3rd Gen Electrical Problems HID head lamps flickering

I have a new battery as of last August. My 90 has 23K on the ticker. I keep it on a battery tender and I'm sure it has a full charge. I was out on a ride today and shut down to talk to some friends. When I went to start it back up, it clicked as if the battery was dead. No juice to turn the engine over. All my lights were working fine. I "pop started" it in second gear and it ran me home. As I'm riding home, the headlights started to flicker on and off when I applied brakes or turn signals. It was intermittent but definitely something wrong. For the record, I have installed HID head lights and an Admore lighting bar for rear brake and turn signals. I plan to check the stator and R/R. I will also ensure that all my wiring is properly conneced and I don't have anything shorting out. I have located the thread on how to check these two things but wanted any other advice that isn't obvious. I'm wondering if it isn't charging (alternator?) or am I putting too much of a load on it with my aftermarket goodies? All the research I've done lead me to believe that the Gen 3 could handle this additional power draw. I hope I am right and this is an easy fix. Any guesses or advice is greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance. Thanks.

 

pull the battery and load test it too. almost sounds like when my old bike had a dying battery and an HID kit. it'd do the same thing.

 

You need to check the voltage at the battery while the bike is off and then again while running at idle and at @5000 rpms. If the voltage is good then your battery is probably bad. If the voltage is not between 13 and 14.5 volts when running you have a charging issue which is very common for these bikes. Too high voltage can indicate R/R failure and can lead to the battery getting fried. Too low voltage could indicate a problem with the stator itself or the wiring harness. Regardless I would recommend swapping the R/R and wiring harness since they are VERY prone to failure.

Rollin

 

I just tested my battery after having it on the battery tender all night.
Volts with the bike off = 12.97
Volts with the bike at idle = 12.25
Volts @ 5,000 RPM = 13.01
Judging by what I have read, the R/R is smoked.

I have ordered a replacement R/R I found which will arrive tomorrow for 100 bucks. I still plan on ordering the upgraded one from wiremybike.com which is backordered for just less than a month. I will replace the wiring harness when that happens, doesn't seem to have any burnt wires at this point, I haven't run it very long since the problems started.

 

Regulator Rectifier Replacement

New R/R unit arrived today. I was told it was for my bike, but it is different. I pulled everything apart and the new unit has a different connector than stock R/R and harness. I want to upgrade the wiring to complete the repair. I would like to purchase the "VFRness" but don't know which to get. There is one version that is designed for a late model R1 R/R unit but I'm not sure if the connectors are like the unit I have now. Do I simply purchase the original vfrness for my year and wire it accordingly to my new connector? I suppose in the long run I will order the R/R unit sold by wiremybike.com but it is backordered and I don't want to be off the road for long. Temporary fixes may be in order until the proper unit can be attained. Hoping someone can guide me along. I have attached some pics of my situation.

VFRness Link "original"

VFRness Link "R1"

 

The guys who runs the wiremybike.com website is a VFR owner and his name is Josh. He is registered on this site and the other VFR specific forum (vfrd.com) under the name "tightwad" Send him a email and he should be able to help you determine what is needed. His direct email address can be found at the bottom of the page in the link below.

Wire My Bike



Rollin

 

wire path question: Alternator input to Regulator Rectifier: three yellow wires

I just completed my temporary fix until the VFRness can be attained. Josh from wiremybike.com has been excellent, replying to my emails very quickly, he's told me that the VFRness will fit the new R/R unit that I have. (see pics above) He's away for a bit and I'm arranging shipping next week.

So until I can get that, I cut off the existing wire harness that's useless to me and spliced into those wires attaching female quick connectors to slide onto the R/R prongs. Josh told me that the wider prongs are the +/- outputs to the starter relay and thinner are the alternator inputs, but aside from this fact I was guessing. There are three yellow wires coming from the alternator, and I could not determine any differences in them. The diagram doesn't seem to differentiate between the three. So...I just randomly hooked them up to the new unit, and for the -/+ outputs, I simply guessed which male prong to attach to, seemingly correct the first time. Am I running any risk by not knowing which prongs to connect to? I've tested my configuration and the battery and charging system are operating in a healthy manner with:

12.9 Volts with the bike off
13.4 Volts with bike idling
14.5 Volts @ 5K R.P.M.
These numbers are approximate, my memory is suspect and the figures fluctuated a bit. I have not run the bike at all except for my testing and all problems seem to be alleviated. I'm afraid to run it without someone's advice about the alternator input wires. Thanks in advance for your opinions, I'd be nowhere without this forum.

 

There is no difference between the 3 yellow wires so it doesn't matter which order they are in. The voltage figures you posted are right on the money so the fix worked.

Rollin

 

I thought the fix worked but while riding it yesterday, it just died on me again. It is now sitting in a parking lot and I have to figure out how to get it home. It should run if I pop start it. It was running great for 25 miles and then as I was coming to stop at a red light, it just died. I think this is strange because there is a new R/R on there. I'm thinking that the wiring is bad. I can't wait to get my vfrness. Should I check my stator? Alternator seems good, it was charging yesterday.

 

It seems to me that my regulator is bad again after almost two years. I am now getting 25.5 volts to the battery I'm assuming that this is the regulator.

 

I noticed the problem right away as soon as I left my driveway, I glanced at the voltmeter and shut it down asap.

 

Double check with another voltmeter to make sure that you're getting a correct reading.

 

Funny you should say that meatloaf, I discovered that my voltmeter is bad on the bike, not the r/r. I'm happy this is the case. The bike was rained on heavily last night and I would guess my inexpensive gauge has suffered. It occurred to me that without the bike running, 18v would be unlikely.

 

That's why I suggested it. While it is common for the R/R to go bad, readings that high point to something else being strange. Keep riding and replace it when you get a chance.