1993 Problem.

Quick overiew before we get to the problem...
I have not ridden my VFR since November. Started a few times since then, two to be exact, then the battery died. After the battery died, I figured I would let it be till summer. Fast forward to yesterday, bought a brand new battery from honda here in town. Got it put in the bike and finally got it started, took a bit to get it started but it did finally start. I noticed after I got it started it was idleing really low, with the choke all the way on. I decided this might be due to the fact of not running it for awhile. Soon after getting it started it went to where it normally idles with the choke. Rode it into town from my parents house to a friends, turned it off. Got back on it, started right up. Went to my house had it sit for about 20 minutes. Went out turned it on, drove to the gas station and came back turning it off again. It sat a good 30 minutes. Went out got back on it, killed it at a stop sign, the clutch catches differently than my VTX, the VFR won't start, the battery is dead. I went out today and it started right up. I wasn't planning on riding so I shut it off after letting it run for about 5 minutes. Out of curiosity, went to start it right after shutting it off and the battery is dead again.

Now, Honda has recommended charging the battery and hooking up a voltage meter and seeing what it reads before I take the battery out. I am worried that I may be having alternator problems or something else. If it's not that, could I have just gotten a bad battery? My VFR does not have a history of this other than I had a dead battery after a 2 hour ride to a friends house. Can anyone give me any type of insight or maybe point me in the right direction?

 

Bad regulator/ rectifier brother.

Replace the stock RR and you'll need another new battery too. Change them at the same time.

Google Rick's Electrics or Electrosports, both sell RR's for your model VFR.

BZ

 

have the battery load tested first to rule it out, then check the charging rate. It may very well be R/R

 

Kind of fuzzy on this one. Why replace the battery too?

Tons of info on R/R problems on VFR's.

 

load test it first.

 

Yeah, thats what I keep reading -.- Testing the battery monday night. Will go from there. A few other people suggested I check for corrosion on my kill switch before I tackle the RR. Looks to me, from looking at the pics on the different sites, that the RR is just a plug, or am I mistaken?

 

R/R failure is common for the marque. The first time on failed I thought it was the battery. Replaced same. The new battery got me home. Replaced the R/R same battery. Second R/R failure again used same battery. The electrical experts here can better advise you than me. My advice is analyze and solve your problem and buy a spare R/R, carry it on the bike. The first time I had one fail I was in BC on a Sunday. Tow charge, motel charge, Honda dealer was nice enough to open his otherwise closed shop on a Monday and I missed a day of work, still had to buy a new R/R and got burned by the Seattle Honda dealer on the price. The good part is that this dealer went tits up just a few weeks ago.

Download the service manual for your bike. Changing out the R/R is a piece of cake even though some of the R/R's are a piece of shit. Remove seat and seat cowl the rest is easy..

 

Well, normally a bad RR kills a new battery, then when you put a new RR in, the old battery, since, it is partailly dead, will kill the new RR.

It's a visicious cycle.

BZ

 

With all due respect, a bad R/R will DRAIN a new or good battery but the battery should checked & recharged before the new R/R is installed. A partially dead battery will not ruin a R/R. Heat will. I recommend a R/R from Rick's up in Plaistow NH. You can get them thru Parts Unlimited. You'll save $100 over OEM. I've had one in my 86 VFR for going on 5yrs now.

 

IMO, one can be fuzzy and normal at the same time.

 

I haven't been able to download my service manual yet due to the fact that I am on a loaner computer. My new one is supposed to be here today, hopefully. That being said, is there any type of way to check ther RR and make sure thats what it is? I am hooking up a volt meter after I charge the battery tonight to make sure that battery is actually good.

 

I believe most bikes will show about 12-13volts at idle. cracking the throttle and bringing the rpm up you should see an increase to around 14volts.

 

Advice? Patience. Do one thing at a time. The service manual is a PDF. The pages you need can be printed out or you can wait until your new computer arrives.

Do check the battery. Your local Honda guys may be spot on. Removing the R/R is easy to do. Replacing it if needed, is just the reverse of removal. One indication of failure sometimes due to heat. The module is mounted to one of the alloy frame members in a spot that does not get proper cooling. The quickie check is the potting on the backside of the module is kind of lumpy or in some cases oozing out from beneath the aluminum cover.

The service manual will also contain a how to on the right way to remove the seat cowling. If not done in steps and since the bike is an older model some of the screws and various fastners might be loose. These can break and break off tabs. The tabs are ABS plastic and a bitch to fix. One little trick is to take some duct tape and lay 2-3 strips on the cowling to sort of hold it together. If things are loose this will keep it from twisting and breaking and using language your mom would not approve of.

 

Thanks for all the tips guys. The battery is sitting with a charger on it right now. I have been able to locate the RR. Haven't done anything else to investigate it any further than that though. Is there anyway to make dead sure it's the RR? I would much rather it be the RR than say...the alternator or a loose wire.

 

The test rc24rc51 above mentioned is what you do. Put your multimeter on the battery set at 20volts and rev the engine to 5,000 rpms and hold it their and see what reading you get. Should be 13.4 to 14.7 volts.

Then take the bike for a ride and get it good and warmed up and do the test again. Sometimes RR's work intermitantly.

Testing the stator is easy, but lets eliminate the RR first.

I'll keep helping if needed.

BZ

 

Here's another tip the troubleshooting guide in the typical manuals does not tell you...
USE AN ANALOG METER.
I used a Fluke RMS meter, which was dandy to check the diodes, but didn't make a damn bit of sense for the resistivity tests. $15 meter told me what I needed to know.
Another tip. Check your connections! A fried plug on the stator or RR or a bad ground could be driving your issue, and bite you again.
When you need a replacement (notice I didn't say if) go with Rick's. I have both an electrosport piece (still good, but kept as a spare due to baked connection from bad plug) and one from Rick's. The Rick's part was a few bucks more, but the quality of build is superior to Electrosport. Japan manufacturer vs. China too, if that means anything to anyone in our Wal-Mart world.

 

Here's a scan of the resistivity test.

 

I appreciate the help you guys are giving me, time for an update!!!
Ok, charged the battery to full, friend of mine came over with his volt meter and my bike is sitter a little under 13, at 12.8 or 12.9 when I had the bike revved up to 4000 RPM. Had some wires we re-did that weren't super bad but needed to be done. Didn't change the volts at all though. Any thoughts on this one?

 

Flakey wires might indicate a dead short which would drain your battery. Did your bike sit somplace where there were squirrels of the four legged type? They will chew insulation. Had this happen on a car I have that I only drive once in awhile.

 

My bike was sitting in my parents garage, as it was too cold to get it moved to my place. Don't think it was and woodland furry creatures as they have outside dogs and cats. As soon as I get my anti virus program installed I am going to download the service manual for my bike. We found another wire on the right side of the bike, a blueish greenish color. It was also in bad shape, looked like someone got carried away with a knife, the plastic was cut back. I am wondering if this couldn't be a ground wire that Vlad was talking about?