Clock reset - Electrical issue?

I think we all understand a lack of familiarity with the mechanical and electrical systems of motorcycles. Until our first bikes most of us were in your same situation. But part of the fun of owning a bike is learning about it. A few basics, like a volt meter and a motorcycle battery charger, are things almost all of us have bought and you need them too.
You've only owned the 2007 VFR for a week and with only 3000 miles it probably has had a real easy life. And if you are lucky it has the original battery and it's worn out and can't hold a charge. It's any easy change to a new battery (but i'd suggest you don't buy a cheap one). But you should not be surprised if the bike fails to start or just stops on a ride and won't restart. Then you'd get to have it towed somewhere and you open yourself up to getting screwed on the repair.
If you bought the bike at a dealer then he really owes you a battery. You could try and see if that works...
Good Luck!

 

Buy a 35.00 battery on ebay and rule out the battery. Every time (twice) I have clock resetting issues it has been the battery. Do it before you are stranded and it cost you alot more. http://www.ebay.com/itm/380706717867?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

I gots a few questions/comments...

Mark919 said twice that you have a 2007 Model. Maybe I need hooked on Phonics, but where is that info coming from? I don't see anywhere where you said its a 2007. Is it? If not, what year? I ask because the 2002 to 2005 models had a recall on a wiring harness.

No disrespect to Tanrush: While it could very well be your battery, just throwing money at a problem before actually determining the problem is not always the smartest thing to do.

 

Pilskin, No disrespect taken. When this is over and done with, my money is still on the battery. At the first hint of battery trouble I am quick to get on ebay and buy a new battery. Grateful monkey has already said he is a newbie and mechanical boob. Why make this harder than it has to be, replace the battery and then worry about loom fixes, ground shorts, codes and all the other demons these bikes may have.

 

Get a battery and eliminate battery as problem or it fixes it. Might take a little longer to run down if not battery.

 

Hi Pliskin, Info on the ride came from Grateful's introduction post on 2/12. He had just picked up his red 2007 w/ 3000 miles. What a find!

 

^^^Got it.

 

Do you know the specific location of the grounding block? Having similar issues with the clock and actually have a draw on the battery. Got the crazy pulsing lights(all of them) going on and burning through headlight bulbs like cigarettes!

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If you are burning out light bulbs then you sounds like you have have an Over voltage issue! You need to not run bike till you check out your charging system before you burn the computer and who knows what else up!!

 

I would look through some of the other threads on electrical issues, you need to check all connections for corrosion, intermittent contacts, signs of excess heat. Your loss of ground OR hot feed to lighting circuits maybe causing the regulator to over compensate or not compensate enough, causing the over voltage problem, plus the filaments do not like being turned off and on like that.

 

I have checked stator output(11~18VAC) and charging voltage at battery, tops out at 13.8V. Over charging was my first thought, but no test I've done can prove it. I've checked all relatively accessible ground connections and everything seems normal. I haven't inspected the "ground block", sounds like that could be an issue. Guess it's just time to dig deep...

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Trying to send this earlier, but my internet connection was very slow for awhile, so turned off computer and went for a ride, that fixed it!

 

The picture you posted does look OK, spray with contact cleaner or WD40 if you can't find any.
A skin of corrosion will cover inside the terminals and is hard to notice.
I strongly recommend soldering this terminal as its a major failing point and will cause future electrical problems.
I kept having the lights doing funny things, and it all went away when I soldered the extra earth wire directly to the battery terminal.

 

Did you utilize the existing block, or just cut out the whole lot? What gauge wire would you recommend for the extra ground?

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From the symptoms you describe, I would look for a damaged, pinched, or broken wire in the lighting wiring. The motion and vibration of riding is causing an intermittent connection. I have seen many, many stranded wires fatigue and break within the insulation from flexing, especially on power tools. Check your wiring, if you find a wire that flexes easier at one point, that might be the culprit. Also follow advice about ground connector and others.

If you need a wiring diagram, send me a PM and I will email you a PDF from the manual.

 

Your stator should put out close to 60vac at 5000rpm. Or about 40vac between any two leads. So a to b or b to c or c to a. If it is not high enough the r/r wont be able to charge the battery an supply the running current for the bike.

First, is that battery older than 3yrs? If so consider replacement. If its an agm type then after 3yrs its basically dry and stops working. Flooded cell types last longer if not over charged. Gell and lithium batteries require special charging and dont last as long.
Second, if you take the battery positive off while running does the voltage from the r/r drop or rise? It wont stay the same, just measure the voltage before you disconnect it and after. The voltage should come up as the rpms rise to 5000rpm.

If your lights dim and brighten then it will cause early bulb failure. And is usually caused by bad battery, bad r/r or stator, bad connections. If they go completely out then come back on then look for broken wires. Pull on every wire from both ends. Look for stretching.

 

Stupid as this sounds, its better to have many individual ring connectors than a single one adapted to a bigger wire. The reason is for trouble shooting and proper contact. A single large wire can not carry the current nor allow the same voltage drop as many smaller wires. Eg you would expect two 14awg wires to equal twice the capacity of one 14awg wire. Its actually only about 1/3 more than 1 wire or almost that of a 12awg.

As for low voltage, a 55w bulb will use only that. 55 watts. So At 13.8v it draws 3.985A. At 6v it draws 9.166A. At 24v it will draw 2.291A. What kills the bulb is the swing in voltage. If its at 13.8 drops to 2v and bounces back up. The voltage will look like its gone way passed the max voltage (determined from the heat rating of the filament) but the current stays the same as if it was still at 2v. It takes a little time for that power to dissipate. Not much, just a few uSecs but thats all it takes to kill the bulb.