Electrical Problems on 97 VFR

I wanted to document my problems here so that if someone experienced the same issues they would have some guidance. Unless the moderators disapprove, i have posted this over on VFRD as well. http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52809

Several weeks ago I bought a used 97 VFR750 as my first bike ever. It ran fine and I rode it over the first weekend without incident. The next week I realized that the chain was a bit old and rusted so i went again and had a local shop replace both chain and sprockets just in case. Later that same day, after driving about 30 minutes to a friend I parked and realized that the bike was running pretty hot. Attributing the problems to intense heat of the day (around 98 F) I parked the bike and went inside. When I came out a few hours later i realized the clock had reset and the bike wouldn't start. The best I got was an ominous click. A friendly neighbor showed me how to pop start a bike (very useful trick) and I rode home. On the way I noticed several problems. First the lights seemed to be dimming over the course of the half hour ride home. Second, at the stoplights along the way, the bike seemed to be idling really really low and would only want to stay about 1500rpm with a little throttle. Also, at the lights I noticed that the area under my seat (right by the battery) was incredibly hot. Finally, the spedometer eventually died and sat at 0 regardless of my speed or RPM of the engine.

The next morning I called the garage I had had the bike at asking what they had done and what the cause could be. Told it was a dead battery I immidiately attributed it to their carelessness and picked up a new one so I could ride over the weekend. A week later, on another incredibly hot day the bike died again and I had to pop start it to get home. I picked up a battery tender and began exploring this site to try to figure out what had truly gone wrong. I discovered that several people had experienced a few of my problems, but not all at once. In order to solve the problem I ordered a new Regulator/Rectifier, and in order to prevent it from happening again, the VFRness from Wire My Bike.

After testing and much thought it seems that my R/R seems to have completely failed due to the intense heat of the day in combination with Honda's notoriously poor wiring system. It seems that insufficient grounding of the charging system leads to major problems with the R/R. The battery had been overcharging at what could only be incredibly high voltages. The heat even seems to have melted my Starter Relay, located right in front of the battery compartment.

With the new VFRness and R/R, the charging voltage is no higher than 15v and the bike seems to be running great. So for all of you wondering exactly why your battery is so hot, as well as electrical and bike failures, grab a multimeter and check the charging voltage at idle and 5000rpm. It should no higher than 15v, and no lower than 13.5v.

Other than this electrical problem, my VFR seems to be running great and is very reliable. If you have any questions and can't seem to find an answer out there (remember, google is your best friend on this, its such a common problem) feel free to ask.

Hope this helps.

 

Melted connections both at the starter relay and at the 3-wire connection between stator and R/R are the most common failures for charging system.........after failure of R/R of course.

 

Welcome to the Church of Failed R/R's. Thanks for sharing your story, but you're preaching to the choir. :wink:

 

Been there, done that!:wink:

 

Is the VFRness for the 96 a plug and play application?

 

yeah I will need to address the melted starter relay at some point.

The VFRness for the 90-97 is entirely plug and play. The only portion that will need any kind of work is the starter relay connector if you chose to replace it. the start relay connector seems to be problematic on most bikes, though aside from the case melting a bit, it was in great shape on mine. All i would recommend is some electrical tape to ensure no water seeps in to the new cables as well as to easily tie off the old cables no longer used, a jewelers screwdriver to replace the wire running from the R/R to start relay, and a multimeter to test after installation. I would also suggest cable ties to ensure that the wires aren't loose.

If you do chose to replace the starter relay connector (included in the kit), you will need crimping tools or a solder gun optimally.

 

ain't this site great. love it when folks share there experience. just adds more validity to this fine place. Yep, been all around this one.

 

You're on the way to becomming a VFR owner of veteran status, that is as anyone who has replaced his R/R for the second time.

 

myself included... I wonder exactly how many times a "Bad R/R" thread has been made.

SQRM's criteria is well suited... yet who holds the crown of R/R failures?
I've replaced only 2 over 22 yrs.

 

I replaced two in 14 months...