FI Light Possessed? 01 VFR800

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by 1stCavArmyVet, Jan 2, 2015.

  1. 1stCavArmyVet

    1stCavArmyVet New Member

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    Happy New Years fellow "Viffers". I have an odd thing I want to ask about. I would search but am on my phone at Home Depot LOL. Started the bike this morning, ambient temp about 74*. Did my usual walkaround, checked the oil level, waited for the F.I. light to go out, started her up and let her warm up.
    I headed down the road and the FI light came on. Figured maybe a glitch. Stopped at the next stopsign and recycled the ignition/switch. Came back on again after about 30 seconds. Ran no different however. Same power, acceleration, etc. I had to keep going to my destination about 2 miles away. Coming home? No light at all.

    What would cause something like this?
     
  2. V4toTour

    V4toTour New Member

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    I recently had this issue where the FI light was intermittent. Bike wouldn't fire on occasion, but would turn over. I traced the issue to the main 30 Amp fuse holder. That white plastic guy clipped into the front of the battery box. Fuse plastic was partially melted, but not blown. Housing was slight brown from slight burning. I cut out the old holder and replaced it with one of those sealed fuse holders from the local auto parts. There's also a orange ground block thing wrapped up in the harness nearby. That occasionally might cause the FI issues as well.
     
  3. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    There was a post on VFRD where they were discussing stator issues as the cause of the FI light glitch, or at least that was what went out after the FI glitch happened. I would check the stator, R/R and battery to make sure everything is up to snuff. Low battery can cause weird issues with the bike, so double check that your battery is at least putting out nominal voltage.
     
  4. Markvfr800

    Markvfr800 New Member

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  5. Markvfr800

    Markvfr800 New Member

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  6. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    Yes, the Orange ground buss is a common failure point and cause of FI light weirdness.

    And guess what, there are threads about it right here on VFRW too.
     
  7. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

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    Yep, FI light coming on and off, or lighting opposite to the blinkers is caused by a bad earth block.
    Best medicine is to get rid of it, solder all the earth wires together and add one more of heavy gauge back to where the battery negative bolts on to frame.
    Good to check all known electrical plug failure ponts like the Stator to RR, and main fuse while you're there.
     
  8. Markvfr800

    Markvfr800 New Member

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    done job on it

    Well. This is not work I am proud of. It is my first bit of electrical work so I can't be too hard on myself but I have a feeling this is not the end of issues here. For some reason I don't know I decided to fit individual spades on each wire then splice those wires into two connector blocks then into a double wire which ends in a ring terminal fixed to frame. So I ended up with the two groups of wires funneled down to the same earth point. It might last a while
     

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  9. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

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    It would have been easier and faster to solder it.
    Spade terminals will eventually have the same problem.
    If I see it right, you have all the earths joining a small figure 8 wire bacteria to the frame, seems too small.
     
  10. NormK

    NormK New Member

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    When we have a known problem with connectors on these bikes, solder is the real only option for a fit and forget method, any other fix will eventually cause problems down the road sometime
     
  11. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    Agreed with above re solder as the only real fix. Every one of your crimps and spade connectors is now a potential failure point when you're miles from home. It's not like you need to maintain easy servicability at that location so crimps and spades get you nothing.

    My stator and RR connections are also soldered in.
     
  12. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    On the 6th gen, flashing FI light is a code for an error. That may be one possibility. I really don't know about the 5th Gen bikes.

    I also had my FI light doing strange things during my last long trip and ended up breaking down 3/4 way through a several thousand mile trip. In Regina Saskatchewan of all goddam places. It started out appearing to be like a battery going dead or not charging. I could get it push started. Finally it worsened to the point that it would stop running and I would have to push start or charge up the battery for fresh run. But eventually it would stop running and would not start again. That was in Regina. Fried stator. Stuck there until part could be ordered in and bike fixed three days later.
     
  13. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    This is not talking about the same thing Randy. The FI light isn't making distinct flashes but rather behaves in a possessed manner of glows and faint or random flashes that are not tied back to an EFI fault code. Further, when an attempt is made to check stored FI codes, there often is none.
     
  14. samboss260

    samboss260 New Member

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    98 5th Gen VFR800.

    Bike is charging correctly (have Voltmeter installed) and bike starts and rides fine.

    On a ride about a month ago, the FI light came on about 20 minutes into the ride and stayed on. We stopped for coffee after about 45 minutes and when I started the bike no FI light came on the entire way home, so I thought nothing of it.

    Then yesterday, went for a ride. Went for about an hour and stopped for coffee, no issues. After we left from coffee, about 5 minutes into it the light came on and remained on for the hour ride home. Got home, turned bike off and started again, no light came on.

    Will do the Read Error codes this week, but any ideas? Like I said, bike starts and rides fine.
     
  15. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    That is behaving remarkably like mine did when the stator burned out on me. Difference with mine though, was that I was riding 10 - 12 hour days so the instance of failure was quicker that what you may be experiencing.

    Good luck.
     
  16. Pliskin

    Pliskin New Member

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    I had very similar issues on my 5th Gen. Random lights at random times, yet never missed a beat as far as starting up, running, etc. When I pulled codes, I got different codes: Speed sensor, BAR sensor, and others that I can't recall.

    It turns out that even though my R/R had been upgraded by the previous owner, the replacement was done by plugging the connectors together. And the shocker: When I finally decided to look at the connections, they were burnt on the inside.

    So, I'm not saying it is your R/R, but I would certainly take the time to make sure everything is on par. Doing "the Drill" as outlined in post #9 in the link below will also give you an idea on the status of your stator, which Randy alluded to.

    http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/39277-How-to-fix-common-regulator-Stator-failures
     
  17. Markvfr800

    Markvfr800 New Member

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    Just to follow up.. only got to take bike out over last couple days and absolutely NO Fi light weirdness.. at least I know where to look and what to do if it ever creeps in again ☺
     
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