crap! Stator/R/R meltdown 3 months in?

Agree with you, very likely.

 

About this time last year a mate of mine bought 2 lithium iron batteries to fit in his KLR, one to use and one as a spare because he was riding from Melb, Australia, back to the UK via South Korea,Russia and a dozen other countries along the way. Didn't even think about hooking the second battery up at any stage and did nearly 40,000ks over the six months getting back to the UK so sometimes the lithium ones seem to work ok

 

H3nry,

I have seen that mentioned in some other posts. If swapping the new lithium ion out with a new agm does't fix my issues, that will be my next task

 

Hondaman57,

I bought my first bike in 1985, it was a brand new Blue/Black Honda CB700SC. In the following 3 decades I have owned a dozen bikes. Some I loved to ride, some I didn't.

I have no issues doing maintenance, but random electrical issues on a FI bike can leave you stranded were the only way you'll get the bike home is in the back of a truck.

Over the past 8 years I have bought a new one ever 12-18 months, looking for something that I really like. With the exception of my current issues, I have no plans to sell the VFR. It checks every box for what I want in a motorcycle. I bought if from the original owner, it only had 5,463 miles on it when I purchased. It now has 10,084 (after 10 months), it would have a lot more if it wasn't for the fact it has left me stranded 2x already. I look at bikes like I did girlfriends when I was in my 20's...get a new one when the old one becomes boring and don't trust them any further than you can throw them if they aren't worthy. 3x stranded in 12 months fits that bill. I can always find another one.

 

3 1/2 years ago I became the second owner of a beautiful 2007 RWB model. The original owner had installed a Shorai lithium battery and the charging system is all original (borrowed time?). The battery has performed flawlessly to date. I have accidentally left my led's on all night and come out in the morning to find a nearly dead battery and been able to fast charge it for ten minutes (I know, not good) and start the bike. No special charger either. Lucky? Maybe, but the battery has so far been perfect. I would buy another.
John

 

I agree. I have had no experiences with the battery not charging properly since I installed it in December. I am not looking forward to spending more money on a wild goose chase either, but I will swap it with a Yuasa AGM and see what happens. As Joshua (wiremybike.com) suggested, I will verify it is fully charged and put it in one of panniers, as it takes up very little room. That way if I need it at some point, I have it and can (again) pull the 20a headlight fuse and limp home (or somewhere).

The only time it hasn't had 13.6+ volts (at the battery) was when the high resistance issue fried the stator/reg-rec 3-pin gang connector.

I have a volt gauge that I was going to install, but it is too dim to read in sunlight (should have bought a better one).

If I knew the clock reset was unrelated to the stator/reg-rec, I would live with it.

I am going to buy a powerlet straight plug and a better volt gauge and make something I can plug in while riding.

Like I said to H3nry, I really love the bike and don't want anything else. Hopefully any further repairs will be off in the future. I get 3-4 weeks with no wife, daughter or dog every summer when they leave to California. I hope to get several mountain rides in this year.

Installed the new AGM battery at lunch today...Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Alright, now I’m really pissed.

To recap….

In December ran “The Drill” and found out that my Stator was fried. Ordered new Stator and R/R from Ricks. I also installed a new Lithium Ion battery.

In March I was greeted one morning with a dead battery. Looked at the gang Stator-R/R connection and it was fried via high resistance issues. Sent the Stator-R/R back to Ricks. They tested and said they were o.k.

In April, I was getting random clock/trip reset (1:00am and 0.0 miles). Posted here and talked to an Electrical Engineer at work. Even though I didn’t agree, I purchased a new Yuasa AGM battery and am carrying the litium ion in a pannier for security.

Rode with no issues the last week and a half.

Today at lunch I rode to get my hair cut. Came out and turned the switch 1:00am, 0.0 miles. Bollocks!

I pulled my multimeter out of the top case and checked the voltage at the battery…13.2. fired up the bike and checked….13.9 to 14.8

I am now going to have to find the grounding (earth) block that’s reportedly wrapped in the harness close the R/R. I wanted to know if anyone had a photo of where this is located on a 1998 VFR.

Really, I jinxed myself this weekend when I posted photos of the bike and said how much I loved it. Gallagher curse I reckon.

 

Hey, don't give up on the bike, you've good cause to love it, they're fantastic machines.

I know how much of a pain in the arse it can be when it's not right, particularly when it's something like an electrical problem that you can't pinpoint, but persevere - I promise you it'll be worth it!

Check the ground resistance and check the battery under load - while the starter is spinning. If it's the battery, then the voltage will plummet while it's running the starter motor even if your charging system is providing current as it shoud.

Don't quit on it man, you'll be glad you didn't when it's sorted!

 

Tat, sorry about your problem but you are to blame here, how many times do people have to be told to solder and heatshrink the connector, in December you stuffed the stator, fitted a new one and didn't solder the wires just plugged that useless fucking connector back in and then in March you find the connector has melted, this probably has stuffed the stator or the rec/reg, when will people start to listen

 

I would like to believe Rick's Motorsports when they said it was fine. I did check the R/R before I installed. According to the diode function on my multi-meter it was working. I also checked the Stator before I shrink wrapped the buttspliced/soldered connections and all 3 phases were good.

So, that being the case I think it is the earth block (or starter relay). Gonna start with the easier one.

Do YOU have a picture of the location of that for my specific model?

 

I will. Keep in mind it is a BRAND NEW Yuasa AGM. Not even 10 days old today.