So, I bought a 2002 VFR800 the other day, as I've been looking for one since last year, but haven't been able to justify some of the prices out there. Saw one for a reasonable price, the guy said it died at a gas station, and he hasn't been able to get it to start. My buddy has a bike shop, and went with me to see it. It would turn over with a small jump pack, but would not start. At the time I bought it, it was downpouring, and he said he's pretty confident we'll get it running. He hasn't been around yet, and I've been working on figuring out the issue. So far, I've tried: - new battery - pulled a coil pack and plug, NO SPARK. Tested from the postive terminal to a coil pack, had 12v. (originally, I was getting .15, but was testing from negative to negative, which wasn't working out well for me) - removed the air filter, and have tried starter fluid. I've had occasional chuff, but that's it. At one point, it sounded like it was going to run, on starter fluid, but that was in the beginning, and have not had a repeat since. - removed the rectifier and diode tested it, which read correctly, but that really doesn't help if it is not running. The previous owner had it disconnected from the stator; I plugged it back in. Don't think there has been any difference. - unbolted the stator cover and verified that the stator is not cooked (appears to have been replaced recently) - emptied the tank, put fresh gas in it - checked and made sure the CPG was plugged in, although I have not tested it for resistance or voltage yet. - checked fuses (that I could find). Also looked at the bus bar, and, while the cover was disconnected, it did not look terrible from appearance. The one fuse cable pictured was pretty rough looking, and open, but still was testing 12v. When I turn the key on, it whines from the dash area. I searched in here, and checked, and the green cable on the blue connector on the left front looks good, and does not appear to be bad. I do not have a FI light on, until I try to start it. The fuel pump does not prime when turning into the "on" position, but when I press the start button, it turns on then. Here is a video of turning it on, turning over, and shutting off. You can hear the pump and the whine: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19Wyq9sDQK1zK5NLs_jMHOuN6PoqGHh--/view?usp=sharing Tomorrow, I am going to probably remove the nose and get to the tip sensor, as that and the kickstand sensor (I have it on the center stand, and have tried starting with the kickstand down and up), are the only two things left I can think of. Any ideas?
That main fuse wire in your picture looks pretty suspicious. The fuel pump should prime for 3 seconds as soon as the ignition is switched on if the kill switch is in "run". The Fi light should also be on, and only come off when the engine is running. The starter circuit is looking for an earth to complete the solenoid activation; can be through the neutral wire (right side of clutch cover) or through both the sidestand switch (up) and clutch switch (pulled in). Service manual is available here: https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index...tec-with-bookmarks-new-cover-ocr/&do=download Eraly 6th gens apparently have a common earth block failure frequently; this is an orange or blue rectangle 1 x 1 x 1/2" on the wiring loom under the front cowl. These get corroded and can melt.
Terry, So I worked on it some more today. I am attaching the photos. - pulled the common earth block, scrubbed the bus bar, if you will, and put it back together. From some posts on VFRD, this one has not had the recall applied--I have two green ground cables at the blue connector, and there is no punch 10mm over and down from the "J" in the VIN number. - removed the front fairing and headlights (what a hassle), exposing the relays and tip over sensor. Note: the first thing I removed was the mirrors, and someone had used vampire clamps to install mirrors with integral turn signals. For fun, I tried turning it on, to see if the turn signals worked. Much to my surprise, when switching to the "on" position, it stopped whining, the lights worked, and I heard the 3 second fuel pump prime. However, further work on removal, and it returned to the same problem, no prime, relay whining. - bypassed the tip over sensor. Still no luck. I also removed it, and shook it, and I can hear the ball rattling around in the fluid, so I put it back. - removed the right headlight relay. This eliminated the whine, although the hi-beams were not working either now. When both plugged in, I got the whine from both relays, and no working headlights. I think there's an issue in the headlights, but I am not sure how this is effecting my lack of spark. -removed all relays and diode, and visually checked all fuses, and tested the diode. I had .520 and .504 from either side when testing on the multimeter, under the diode testing setting. When reversing, I got OL on both, so the diode tests good. - I removed the headlight fuse, and, when turning on, no whine, and the fuel pump primes. - pulled #1 plug and coil, put plug back in coil, and turned it over to test for visible sparks. No spark to coil, and when contacting the engine, no spark jumping to engine, either. So this remains my main issue--no spark. I did not test the fuel cutoff relay, but with lack of whine, I am not as concerned, as when I pull plug 1 (the only plug I've pulled so far), it's wet with gas. Several times among this point, when getting the fuel prime, I would give the velocity stacks a quick squirt of starter fluid, and after several cranks, I will get the occasional "chuff" from one or several cylinders. I don't understand how this is happening, if I have no spark. I have also noticed some issues with the kill switch. Sometimes it takes one or two tries to get it to turn on after turning off the kill switch. This tells me there is an issue with it, and it either needs to be torn apart, or replaced. I put it back into the on position, verified that it'll start, and left it there. So, to summarize, I don't have any visible burn marks, do not appear to have the recall applied, several relays appear to either be bad, or wiring is an issue somewhere that I cannot see. When removing plug on cylinder #1, I see and smell gas on the plug, and there is no visible spark when turning over. Thanks. Here you can see the fuel pump turning on, no codes, and it chuffs when I apply starter fluid, but not for long: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AgI6E24SJkOQgVdyAXZFXemfD85uvVvG/view?usp=sharing Here is the earth ground connection, after brushing it. It already was pretty clean, but I did so for extra measure: Before: Front fairings removed: Aforementioned aftermarket mirrors:
I'm close to out of my depth here. Just so you know (and I'm grasping at straws a bit) there is a cut-out in the starter button that disengages the headlights when the starter is turning. These switches can get dirty and cause odd issues, and your comment about the kill switch suggests the area may need a good clean out. I chased "bad fuelling" on my 1990 ST1100 for some weeks (and many carb cleans) before I discovered a dirty connector which was limiting the voltage reaching the ignition and giving weak sparks.
