New (to me) 99

chris in va · 07-06-2007, 11:05 PM

Hello everyone, this is my first post on the forum.

I just bought a 99 VFR with 42,000 miles. Previous owner babied this bike with many maintenance receipts to prove it. As you can imagine, one of the issues is the charging system.

I also have a 94 Magna. It has no problems whatsoever, so it came as a suprise when test riding this VFR to find the engine really rough, enough to severely vibrate the mirrors. First thing I did was to test the battery, which was 11.9v. I was very suprised the bike even ran with such low voltage. Charged it up, went for a 100 mile ride...only to find a dead battery again.

Long story short, battery is less than a year old, stator/flywheel were replaced, voltage at yellow wires is normal and the rectifier was replaced with an aftermarket one. This one appears to be bad as well, with only 12.4v getting to the battery. Lights are very yellow.

I'm heading to the Honda dealer first thing tomorrow, and hopefully they have the 'better' unit.

Question though, are the VFR V-4's typically rough like this compared to the Magna, or is this a result of low voltage?

Chris

Nailer45 · 07-07-2007, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris in va

Hello everyone, this is my first post on the forum.

I just bought a 99 VFR with 42,000 miles. Previous owner babied this bike with many maintenance receipts to prove it. As you can imagine, one of the issues is the charging system.

I also have a 94 Magna. It has no problems whatsoever, so it came as a suprise when test riding this VFR to find the engine really rough, enough to severely vibrate the mirrors. First thing I did was to test the battery, which was 11.9v. I was very suprised the bike even ran with such low voltage. Charged it up, went for a 100 mile ride...only to find a dead battery again.

Long story short, battery is less than a year old, stator/flywheel were replaced, voltage at yellow wires is normal and the rectifier was replaced with an aftermarket one. This one appears to be bad as well, with only 12.4v getting to the battery. Lights are very yellow.

I'm heading to the Honda dealer first thing tomorrow, and hopefully they have the 'better' unit.

Question though, are the VFR V-4's typically rough like this compared to the Magna, or is this a result of low voltage?

Chris

check to see if the throttle bodies have been adjusted and set properly..If they are out of sync the bike will run rough..The electrical issue is more like the dreaded R/R isssue.. you can solve it by using a yamaha or suzuki R/R and wiring it in yourself and adding a ground straight to the battery.

at 4,000-5,000 rpm the charging system should be putting out 13.2 volts if i remember correctly...
Check out www.VFRdiscussion.com They just posted a great thread on how to cure the R/R frying problem.. search electrical thread

chris in va · 07-07-2007, 11:49 PM

Hey thanks for the link. I followed a few rewiring suggestions and I now have over 14v at 4k! Idle is still showing 12.2v however, but I have a new rectifier on order.

All I really did was run two extra wires from battery negative to ground on the frame, then two wire splices off the red rectifier wires to positive battery. Soldered the connections too.

One thing though, the three yellow wires get VERY hot to the touch. I'm suprised the covers haven't melted yet.

Engine is still chugging pretty bad. I checked the two rear spark plugs and they look fine, not sure on the fronts yet. Tonight I noticed a fair amount of condensation out the tailpipe...hopefully it's not a blown head gasket. I don't smell antifreeze, just normal exhaust.

Nailer45 · 07-08-2007, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris in va

Hey thanks for the link. I followed a few rewiring suggestions and I now have over 14v at 4k! Idle is still showing 12.2v however, but I have a new rectifier on order.

All I really did was run two extra wires from battery negative to ground on the frame, then two wire splices off the red rectifier wires to positive battery. Soldered the connections too.

One thing though, the three yellow wires get VERY hot to the touch. I'm suprised the covers haven't melted yet.

Engine is still chugging pretty bad. I checked the two rear spark plugs and they look fine, not sure on the fronts yet. Tonight I noticed a fair amount of condensation out the tailpipe...hopefully it's not a blown head gasket. I don't smell antifreeze, just normal exhaust.

condensation from the exhaust is normal .. As far as the engine running rough ,it's hard to tell without hearing it run. It could be / fuel pressure regulator/fuel pump/fuel vent/vaccum line/ electrical related.

chris in va · 07-08-2007, 03:28 PM

I pulled all the plugs last night and didn't see anything terribly interesting. Light grey coating, that's about it. I guess it was just more humid than normal...

Every time I get a new bike I have to figure out what is normal or not so every odd thing seems like a big deal.

Is it normal for the yellow wires to get that hot though?

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07-06-2007, 11:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Last Online: 07-26-2008 01:05 AM View my Photo Gallery Posts: 125 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	New (to me) 99 Hello everyone, this is my first post on the forum. I just bought a 99 VFR with 42,000 miles. Previous owner babied this bike with many maintenance receipts to prove it. As you can imagine, one of the issues is the charging system. I also have a 94 Magna. It has no problems whatsoever, so it came as a suprise when test riding this VFR to find the engine really rough, enough to severely vibrate the mirrors. First thing I did was to test the battery, which was 11.9v. I was very suprised the bike even ran with such low voltage. Charged it up, went for a 100 mile ride...only to find a dead battery again. Long story short, battery is less than a year old, stator/flywheel were replaced, voltage at yellow wires is normal and the rectifier was replaced with an aftermarket one. This one appears to be bad as well, with only 12.4v getting to the battery. Lights are very yellow. I'm heading to the Honda dealer first thing tomorrow, and hopefully they have the 'better' unit. Question though, are the VFR V-4's typically rough like this compared to the Magna, or is this a result of low voltage? Chris

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07-07-2007, 11:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Last Online: 07-26-2008 01:05 AM View my Photo Gallery Posts: 125 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hey thanks for the link. I followed a few rewiring suggestions and I now have over 14v at 4k! Idle is still showing 12.2v however, but I have a new rectifier on order. All I really did was run two extra wires from battery negative to ground on the frame, then two wire splices off the red rectifier wires to positive battery. Soldered the connections too. One thing though, the three yellow wires get VERY hot to the touch. I'm suprised the covers haven't melted yet. Engine is still chugging pretty bad. I checked the two rear spark plugs and they look fine, not sure on the fronts yet. Tonight I noticed a fair amount of condensation out the tailpipe...hopefully it's not a blown head gasket. I don't smell antifreeze, just normal exhaust.

07-08-2007, 03:28 PM	#5 (permalink)
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Last Online: 07-26-2008 01:05 AM View my Photo Gallery Posts: 125 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I pulled all the plugs last night and didn't see anything terribly interesting. Light grey coating, that's about it. I guess it was just more humid than normal... Every time I get a new bike I have to figure out what is normal or not so every odd thing seems like a big deal. Is it normal for the yellow wires to get that hot though?