new heated jacket (gerbing) and now one dead bike.

1997 VFR 38,000 miles.

I need some help. about 3 weeks ago I installed the VFRness and a new Ricks R/R. Yesterday I got a new Gerbings heated Jacket liner. This morning, I started the bike, plugged in the jacket and rode to Chevron to get fuel. I turned off the bike, then I unplugged the jacket and filled up.

After filling up, I plugged in the jacket and started the bike. It started a little slow, but I figured it was because the jacket was on. Either way, it started. I made it about 70 feet and my speedo flashed and my bike died. It wouldn't even turn over afterwards.

Luckily I was about a mile from home and pushed it back. I had a chance to push start it and it would push start, but only stay running if I was about 5K rpm or above. I was late for work and haven't had a chance to troubleshoot it, but here is what I suspect:

1. My stator isn't strong enough to run my new jacket
2. I blew up the new R/R
3. I blew a fuse somewhere.

also, my bike has the original battery, but I've never had a problem before today.

Anybody have any other ideas or ran into something similar.

Thanks,

 

this is gonna sound stupid... but did you check all your connections on the new RR and wiring? grounds have a good contact...

 

Your 1997 VFR has the original battery? How's that possible? If true, that's certainly your answer. Get a new battery. My .02.

 

Pop for a new battery. Call Gerbings. They are in Olympia. There is a thread here about customer service that some dudes think is "all good" because of a few like Gerbings. You will actually speak to a living, breathing person and maybe even a Gerbing.. If something ain't right they will make it right.

 

Well, it seems that the general consensus, on the forum and at work, is that my batter is indeed toast. A 7amp draw for about 30 seconds should not drain the batter so bad. So:

I am going to buy a new Shorai Lithium Iron battery today. It's a 2lb, 18A unit. I've not talked to anybody who bought that is unhappy, so I'm going to pony out the cash and let her roll!

Shorai offers two batteries for our VFR's. A 14A unit and an 18A unit. I'm opting for the 18A unit (because my local dealer has it in stock and I wanna ride ASAP). here's the link to the Shorai website. They seem to have killer customer service, too!

ShoraiUsa - VFR750F

Thanks for the help on this and let me know if anything else creeps into your heads that may help me out.

-RR

 

My sniffer sez that RW BMW has that battery for full MSRP. Ya maybe even bought your Gerbings liner there.

Call Aurora Suzuki or go down the road a piece and see what that aftermarket shop thats been there for years can get you one for.

Some argument on this one but I get the drift that Yuasa and WalMart have a deal going on bike batteries.

So on your jacket liner, are you running straight off the battery or through a rheostat?

Did you try charging up your old battery? Those 1 amp trickle chargers are just a few bucks.

 

Just FYI, everytime you use a trickle charger on a dead lead acid battery (or even a standard 10A charger) you are shortening the lifespan by a bit. Lead acid batteries are designed to be maintained, not deep cycled like NiCd, NiMh, and Lithium batteries are. If you deep cycle a Lead Acid you need a proper deep cycle charger ($$) to avoid damage. This is why a battery tender is so important to extending the life of your battery.

For this reason, as the consensus seems to be, there is NO WAY a battery that is 14 years old is going to suddenly Frankenstein it's way back to life if you attempt to charge it. Nothing short of replacing the electrodes and acid (pointless on a sealed battery) will save that thing from it's well-earned rest.

 

I have the Gerbings jacket liner, pant liner and insoles and have used them all and all at the same time without any trouble. Both with a rheostat and a simple on off switch without any problems. My battery is over 5 years old and still going strong, but there is a big difference between 5 and 14. I think is is safe to say it is likely your battery. If you still have the problem with the new battery, then call Gerbings. Their after sale service is quite good. My insoles' wires stretched and became inoperable and they replaced the insoles without question. Kinda a refreshing change in the market these days.

 

new battery, same result

hey guys,

I replaced my battery last night with a brand new fully charged, 18Amp capacity Shorai. I plugged my jacket in and went to work this morning. I got about 10-12 miles from home and I blew a 20Amp fuse. The fuse goes to my starter. The fuse also breaks the circuit allowing my alternator to charge the battery. Long story short: stranded and needed a jump from a good Samaritan.
I'm a mechanical engineer and work with electrical engineers. One of the EE's says that if I run the battery down, the other components will start drawing more amperage to compensate (Watts = Amps * Volts). So, as my voltage started draining from my batter, the other components started upping their amp draw until the 20amp fuse finally surrendered it's little metallic life to the electron gods.
Ok, so now I need to trouble shoot:

ideas:
1. I need to upgrade the alternator
2. I need to return the jacket
3. any others?

 

#3

Get thee to an independent bike shop and have a pro take a looksee.

 

There's a good chance that your alternator or voltage regulator are damaged from trying to keep that battery going for so many years. Good idea to have them both tested as Badbilly suggested.

 

After thinking about things some more, I believe that I am completely taxing my alternator. I've upgraded my two front headlights to 55W H-4's, I am running a set of 10 W Led driving lights, and now the electric jacket. I'm running at 204W with just those items alone. I'm guessing that will all of other needs on the bike, that I'm pushing some where around 225-240W.

Anybody know the stock stator output.

I've found an upgraded state that is good for 320W from regulatorrectifier.com, but I want to know what my current stator produces first.

anybody?

 

With trepidation we may deduce
That too many farkles
Suck up a bunch of juice


I am reminded of the engineer dude back aways that was going to rebuild his carbs according to some theory that he could. I don't think he ever did get that bike running.

Also this tale changes with each telling.

 

All thngs being equal and operating properly, you should not have any trouble. I ran all the way from Chilliwack BC to Atascadero Califonia. I was running my jacket, pant liners and insoles. I run with my bright lights on all the time during the daylight hours. Your LED lights will not draw much power at all, but I suppose even the little they do, adds up. I just don't think you are running too much. Something wrong somewhere. Have someone who knows what they are doing take a look. Even if you have to pay for that, you will likely save in the long run from replacing things you may not need.

 

Randy may not be much on the technical shit but he paraphrases well.

 

OK boys, the first step in solving a problem is identifying a problem. My problem, has to do with electricity (which by the way I view as black magic).

Where to start:
1. I'm going to buy a fuse block from Eastern beaver and tidy up all of my electronics.
PC-8

2. Inspect my stator and flywheel for wear/damage etc.

3. I'm going to go through a series of checks and inspections on my charging system.
Troubleshooting the charging system

My hope is that I will isolate my problem and have one of two solutions: I need a higher output stator or two, I will have a discrepancy somewhere in my electrical system in which case....all hell will break loose and I will start crying.

This bike is my main source of transportation and I want to be warm. I've put over 20K miles on the bike last year and need to get a few more years out of the old girl. But mainly, I want to be warm in the cold Seattle winter.

 

Sounds like a plan. The checks you see on that site are the only way to really tell electrical component health. Visual checks are good, but rarely does a tired R/R or stator (or alternator for that matter) look damaged.

 

Gerbing jacket use

I purchased a Gerbing jacket liner prior to taking a trip to Colorado the past Labor Day on my 07 RWB. It connects directly to the battery with the wire having its own fuse. I run just the jacket, so I used the 10 amp fuse. As per instructions, I do not connect the jacket until after I start my VFR and do not shut the bike down until I have the jacket disconnect. No problems at all during my 2,500 mile, seven day trip.

 

I'm beginning to think the 4th gen electronics (which were troublesome to begin with) have been significantly upgraded in later models. Which is unfortunate, as I don't have the money to buy a new bike....yet!