2002 VFR800 ABS Won't Stay Running After Jumper Cables Removed

Thanks Skimad for details instruction
Hope we can put the OP back on the road.

 

New Battery

I do know how to use a multimeter :distracted: I attached some pictures for reference. I actually have two so I checked both to verify numbers. So I still have the new battery I had bought last year for testing and I cannot get it to charge, so I will get ANOTHER battery and redo. However, What I did was connected it and jumped it (the car was not running). I had ~10.4V when I connected and jumped. Once it was running for a while, I followed the "Fault finding flow Chart for Motorcycle Charging systems". It has you count the # of different colors out of R/R(3 in this case) then move to the next step. The step says to let engine idle and connect black lead to "+" of battery and red lead to red out of R/R. That's where the crazy readings were coming from. I also decided to test the stator while the bike was running. At idle, I have ~19.52-~20.12VDC across all three yellow wires. At 5,000rpm I have 63.2-64.2VDC. I think its safe to say stator is out of the question. Once I have the new battery I will retest all running numbers again, since I think the dead battery may skew numbers. Once thing I can say is I let the bike run @ idle for about 30 minutes and about 13.12VDC across battery. So it seems like its trying to charge (again battery is blllllrrrrttt). When I reved up to 5,000rpm it only jumped to 13.82 VDC. Again, I will get a new battery...may be a few a days but I will update again once I have the battery.

I appreciate everyone's help and patience with this. I'm eager to ride...this is driving me nuts and hoping to fix shortly.

 

Sounds like the battery isnt taking a charge that well, since the charging system can only source 500w (36A @13.8v) and at least 15A is used to run the bike (more depending on what is being used). This amounts to about a 15A fast charge. Your testing battery, if it has been sitting for 6 or more months, is dead from self depletion. All batteries have this and rechargeable types tend to go dead quicker from it. If a lead acid battery must be stored, then a good 3 stage digital (micro computer controlled) charger is a must for keeping that battery in good condition. This also prevents sulfication of the plates which makes it very hard to charge a battery. Eg a sulficated motorcycle battery with 300cca has about 120Ah rating and will need a shock charge of about 300A for about 10 mins to force the sulfur out and off the plates. Since this is dangerous, creates lots of free hydrogen and lots of heat, it is not recomended as the battery may explode. Needless to say, the bikes charge system can not provide this as it looks like the battery is a dead short and this kills the bike due to not having enough power available.

What you can try is remove the battery, jump start the bike then remove the jumper cables. The bike should run without a battery, just dont add any more loads like change light settings etc. This proves that the charging system is working beyond a doubt and if you connect a known good battery to the bike then it will start charging and the bike will still run. Note though that the bike may stall if the charge current is high enough.

 

mrsleep......forgive my ignorance,....where, exactly.... precisely is that 3 prong plug located??? can't tell in your pic....would like to check mine out.....thanks...

 

The stator plug is on the right side of bike just above the clutch cover. It's kinda buried in with a lot of other wires and connectors. Most people solder the wires I used a terminal block so I can replace or atleast test the stator or R/R if need be because those wires are extremely short!

 

Another discovery (after waiting for a backordered battery). I had ~12.5V on the battery when I connected it to the bike. Out of curiosity, I kept the meter on it while I switched on the run switch. I then witnessed the battery drop down to about 11.0V and the bike would not turn over. When I would flip the run switch back off, the voltage would then come back up. Any feedback to this finding?

 

That's another sign the battery is dead. When the run switch is flipped, the fuel pump, etc. start receiving current. As a result, the voltage measured across the battery terminals drops. I'm not sure how much it drops on a good battery, but it certainly shouldn't drop to 11.0V.

 

I want to clarify a bit on the last update just to verify. The battery holds a steady charge at 12.40-12.41V. When I turn the key to the "ON" position is when the voltage drops to 11.34V. When I switch the engine run switch it stays at 11.34V. When I try to start it, it drops way down to like 6 or so volts. When I turn everything back off, including the key switch back to off, the voltage on the battery slowly climbed back to 12.4V. This is my 2nd new battery, so I don't its that, however I am by no means an electrical professional .