HELP!! broke down

True enough.
John

 

I'm a little late getting back to this thread, but the problem finally resurfaced about a month ago and left me and the wife stranded at a restaurant. It wound up being a bad 30amp fuse that is right near the battery. The fuse was all melted and bubbled up and the white fuse holder was discolored from heat. I popped another 30 amp in it and it fired right up. I had a cheap dollar general USB charging port plugged into my 12v plug and thought that might be the culprit, so I unplugged it and it was fine for a month. Then last week I took off quick from a light and it died....coasted off the side of the road. Checked the fuse and it was blown again. I had a pack of 30amp fuses on me, so I replaced it and off I went. My question is......is that 30amp fuse factory or did someone add that later? There is a plug under the seat for heated gear so I didn't know if that fuse was added later for that plug or if it came that way. If it's from the factory, any idea what is killing that fuse? Let me know if you need pics.

 

Is this the fuse you speak of?

http://i.imgur.com/ACK0XH1.jpg

If so, yes it is factory and it is also one of the reasons we install the VFRness.

http://www.wiremybike.com/vfr-specific-parts-2002-2009-vfr-parts-2002-2009-vfrness-bundle-p-267.html

 

That's stock:
View attachment 25810
You have both an inline fuse and a connector. (click on picture to enlarge)

Take them, and all high current connectors apart check and clean for corrosion and poor contact (resistance=heat).

I am in the process of replacing R/R with series type so I can use LED Headlights.

I ran 2 #10 from R/R to battery connections, hot has another 30 amp infuse as well (left side of picture).

There are many good threads on electrical problems.

 

That 30a fuse is the main fuse to the fuse box up front. Besides connectors, check for cracked and worn wiring. Basically that fuse has everything but the r/r on it.
Fuses are safety devices, they are there to protect the electronics. If it pops for an unknown reason then something is causing it. 30a ato fuses pop at about 33a but can burn at lower amperages (cheaply made fuses are horrible for this). So try and find out what is causing it to pop. Get a 40a 100mv shunt off ebay and wire it in where the fuse goes (testing clamps and remove the fuse work great) then set you digital meter to voltage 20vdc setting, yes voltage (if you use the current test setting then you will burn up a meter, if you have it. Now to understand what your looking at. If you see 0.1v then your showing a draw of 40a through the shunt. 0.0025v per amp. So 30a is 0.075vdc. If your close to or just under then you ok but any change in load may pop the fuse. If your over then its a time test until the fuse pops. Ideally you should be 28a or less for a 30a fuse.

So things to do:
Check connectors, clean and add dielectric grease to help keep them clean.
Check wiring for burn marks, cracking, rubbed spots. Tape to temporarily fix, the wire should be replaced.
Check frame connections. Bad frames can cause false high current conditions as the energy tries to find a path.
Check all mods, did you put higher wattage bulbs in? Add heated grips? Ect. Check all previous mods too. Sometimes they are tied in to the first available, but not always the best spot.

Do not replace with a higher rated fuse! That will only make things worse as now you will let the system burn up.

This will take a bit of patience to find and solve. Be methodical and write down everything. Get a silver paint pen (super fine tip) and as you go over things make a mark to remind you of what has been looked at.

 

I had the same problem at the same fuse but I fried the short red and white wire between the fuse and the single connector. If you look at the wiring diagram it shows this wire runs from the battery through this fuse to the R/R and on forward to the rest of the wiring diagram. Do "The Drill" on checking the R/R, Charging system etc.

I haven't solved the problem yet due to the horrible weather in Chicago but as soon as my garage thaws out I will check everything and probably add the VFRness. I have not had any failures yet but this should fix the problem.