Electrical Questions

I'm thinking of the add-ons that I want to put on the new to me 2000 VFR. They would include an outlet for a heated vest, heated grips given to me by the PO, hyperlights that I will take off my old ride, power to a Zumo, possibly auxiliary lighting of some kind, and maybe one day conversion to HID. I've read and heard about the R/R frying out on some models, though the PO said he had never had any issues with his and I gathered that the 2000 (and beyond?) years had a more robust unit than prior years.

Being new to this bike, I don't know much about the state of the build electrically, so am not sure what I will have to do to enable some of these additions safely. Any advice on all of this would be greatly appreciated.

I'd also like to know if anyone puts PIAA 1100's on these bikes since I have a pair I can take off my soon to be sold ride. I searched the topic here and elsewhere and didn't see much so I'm guessing they do not really fit this bike and that there are no brackets that work, but thought I would ask anyway.

Thanks for any info

John

 

Hey and congrats on the bike. I can't answer all your questions, but I'll offer this.

I have a 2000 as well. Bought it with 5K on the odometer, and it already had an aftermarket R/R. Based on the serial number, it was off a Blackbird.

Anyway, 3 years and a mere 10,000 miles later, my R/R was toast. Wires were all nice and crispy, as were the male/female plug in connections. This happened just earlier this year. (It also caused me all sorts of false FI codes - from MAP sensors, BARO sensors, speed sensors, etc. All of them intermittently, yet when the R/R was replaced, no more issues. None!)

Not taking any chances, I changed the R/R and installed the VFRness. Go to Wire My Bike. The owner of that site is a member here, knows his shit, is super helpful and friendly, and will hook you up right.

You definitely want a R/R that can handle your load, and stock on the 2000 is not going to cut it. You want to replace with a MOSFET type R/R at the least. Your best bet is to solder all the connections from the R/R to the stator wires, but if you go with the VFRness, you technically don't need to do that.

Wiremybike also sells fuse blocks that will probably (presumably?) address your issues above for connectivity.

I have no idea about the PIAAs.

By the way, my voltage readings after installing the new R/R and VFRness could not be more steady: 13.2 from idle up to 2000rpm, and then 14.5 to 14.8 from 2K rpm up to 6K rpm. Rock steady.

I'll emphasize again - replace that R/R and save yourself the headache. But that's just me, lol!

 

Ok, thanks for the info. What parts specifically do I need from wiremybike.com? Or will he be able to tell me? Again, I have no familiarity with the electrics on this bike so am pretty much blind on all this. ... New R/R, the VFRness (which I gather is an electrical harness of some sort for some part of the bike) and the fuse block...? Is it that straightforward?

 

Ok sorry, I have some more elemental questions... I visited Wiremybike. The R/R is a regulator / rectifier. What purpose does that serve? Is this a voltage regulator? What does Rectifier mean? Where does it go and how does it connect? There is also a Stator - same questions, actually never heard of that before. Then is the VFR - harness specific to the area of the R/R and / or Stator, or does that fit somewhere else in the bike (i'm betting former but asking to be sure).

Sorry if maybe I should already know this but I guess I've never run across these in my previous 8 or so bikes. But then none of those were Hondas

Jm

 

I need some help, please. I recently got a 1986 vfr 700f - it runs well and was doing some maintenance when I discovered the the regulator/rectifier was on upside down and the wires were all but smashed flat as a pancake. Now the problem is that the rectifier is getting v e r y hot to the touch. Is there a reason for this other than maybe it bad or going bad?? Also I have run the motor several times, but now the fuel pump is making a loud clicking sound, could this be related or did the fuel pump just decide to go south. Just need some suggestions before I go buying some parts or buy the wrong parts.....

 

Mello Dude explained what the R/R and the Stator do. The VFR, as a model, were notorious for weak electrical systems, specifically with the R/R. This ultimately led/leads to anything from false FI codes, to electrical shorts of components, to potential fires.

The R/R on your bike is located on the left side, behind the tail plastic, right below the seat. About where your ass cheek would be. If you went to Wiremybike, then you know exactly what it looks like. I can tell you that I have NO mechanical ability beyond changing oil and tightening a chain, but with the help of the guys on here, I was able to replace this including soldering my wires and checking all the various voltage.

Check out this thread: http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/37595-melted-stator-wires.html

That should give you an idea on what happens with a bad R/R, how to fix it, and the results afterward.

The VFRness is just that: A harness designed specifically for the VFR. Its really as simple as "plug and play", unless you choose to go the route of soldering wires. I could try to explain the install, but you'd be better going back to wiremybike and look at the installation instructions. The hardest part is finding a place to tuck the VFRness into.

As I said in my initial post, my voltage readings are rock steady now at any RPM and under any load.

Rick - I'm not familiar with your model bike, but I would definitely suspect that if your rectifier is getting very hot, as you say, that's not a good thing. Obviously electricity generates some heat, and that's to be expected, but very hot should not be.

Also can't tell you if your fuel pump issues are related to the R/R. Is it just at start up or continuously? I guess its possible that if your charging system/battery is straining to keep up with things, it might be creating an issue.

I'd start with the basics. Make sure your battery is charged using a standard charger/trickle charger. Get a voltmeter. Check your battery with ignition off. You should have at least 12.8 or so. Low 13 would be better, since technically each of the 6 cells makes about 2.2 volts.

Start the bike. At idle, you should definitely be in the low 13V range. Increase RPMs, and see what happens from there. It should be somewhere around the 14.5 range, and hold steady. If it doesn't hold steady, you're having issues with your charging system. But again, I have no idea if that ties into your fuel pump issues.

 

Yes your RR will be hot to the touch. How hot is hot is suggestive at best. Being upside down doesn't matter. The volts won't fall out. :biggrin: As long as your fuel pump is working it should be fine. Sometimes they do get louder the older they get. You may want to pick up an extra one for a spare. You can do a pump volume test that's in the book. If it passes then I wouldn't worry about it. Check your fuel filter to make sure it's flowing properly. You can test that along with the fuel pump volume test.

 

I am trying to learn the post pic thing, not so good. I did find in the connection from the stator that goes to the R/R a bunch of crisp chard wires. Some on the stator side were a tab bit bare. Which may of been a problem. Last thing were the wires from the r/r to the plug in looked as if they had just been twisted and taped together. I seriously doubt it should be that way Is there an available plug that I can just replace the burned one with or simply go with a Mosfet r/r which I think has the connectors with it. And for the twisted wires, solderer them an heat shrink them. I hope this fixes my electrical problems

 

That's an ugly mess you got there rick!

Presumably, you need a new R/R. Hopefully your stator isn't toast. Twisted and taped is definitely not a good way to go.

Once again, I'm not really sure about your bike due to the year. So only for comparisons sake, I can comment as follows:

The new R/R would have a plug on it which, under most circumstances, would plug into your stator connection (I don't remember which is male and which is female). Wiremybike had a new plug for the stator end for my model year - can't say about yours.

However, you could just as easily snip the wires from the new R/R, trim down the crispy wires on the existing stator wires, and solder them together. (I'm sure you know, but you definitely do NOT want any of the stator wires to touch when the bike is running). That is definitely the recommended way to go. (Along with the heat shrink tubing).

 

If you solder the three yellow wires individually to each yellow wire on the RR your problems will be over. If you use the connectors that come with the new RR you will most likely have this problem again down the road. You may or may not have a bad RR because of those bad connections. Clean the wires up and crimp them together. Then check the voltages. If all is fine then cut the crimps out and solder.

 

Good catch, Grey, and good point on crimping and checking first.

I should have clarified, but I was thinking about when I did my R/R. Since I used the VFRness, it really isn't necessary to solder the wires to the stator, and therefore the plug to plug would suffice (although I soldered anyway).

But without the VFRness, you definitely want to solder stator wires to R/R wires. Sorry - my oversight.

 

Thanks for all the education here. I think i'm clear on all of this and will check out the condition of the RR / wires this weekend. Probably will order from wiremybike sometime soon just to do the upgrade and be safe.