odd that the bike was running but the battery was at less voltage than needed to keep the fuel pump going even...something else is amiss and it could just be the wiring. Check the starter relay plug, look for burns at the red wires.