Headlights out on 2002

bingo!!! stosh I got it. I totally get the blue wire with white stripe being the trigger but I neglected to backtrack that to see where the voltage was actually coming from. Nice, I love this stuff.

 

I have the same one as you Cy. I also have the original 2002 manual which I have been looking at. Don't wanna look at the 2007 right now, not sure my brain could handle that.

 

I have the original too but RBC says he's gotten the recall repair which, along with beefing up the battery main fuse, routes high beam power and the front sub harness' entire grounding via the RR's wiring.

 

Cool Jason.:thumbsup:
It's not as hard as I made it sound afterall is it. :biggrin:

 

Thank you all very much for thinking about my VFR's problem. I'm amazed at the knowledge posted here. What a great website!

OK, the Brown wire with Blue stripe does have power on both sides of the connector. The Blue wire with white stripe, as I mentioned earlier, has just a whisp of a volt - couple hundreths maybe a tenth. This obviously this is not enough for a "signal", right?

Can I supply 12 V +/- from a spair battery to the blue wire with white stripe and see if the headlight relays switch on?

I was going to take a part the right handset as directed, and quickly felt it was too much for an after work night time investigation in the cold. It looks kind of complicated to disassemble - do I just take out the phillip screws and carefully pull it a part?

Again, thanks to you guys.

 

I tricked the blue wire with white stripe by supplying 12 V and I heard the relays and lights worked. Then I disassembled the right controls investigating the starter switch as stosh directed.Thank you so much stoshmonster. Hint, don't take out the bottom screw holding the switch with the 4 wires in place. Pry back the two retaining clips and then you can see the 4 contact surfaces. See pict. Nothing really looked out the ordinary, except I did notice a bigger "dent" on one of the connect patches. I wiped it off, it was kind of greasy, reassembled it. Wa la, the lights now work.

Could cyborg beright about my wiring system being burnt out, my rubber boots on 2 connectors have obviously got very hot - but I do ride in 115 degree temperatures. Somebody that works in shop and sees lots of VFRs would only know that answer, I think all else is speculation. I have had the new wiring harness installed as soon as it was announced, I am original ower. The "hot" spots may have occurred before the new harness.

Of particular interest to those wondering, I did change the frequency on the modulators from low to hi (w/less voltage swing mind you) about 3 hours running time before this happened. Probably just another weird coincidence, as also my low beam right headlight now doesn't work - hopefully that is just a bulb.

I would just replace the starter switch, and I'll will check with my shop to make double sure, but I don't see how the switch itself can be replaced (the thumb switch goes through the housing and is connected to the switch itself). The must disconnect, but it sure wasn't obvious.

 

The recall repair replaced the front sub harness and the 30amp wiring at the battery only. If your VFR still has the original main harness Honda should replace it also, and on their dime, as it apparently took some damage before the defective original sub harness was replaced. I'd suggest asking your shop about it and if you don't get anywhere with them go directly to American Honda Customer Relations.

 

Your welcome RBC,glad I could help out a fellow VFR owner.
I checked the Honda parts fische,you won't be able to buy just the starter switch seperately. It's an integral part of the entire right handset assembly.
If you've cleaned the copper contact surfaces in the starter switch,reassembled it properly,and the headlights on your bike now work correctly,save your money you've fixed the problem. Those handsets aren't cheap. Why fix it if it ain't broken,right?

I didn't want to overload you with too much information while you were troubleshooting the electrical circuit for the headlight relay "signal" voltage RBC. I know that understanding and troubleshooting electrical circuits on your bike can sometimes be a bit overwhelming,just ask JasonSmith.:biggrin:
But there's a very specific reason why the headlight relay "signal" voltage is routed up through the starter switch on that one Blue wire with a White stripe. When you turn the keyswitch on the headlights immediately light up,and they draw alot of power from the battery. When you push the starter switch to start the bike,you break the contact inside the switch for the headlight relay "signal" voltage and your headlights turn off. Now the battery can supply the maximum amount of power it has available to the starter to start your bike. Once you release the starter switch,you now regain the contact inside the switch for the headlight relay "signal" voltage and the headlights light up again. As Jason finally figured out for himself,without the "trigger" ya got nuthin'.

I had to repair a very similar problem to yours on my friend Teri's '87 Yamaha Virago 535 this past summer. The headlight wasn't working and her bike wouldn't start. I took the starter switch apart just like you did and cleaned up the copper contact surfaces with crocus cloth (they were green and corroded) then reassembled it. The headlight now works and her bike starts everytime. CandyRedRC46 would've easily won that bet because starter switch problems are fairly common.

It's a shame that you're selling your VFR RBC,and yeah I gotta admit you're right you can't keep them all,but in my humble opinion you'll never find another bike that's as smooth and refined. Good Luck to you anyway.

 

Thanks Stoshmonster for looking up the switch and confirming what I thought - the whole handset must be replaced. You've really saved me a lot of money with your guidance, I'm very appreciative.

There are very few bikes on this planet that I would give my VFR up for. But since I bought it 02, I've gotten married and have 4 year old. The reality is that I've just really slowed down now that I'm in my late 40s. I can't remember the last time I had it in vtech -I just baby it back and forth to work.

I know I'm going to regret it, it's such a smoother runner. If the KTM doesn't work out for me, I'll get another VFR. What is a fair asking price for an 02 with 37K? I do have the corbin gunfighter seat and beetle bags, which cost a couple grand back in the day.

 

If you always regret selling a motorcycle then maybe you are not performing a root cause analysis here. The less obvious reason to your regrets stem from your wife. She is the one that will not let you have more than one bike. Sell her, your bikes will be happier and you know that they won't ever do you wrong in any way. Your bikes wouldn't give a rats ass if you had more than one wife. They don't ask much of you, are always there for you, and always keep you happy no matter how you treat them. That said, which one treats you better? Your wife or your bike?

Sure, you'll always have small issues such as these to work through with your bike, but it is just that they are yearning for attention. As you said, she doesn't want to leave. She loves you and wants to be with you forever. Move the for sale sign to your wife. Give the bike a few days to recoup and think about what has happened. Then she will be happy again and work just as she should. :thumbsup:

 

pay up lol :tongue:

 

Now that's a tough question!

Assessing a fair asking price for your bike is something I can't help you with RBC.
I couldn't say because I usually keep my bikes for decades.
Sorry,but you're on your own on that one RBC.

 

Hello guys. Im having the exact problem. Headlights working fine. Washed the bike, took the battery out and now after winter i put battery back, engine running smoothly but no headlights.

No low or high beams at all. No dash indicator for high beams.

Bulbs are ok, all fuses are okay and all of them have electricity. Brown/blue wire has electricity before and after plug as blue/white also.

Opened both left and right switches and sprayed them with contact spray to no avail.

Any suggestions? Do i need to measure voltages/amps on wires to be sure my starter switch is ok?

 

A common cause of this is the Starter Switch being dirty, the auxiliary contacts of the switch when released should place 12v on the Blue/White wire as you've mentioned.

Make sure you are seeing that same 12v at the Lo Beam Relay base Blue/White Wire. If the voltage at the relay is present and Lo Beam relay is still not energising then confirm the continuity of the Green Ground wire back to Battery Negative terminal, BOTH Hi and Lo Beam Relays rely on this Ground wire and it is renowned for failing at the main 18P Blue Connector junction. (Refer your wiring diagram.) You must also see 12v on the Black/Red wire at Both Relay bases, this is from Fuse F 20amp main headlight power.

Good Luck, keep us posted.

 

Can you point me where should ground (green wire) connect to frame?

 

Hi Tom.
Where the Green wire connects to frame really doesn't matter! It may be part of the frame grounds (see attached picture) or it could be part of the multiple grounds within the Ground Block embedded in the wire harness.

The thing is to check this wire, that 1. It has very low to zero ohms reading between the battery Negative terminal and the Green Ground wire at the Relay base. 2. If you have your meter set to voltage, one lead on the Negative Battery terminal and the other lead on the Ground for the Relay base. If you measure any voltage then your Green Ground wire is NOT properly grounded. If the Ground is confirmed as faulty, an additional ground wire can easily be added and spliced into the exisiting Green wire (see attached photo, example of a repair of faulty Ground at the Blue Connector). Make sure you check all the voltages and grounds as previously mentioned at the Relay Base socket.
The 18p Blue connector I mentioned is behind the Left Fairing above the radiator. Do you have the Service Manual for your bike?

 

Okay, green wire measures 0.05 V. So it looks like i really need to take off front cowl?

 

Keep it simple at this stage access the relays. Can you hear the Lo beam Relay click at Ignition Switch On? If not find out why by confirming the Voltages and Ground at the relay socket as mentioned!

Here is a 6gen drawing for you.

 

Guys thank you for your input on this problem, today i solved it. The problem was the blue connector but not what you think and you probably think ground wire. It was wire supplying voltage from fuses to relay, it had a bad connection inside blue connector. Now all switches and all connectors are sprayed with contact spray all nice and tidy.