No display! Where to go from here?

Hey,

So I put a brand new battery in my bike to start the year - no display is showing. My battery also went flat after a while - so I guess this means there an issue with the charging system? The display blinked on at one point on my first run, then went off again. However when the bike is turned off, the clock comes on after a while, but not while bike is going. Could I have 2 problems - display and charging system? Its a 1999 VFR I have - any advice on where to go from here would help - thanks!

 

Firsly welcome to the VFRworld MadHouse!

BUT ...




As for your question it sounds like it may be one problem with two symptoms.

From your description it seems likely that one or more of the charging system components could be the culprit. but you really need to do some basic test before throwing cash at replacing perfectly good components. Inherently all 4 bits of the charging system (Stator, RR, Battery & Loom) need to be in good health, and a fault in one can kill some or all of the others.

The 99's had a history of fried wiring/and melted connectors and one sign sure of charging issues was weird behaviour with the instruments and battery dying. If one of the diodes in the RR dies, it can feed very high volts AC to the battery and blow fuses etc, or can drop output right down and act as a big drain on the battery.

So you need to go about checking systematically. The key first step is to take the battery off, recharge it then record the DC volts and again after 1 hour. If both readings are healthly over 12.5 volts reconnect the battery and you can start to carry out "the drill" If the battery is duff then get a new one before running through the drill.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/5th-gene...how-fix-common-regulator-stator-failures.html

If you are not confident what the results mean, then post up your findings here and hopefully we can steer you. NB Checking the stator output needs to be done 4 times (basically the winding insulation can fail when it gets hot) So do the AC output tests at idle and 5,000rpm and then take the bike for a decent run to make sure it gets hot (half hour should be enough) then repeat the test as soon as you get back. Sadly the stator may give decent AC volts when the stator is cold but if the windings are failing it can produce negative output when hot, which will quickly drain even a full battery. NB Stator output tests are done with the RR disconnected (the bike will run fine on just the battery - as long as it is in good health). Also take care when checking the AC output from the stator wires. You need to note down AC volts output across all three of the possible green wiring pairings. Then compare results with the specs )which should also be similar figures). Do not allow the mutimeter probes to short the wires or provide a route to earth!

One last thought hopefully Tink will know - is this the version with the dreaded hidden orange connector fault? You may want to search for posts by Tink (TinkerinWstuff).

Good luck and let us know how you get on - meantime we want to see some photos of the VFR!




SkiMad