Headlights out on 2002

Have you checked the battery and charging system?

 

Thanks for response @Cyborg. Yes, I bought the battery in January this year and it has since been on charger. The bike charging system is working @14.5V.

The manual specifies a leakage current of 2.5mA and I measured 1.6A. However when I remove fuse D, the current drops to 2.6mA. My fuse box label shows fuse D (10A) as "Position Meter, Tail Illumination", however, Haynes manual shows it as Fan. But the wiring diagram for VFR800-5 Europe model corespondents with the manual (I'm from South Africa, so I believe this is the correct model). There is a short between brown/black wire and the green wire of HI/LO beam relay but I cannot trace it where it originates.

 

I can say from experience that a new battery and good voltage reading doesn't necessarily mean you have a good battery. I have one on my 2008 bike right now that was bought in March of this year. It's the same brand and model that is on my 2007 RWB bike. It shows good voltage, but when I start it, it is weak enough that my coil packs don't always fire off reliably and makes it hard to start sometimes, especially if it's been off the tender a few hours. Both are rated at 11.2Ah and 230 CCA.

I haven't bothered to do it yet, because I like living on the edge....
(Actually it's because I'm a cheap bastage and don't want to buy another battery.)
But I plan to swap batteries on the two bikes to prove to myself that the battery is the problem. I already know it is because it pulls down enough that the clock resets...yet another reason I haven't done it yet.

 

My bike starts every time without issues, the problem is the lights that are not working. The battery is 12V 11.2Ah, CCA 170A.

 

Understood, I'm sure it is something else, but he asked if you checked the battery and I just wanted to emphasize that good voltage doesn't necessarily mean good battery. good luck on troubleshooting it.

 

Welcome to VFRW VVTi800.
Sorry to learn of your struggles with your VFR.
You have shared with us some good work of checking into many potential problem areas, and I think that you should concentrate your investagation at this point on the "indicator" curcut, and the Cooling fan crucut.

You mentioned that the dashboard trips and the fuel pump restarts when pressing the indicator switch. Does it matter which way it is pressed (Left or Right)?
You mentioned that you have significant parasitic draw that stops when removing fuse D, which (after looking over your attached diagram) I agree is the fan curcut.
You also mentioned that you purchase the new battery back in January that has a CCA rating of 170A. You should have a battery with 210 to 230 Cold Cranking Amps (CCA).

 

Thanks @RllwJoe for all the points you raised. I didn't know about the required cranking current, I will test the bike with a car battery to see if the issues are still there.

 

Greetings, I'm happy to report that lights (low beam, high beam and indicator) worked 100% when I connected the car battery. What are relief after troubleshooting for the past two weeks. Thank you all for your contribution.

I changed the battery on 07 January this year, on 15 January I got stuck on the freeway whereby the bike shutdown. I took it to a mechanic and he replaced the fuel pump loom which was damaged. After the loom repair, the fuel pump was failed and was replaced then lights issues started. Are all these failures all linked to a battery with a lower CCA rating? Or there could be an underlying issue? For instance, first time when I was testing with a car battery, the bike suddenly switched off, I tried to replicate the event without success. But I also noticed the starter relay is easily removable from the connector, it doesn't lock in place like other relays in the bike so that could also be making an intermittent connection.

 

It is interesting that the issues with the lights go away with a larger battery connected.

I would be cautious assuming that all is well. The only difference that the CCA rating makes, in my mind, is when the starter is engaged. That is when the battery is under the largest load. After the engine is running the CCA should not make any difference, because at that point the charging system should be supplying all of the needed voltage to run the fuel pump, the injectors, the lights, and any other accessories.

 

Hi @RllwJoe, you are raising a valid concern but based on my sequence of events, the issues started to manifest after the battery was replaced with lower CCA one. I have to buy a correct battery and take her for test ride.

 

So I put back the same 12V 11.2Ah 170 CCA battery and the lights functioned as intended. But my worry now is that the voltage across the battery is 15.5V! I noticed the same thing when the bike was connected to the car battery but just dismissed it. Could that mean a problem with regulator?

 

I found the fault finding chart...so it says there is a "bad connection in the positive lead from RR to battery (+). Check this connection all the way through".... I have some checking to do.

 

Start checking by following "the Drill" spelled out by Mello Dude in post #9 in the following thread;

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthre...mon-regulator-Stator-failures?highlight=drill

 

Hi @RllwJoe thanks for the link, I did "the Drill" last night after work but I was following that fault finding chart (it's kinda similar approach), the stator tests and RR tests are all fine. I also did the diode test on the RR and they are fine. I just wish I had a separate RR to test with. I will take the battery to a battery center to get it tested.

 

The multimeter sent me on a wild goose chase due to its low battery which caused incorrect readings. For instance, with a low battery multimeter, the voltage across the battery bike was 14.38V and 13.2V after multimeter battery replacement.

Here's the bike's battery new measurements:

13.92V at idle
14.18V at 5000 RPM
13.45V with high beam on

I'm happy that the stator and RR seem to be working as intended although I'm still not sure what caused the lights to not work initially. Thanks to @RllwJoe for steering me in the right direction.

 

You should charge the battery before having it load tested.
I prefer to charge it overnight out of the bike, then wait a day before having it tested.

Like I said before, if the motor turns over well enough to start, the battery has done it's job and the charging system then takes over the electrical needs. So, if the problems show up after the bike is already running, it likely is not the battary causing the issue.

You mentioned early-on that you had a shorted wire, Have you fixed that yet?

 

The battery has been on a charger since February, so the charging test was done with a full battery. I traced the wire from the regulator to the battery and it has good continuity. The bike is in need of oil change and fork seals service, I will only be able to ride afterwards and monitor progress.