Trouble with electrical drain on 95 VFR

Hello everyone! I have a 1995 VFR750 and have had a electrical drain when attempting to start the bike. 95% of start attempts result in a click with the headlights and neutral light dimming, and voltage dropping drastically. The other times it spins fast and fires right up. When it starts, i take it for a ride and it does not have full power and it feels like a fuel problem. I had a mechanic rebuild the carbs and change the spark plugs, and at the same time purchased a shorai battery to replace the everstart battery that was not correct for the bike, and we figured was causing the starting problem. I went to pick it up and it ran fine for 15 miles before the seemingly fuel problem started robbing power. I got it back to the house and tried to fire it up again and it clicked, just like before. We sent the battery back for a new one, they said the battery was one of a batch that was giving problems. Got the new battery and it started fine the first time, then click. So the drain is occurring when attempting to start and while it's running. Has anyone had any similar problems?

 

check stator for AC oot-put/melted wires, check regulator rectumfier for burnt connections, check your starter relay which is near your battery and has a honda-think cover on it with a convenient extra fuse attatched. Sounds like an electrical problem to me. Does it charge when you rev the bike to 5000 rpm?

 

Once again here we go again, this problem comes every 3 days, there is a set procedure for testing the charging system and it is do the drill, everything has to be checked and get rid of the bloody connector from the stator to the rec/reg, they are crap and melt and short out the stator and rec/reg. Problem is it is probably too late to save your stator and rec/reg.Tell your mechanic to not do a thing to it till you have all the info from here to explain to him how it needs to be tested and repaired and what parts you will need to buy Read this and from post 9 the drill starts
http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/39277-How-to-fix-common-regulator-Stator-failures

 

Reverse-current test numbers might be excessive with a bad r/r. No charge when running and a drain when parked. A well-charged battery that is NOT being properly replenished with voltage usually goes flat after about the 15 mile number, like yours or less than i hour. :lemo:

No good 'cycle repair shop would ever let a repaired bike out the door until confirming it was charging !!! (OK,in a better world) Then test-riding the bike if possible to verify it's repairs were done right, and never allowing a client to ride away on an improper--possibly unsafe--repair until road-tested by the same licensed and insured tech that grappled the wrenches, taking responsibility. And any tech in that shop would be smart enough to check/set every bike's tire pressure before the customer rode it away !!!:cower: Or get sacked !!

 

I forgot to mention the charging system was tested and it charges perfectly. It just seems to me that it does not charge fast enough to compensate for the drain that is happening at the same time.

 

And though the battery is not fully charged when returning from a ride, it is far from dead and would be able to start any motorcycle that isn't sucking electricity somewhere else.

 

What is the AC output of your stator above 3K Rpm? If you don't know the answer then you can't say, "charging system was tested perfectly"

 

So you make this statement, and tell us it is charging fine, well obviously it isn't because you wouldn't be asking what is wrong, once again do the drill.As Mello says only about 5000 have had these problems, and that is only so far this year

 

I can identify with this a lot as I have been having similar problems for a long time. Only now, with the bike in a mechanic's garage am I optimistic that this problem is over with. My problem was lack of skilled mechanics to do things for me. If I had a place of my own to do repair work then I would have done this myself. As this charging problem has obviously been discussed many times before, I won't say much except this:

It seems that the RR unit is a weak point in many of the older Honda fours. Changing the RR unit will not solve the problem if it originates in the alternator. It is easy to measure alternator output with a multimeter. The RR unit can be tested, too. My lesson after a long time of fighting these problems on two bikes are the following:

1. Most of the time, the RR units fail in such a way that they will let too much current through. The battery gets overcharged and heated, and then soon after it is shot and useless. The other type of failure, undercharging, also happens but is less frequent IMO.

2. In their manuals Honda states that most electrical failures originate in bad or loose connections. A complication arising from bad connections is that the original electrical failure may damage other electronic parts, and when that troubled part is changed for a new one the original problem still persists.

3. What do you expect from the wiring in a bike that was produced in the 80's and still has some of that wiring in it? The insulation of the wires hardens in all cases with time and becomes brittle. Positive current may leak to ground and cause shorts.

4. Batteries are overpriced in my opinion and it's not cheap having to change them often. I got myself a good battery charger for home use, and a smaller one that is portable, 3 Amps. I use that one for charging the bikes when I only ride short distances week after week, the reason being that the bikes don't manage to charge themselves sufficiently unless you ride longer distances now and then.

5. Surprisingly few mechanics seem to be good at wiring and electrical problems. Maybe too lazy, they just throw in a new battery and another RR. This is useless if the problem is in the alternator.
In the end you may have paid several such bills, thrown your money to the wind. That's an expensive hobby, not counting the frustration and mental anguish experienced by someone who loves his bike and wants it in good shape. Throwing good money after bad was true in many cases I could tell you about, but I am not going to. Too boring.