2002 VFR800 No Start

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.

 

After replacing most relays and sensors, I came to the conclusion that something is seriously wrong. I let it sit for a while, with the trickle charger in place, and when I came out, I turned it on. Pump primed. I was pretty excited. I turned it off, and then back on (insert tech support voice), and it worked the second time. Third time, no pump, and the fuel shutoff relay started clicking, maybe 5 times. Turn it off and back on, 3 times. Off and on, 2 times. Off and on, nothing. Checked the battery (which is a new one), still full charge. At this point, to consider I could not get a repeatable result, I decided I was going to get the recall done before I tried anything else.



Went to the local small dealer (not really much of a dealer anymore, but they can still do recalls and such. The closest real dealer is 45-50 minutes away). It was gone for two weeks, and I got the call, and picked it up. They said they were not able to get it to start, but the battery was also almost dead. I talked to the guy for a few minutes, and they basically said disconnect and reconnect everything, sometimes it works.

Once I brought it home, I looked it over, and plugged in the trickle charger. They did a pretty nice job, and they even did a few things that weren't in the recall, like fixing the nasty solder/burn job on the secondary main fuse, or whatever that 30 amp next to the main fuse is.


The first thing I noticed immediately, was that I was getting a prime every time. So that's a plus. Secondly, I was now getting codes. I have been getting 23 and 24, the O2 sensor heater wire errors. I tried to clear the codes, but either A) they won't go away and come right back on, or B) I am failing to reset it. I've had it flashing repeatedly a few times, which should mean that it was cleared. Thirdly, on one of the on/off, clear code, repeat cycles, I got a code 19, which is the ignition pulse generator. It went away with the reset, and did not come back on, but I pulled out the multimeter, and it showed 428 ohms, which is in spec. I had bought a set of sensors and relays from a parts bike on Ebay, and I plugged in the replacement, and ran it back and forth over a rachet wrench, and it was responding about the same as the one in the bike was when turning over, so I think the one in the bike might be ok. It's not testing 0v when turning over, in other words.

I pulled a coil and plug, and I am still only getting 2.7v. This is the main issue, I'm pretty sure. The plugs are damp with gas, so I am not too concerned about the injectors, although I do need to test voltage on those.

Today I went out with the wife, to go over the nifty ECU diagram posted on here. I started on the top right, and made it down to the IDC, and ran into two issues there. Yellow/Black on my bike, is the IDC sensor cable, not the PAIR solenoid. There is no Orange/Black that I can find on any connectors in that area. Just to make sure I'm looking at the right parts, the PAIR solenoid is the the solenoid in the back of the air box. On mine, those wires are solid orange, and green/red, if I remember correctly. The IDC (I believe the manual calls it the Bypass Control Solenoid Valve) is Yellow/Black and Black/White. My problem, testing from connector to ECU connector, Black/White is .1 Ohms, whereas Yellow/Black is 31.5. Something tells me, this is not good. There is no visible issues on the cable anywhere I can see.


A) is the diagram incorrect?
B) 35.1 Ohm from connector to connector is a Bad Thing(TM), right? Still, I don't think the BCS/IDC connector should be keeping it from running, right?

I'm heading out to do more connection testing. Will update.

 

Well, I think I might have found the issue... no conductivity from the black and white on the coil connectors to the ECU. Shouldn't I be getting conductivity, or not?

 

I've tested from each point on the ECU connectors to a random coil, nothing. Tested from the black/white on the fuel shutoff relay (with it plugged), tested good to the injector, but not the coil packs. I tested coil packs from front to back, good. Side to side, good, but none of them will connect to the ECU or battery connectors (not sure if that should connect). Green/ground connects ok, although I have seen fluctuation. From the colored wire, to the ECU, good.



I'm out of ideas.