Strange power issues

Hey all. So I was riding home from work today and the road my work is on is a straight stretch for miles. I go wide open and it sputters around 5k and then won't go past like 9500 to 10,000 under full throttle. Its a 2000 vfr (obviously) and this isnt the first time this has happend. It happens all the time, especially when I just ran a tank of regular gas (I know its a no-no) also running a TBR exahust. and under normal ridding it has a strange bucking. I know I have to tighten the chain but I dont think thats related. When I bought the bike the dealer replaced the R&R because the bike wouldnt charge at all. And when I got home I put her up on the centerstand and put it in gear and it would buck at idle as well as when power was given to it. My lights were also flickering very heavily on the ride home. What do you guys think? Im thinking I should just buy the MOSFET R&R from wiremybike.com. Any other opinions?

I did check other threads just wanted to make sure that it was indeed the RR.

Checked this thread

 

Before you go dropping cash on new parts, lets find out what the problem is.

If you don't own a voltmeter, you need to get one. $10 to $20 at your local auto parts place or walmart.

It would be best if you had a trickle charger to charge the battery - at least overnight. Then you need to take some readings using the voltmeter, all at the battery. It might just be that your battery is shot, but without a full charge, its hard to tell. You can bring it to the auto parts store where they could load test it and let you know if its good or not (but again, hard to tell if the battery is dead).

Assuming charged battery:

Without bike started, you should be 12.8 to 13.xx.

Start the bike. Once warmed up (1100-1200 rpm) you should be in the 13.xx volt range.

Increase RPMS and note voltage.

At 5k RPMs you should be in the mid 14V range. Any fluctuation of the volts bouncing around is not good. It should remain steady.

Figure the above out before you go throwing cash at an unknown problem.

But to answer your question, yes, a MOSFET R/R is an excellent idea. If you do have to change the R/R, it should be nothing but MOSFET regardless of what brand or who you order from.

And check this thread too:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/5th-gene...how-fix-common-regulator-stator-failures.html

 

Get the voltmeter and go through this flow chart:

http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf

Figure out what the problem really is. Harbor Freight has working voltmeters for under $10.

Do this first, then figure out what components you need to buy.

 

Multimeter read about 13 ish at idle and bounced between 14.6 and 14.8 under load. Where be the RR located on the 5th gens so I can follow the flow chart before I go to the shop? Thanks. Pretty handy with a wrench just new to cycles

 

currently uploading a video of the bike to youtube when it finishes I will post a link to the video. I am pretty sure the lights are flickering because I need to add a relay (HID, I'm kinda a 'light' guy I guess you could say ^_^), but they are less wattage than the stock ones which were 45w. The bike will also just randomly reset the gauges and clock, except for the odo.

 

[video=youtube;PAU63UAL9lc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAU63UAL9lc[/video]

 

That's actually right where they should be.

You'll find the R/R on the left side of the bike, behind the tailpiece fairing. Its located at about mid-thigh of your left leg. You can actually see the top of it with just the seat removed. Removing the tailpiece takes all of about 4 minutes: 4 bolts, 2 "Frankenstein bolts", unplug the lights and blinkers. 1/2 beer job.

I don't know much else about electrical, so I can't help you out. Never hurts to check the R/R and connections to the stator, but based on your initial readings, it doesn't sound like the R/R.

 

Voltage is good

So both r/r and stator check out fine.

So trouble is a bad battery or loose, corroded or non-functional plug or ground wire mos likely.

 

I'd guess the battery too and start with checking it or replacing. What voltage do you get from the battery with the bike off or just the ignition turned on?

 

i don't think it's battery this time since it was reading in 13's at idle and 14's when revved, but it doesn't hurt to check. If the battery were weak the voltage would be pulled down due to the high currents trying to charge it up.

It sounds like it's running a lean mixture but that may be a secondary issue if a loose ground return connection somewhere in the FI is the primary culprit. What do your spark plugs look like?

 

Battery checked out at the local dealer but I have a sneaky suspicion that it is indeed the battery, check my other thread titled "Total" System Failure"