melted stator wires

look what i found on my bike today. common problem i hear. might just solder directly to the rectifier. my battery is relatively new. and i get all the correct reading from the charging system. judging from the smell i dont think my rectifier is fried. the jusy is still out on the stator. ill have to do a bench test for it. ill have to read my manual unless someone has a quick tip.

bike starts and everything seems to work fine and no fuses seem to be blown. just the burning smell is a little much is all. does anyone have any idea why this happens. other than the fact that the connector is under designed from honda.

any information will help. i do plan on just soldering the stator wires directly to the rectifier.

Mdange

 

Mdange, that's exactly the problem and it isn't limited to the stator/RR connector. IMO Honda used the lowest gauged wiring legally possible and the margin is just too small for areas like the charging system. The wire to wire solution seems to be the way to go, others here have used the fix and it broke my VFR's habit of cooking stators too. Also, a VFRNess would be a good idea too, along with dielectric gelling every connector on the bike...

 

Yes solder the wires. Unless you like doing this over again down the road sometime.

 

Nice Pictures!!!! I love seeing mechanical carnage like that shit. Cut those yellow wires one at a time and solder the connection directly to the wires coming out of the R/R. I used stripped down butt-connectors in between the joint crimped em and used solder there with shrink tubing, thats just me though.

My plug had a small amount of burning, not nearly as fried as yours though, I felt that the bike had some hot start issues when I was getting petrol. Since I soldered those three wires it went away. Good luck, you might wana solder spade connectors with shrink tubing directly to your starter relay too, some may tell yah to do that with the R/R but mine still has the plug on it. Anywhoo, good luck...

 

I would not use dielectric on every connector on the bike. It is non-conductive and not a good idea to use it on low voltage applications.

 

It's the most common and most recurrent VFR problem !!

What usually kills a stator is any 2 of the yellow wires touching together in the melting plug or contacting the chassis (ground).

 

Wow, that is crispy. As long as you'll be in there, it might be worth removing the stator cover to take a look and assess the stator's health. My 5th gen stator was showing signs of stress (though still functioning ok) at under 10,000 miles. If you're at maybe something like 30,000 miles or up it can't hurt to take a look. Here's the stuff for the blades of the connectors



This stuff promotes conductivity on the connector blades while also preventing future corrosion - I also use it on grounds - the ferric connector in contact with the aluminum chassis gives predictably poor results with enough time . . . You can get it at hardware stores or for a few bucks when you order the VFRness. This link is interesting reading on the topic . . .

OxGard

Also, a voltage check is just part of a battery's health - it really needs a load test to be sure it can provide enough amperage. If it's tired it may stress the charging system. The sign my 5th gen R/R was going bad was that the voltage dropped from 13.5 v at idle to about 12.9 at 5,000 rpm. A VFRness, cleaned up connectors and a new R/R and now I have around 14.4 v no matter the rpm.

 

One world,one bike.....

Agreed.

Got my vote for the new VFRWorld official catch phrase Tink. :lol:

 

From a recent vfR-list discussion... The real solution to fixing the R/R issue to to dump the Honda R/R (because it's junk) and replace it with something that uses MOFSETs.

For those that want to get to the point go here: MOSFET Regulator/Rectifiers - The Why & The How - SuperHawk Forum

It's on my To-Do list.

 

Recently did just that Deadsmiley.

Ditched the stock R/R on my '03 and installed a Rick's Motorsport Electrics MOSFET technology R/R from Wire My Bike. Went ahead and installed a VFRness for good measure too.
Notice the burn mark on the wire cover boot? Legacy of my recalled original dash wiring harness.

 

Relocated up front where is can get some air flow too... nice!

Your bike is freakin' awesome by the way. :guitar:

 

Actually that's the stock R/R mounting location on the 6th gen. bikes. Honda finally got smart and moved it up front where it might at least get a little bit more air flow. Then they went and put a fairing panel directly over the top of it. Go figure. :frusty:

Thanks my friend. Got a whole lot more work to do on it.

 

I had this same problem on my 5th gen as well. Have a new ricks motorsports reg on it and soldered the wires. Only thing is when I got ready to put the yellow wires up to the reg yellow wires I couldn't remember how they matched up? Does it really matter seeing as they all put out equally? Thanks a lot

 

The yellow wires are AC voltage in 3 phases. There is no order to them, you are fine.

 

hehe Makes a lot of sense.

I got one for you. Back when I first got the '98 I started reading all about the R/R problems so I bought a VFRness and a Rick's Motorsports R/R. I installed the VFRness and never got around to the R/R. I found that my Honda R/R was the "upgraded" model so I thought I didn't need the Rick's and sold it. doh! :frusty:

 

Yaaaay!. I get to join the club. I wasn't really expecting this since my bike has 15000 miles and the RR was replaced by the previous owner.







Can't really tell from these pics, but the wires aren't even yellow - their brown.

OK, so I might as well ask here.

I'll definitely get one with MOFSET.

I've looked at the VFRness, and while I'm not worried about the price, I'm really not good fixing things. Looking at the picture of the VFRness, it looks way too complicated for me.
1. If I don't use the VFRness, am I going to have the same problem again?
2. Is the VFRness easier to install than it looks?
3. It looks as if the VFRness comes with clips/pins to match to the R/R. Would you still cut these off and solder?

I read the directions on wire my bike, and it doesn't seem too difficult. I hope...

Sounds like at a minimum, once I order the new R/R, I'll need to solder all the wires together. Does that apply to just the yellow wires, or do you snip off all the connections and solder every wire?

If I had a dollar for every time I told someone on this site to "get a VFRness", I'd probably have $12. Now here I am, with a large serving of crow.

 

Thanks deadsmiley, the comment about cutting each wire and solder individually had me a little worried thinking they had to match up. Thanks again

 

1. Dunno. All the VFRness does is supply a new, heavy harness back the battery from the R/R. The VFR has a fault in the design that when the R/R goes it can put all the power through a very small gauge wire and it burns up. Ugly.
2. The VFRness just plugs in. There is one ring terminal that goes to the positive battery terminal and one that goes to ground. It's really not hard at all. If you can screw in a light bulb (or disconnect a connector like you have in your photos) you can do it.
3. Well, your plugs are ruined. At this point you have nothing to lose by cutting them off and soldering. You have to cut them off anyway, regardless of what you do.

The yellow wires are the incoming power to the R/R. The others are the power out. You need do all the wires to and from the R/R.

 

You are not the only one that has been confused by this. I was too at one time.