Electrical fault - Clock resets to 1am & Dash light fault

Hi All

Just thought I would bounce this off the VFR crew
I have a 96 VFR750 that has an electrical fault/bug (nothing major...yet!)

When I turn the bike off (key to off position), the clock resets back to 1:00am (I am thinking this is either the R/R failing or dirty connectors on R/R plug causing voltage spikes/drops...but this R/R has been tested and passed with flying colors??)

Also

When the lights are off, all the dash lights work fine (high beam, indicator lights etc...all good)
But, when I turn the lights on and then turn on the indicators, both indicator lights on the dash flash (not as bright as normal), as does the clock and high beam dash light? (I'm thinking the PCB maybe corroded and requires the "rewire" mod to be done....sigh (does NOT look like fun...and the replacement part is just WAY to costly)

Bike runs fine and the above faults don't seem to be hurting the battery or effecting anything but me! (I hate sparky faults...they drive me nuts!)

Any help confirming the above would be very much appreciated

Many thanks for your time people

 

You haven't said anything about the age or condition of your battery. What type of riding you do might help with the diagnosis too; short trips in start and stop traffic or longer higher speed runs so the battery charges well. I would test the battery with a multi-meter and report back your findings at idle and revving to about 3000 - 4000 rpm. If the battery is week and not holding a good charge the clock resetting could be the first indication. R/R is still a possibility too but test the battery first before you get too nervous...

 

Test battery at rest, at idle and at 3-4k.

 

Many thanks for the quick replys

The Battery is brand new, the multi meter checks on both the battery and the R/R are within specs as well...hence the confusion
I have read that the clock resetting is a sign that that the R/R is on the way out, yet all checks have proven the R/R is operating fine (And its the upgraded R/R not the stock one)
I will strip the bike this weekend and play "chase wire" to ensure its not something simple like a bad contact or bad earth (I have even checked the stator...that checks out ok as well)....god I hate electrical faults!

Has anyone had the dash lights issue before? (Im still thinking its the PCB tracks...I have to replace two blown bulbs behind the speedo and temp gauges, so two birds one stone as far that goes)

Many thanks for your imput team, very much appriciated

 

Could be a dirty connection between wiring harness and instrument panel, a bad ground, loose or poor condition battery terminals.

 

Well got it all sorted this past weekend.

Gave the bike a complete service, strip down and scrub to check EVERYTHING.
Found many issues in regards to this fault and more!.

But after two days locked in the garage and rolling in grease....mmmmmm...grease!
I rolled the bike out on sunday afternoon in a perfect state

The issue's where numerous....bad main earth, poor connections in multiple terminals, bad tracks on the PCB board,blown dash bulbs and more!.
Ran a secondary earth from the battery and fixed the original, cleaned all the connectors and terminals plus coated them in electrical grease to keep them water free and reliable, added some wires to the PCB board and replaced all the dash bulbs (I used 3w for the speedo/rev/fuel & temp gauges to brighten them up a tad...1.7w for the rest)

Hell, I even managed to get the old scotts chain auto oiler working again!

In all, Im absolutely chuffed!, the bike is running perfectly now with no faults etc and handling like a V4 razor blade! (adjusted the suspension & chain and aligned the front end)
then cleaned and polished the hell out of her, the result was just fantastic! (gotta get some photos to share and send the previous owner...he's not gonna recognise it!...scrubbed up soooo well)

Many thanks to all for there input and ideas, I love getting advice & tips...theres always something to learn and look for

 

Glad you got the ole girl all fix.....I hate electrical problem. Enjoy and ride safe mate

 

Great effort on your part.I am glad it worked out.

 

SAME!...and with a dodgy earth and failing connections my multi meter was going crazy!...nearly did my head lol
Just had to resort to the basics and check everything, time consuming but well worth it for peace of mind

...might keep an eye out for a replacement PCB tho, this one hasn't aged well at all lol

cheers for the feed back mate

Ride safe

Willy

 

Hi
I know this was a long time ago, but i have the same problem. can you recall what the main fault was ? I have checked all ground connections and cleaned most terminal blocks, but still have the dash lights on as you describe.

Thnks
wessex uk

 

When my 6 Gen kept blowing this fuse, it was the front master cylinder brake light trigger wires that were shorting out against the clip-on. Had the same issue with my 5 Gen but with the 5 Gen, it blows the brake light and blinker fuse. Hope this might be the same for you as the fix is rel easy.

Cheers

 

HI

The primary issue was the PCB board behind the speedo dash had corroded tracks, and the main battery was not earthing properly.
...check the PCB board tracks for breaks etc...if necessary, just solder some wire on to bridge the breaks

best of luck mate....I friggin hate sparky faults

 

Thanks

Thanks for prompt reply. Will do as you suggest, however off to the land of NZ tomorrow. It will have to wait until April when i,m back in UK.
Hope its still warm in South Isl.

Wessex

 

Had a similar problem recently and it turned out to be caused by a broken earth connection (RH connection on RH block). All I did was run a wire from the frame to a convenient screw on the same circuit (so no soldering required!) and everything worked again, including a bulb that I'd been convinced had blown.

 

Hi Leafy
Where is the block located? Behind dash?

Ta
Wessex

 

Hi Leafy
Where is the block located? Behind dash?

Ta
Wessex