Clock / Trip resetting when starting

Every 3rd or 4th time I start the VFR I get the pause, or "compression bump" of the starter before it fires. When this happens the gauges lose power and I lose my trip meter and the clock resets. How can I prevent this?

 

Sounds like something weak in the electrical. Mine was doing that, especially in colder weather. It wound up being a weak battery and a partly melted fuse.

 

Weak battery. Possibly due to a failing stator. Take the battery out and get it tested...if it charges up and tests ok, then your stator is going out. If the battery is bad, replace it and hope that the stator is still good ;-)

 

Definitly a weak battery. The question is why, either just an old/ defective battery or a charging issue. Charge your battery or get a new one. Get a meter and test the battery with bike off, with bike at idle, and with bike at 5,000 rpms. Post up the results and we will let you know what we think.

 

Is this just an annoyance or is a weak battery going to cause other issues?

 

What year is your bike? How old is your battery? Check battery terminals and connectors for signs of corrosion. If you have a multi-meter, check battery voltage. If it is 12.6-12.9 volts is OK. Now with meter on terminals (not cable ends), have some try and start bike. If voltage stays up, battery OK, bad connection somewhere producing a voltage drop. If battery drops, get a new battery.

 

It is a 2003 and I would bet the original battery. I will get it tested and find out.

 

Battery is weak. Get it charged and tested then follow this chart to see if you have a charging issue, or just an old, tired battery.

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

 

I dont agree about the voltage staying up, all batteries when starting (huge current draw) have the voltage drop due to the internal resistance of the battery. So doing the starting voltage test is not much use. It will tell you if you are over drawing the battery. How much of a voltage drop depends soley on two factors: current draw and internal resistance. If the voltage and current are know then you can calc the resistance. Anything over 0.09ohms means a battery that is failing. You can do things to prolong the battery life but not really worth it imho.

My vote is on bad connections, check all plugs and frame connections, clean frame connections if you can. Make sure all fuses are good and the holders are in good condition both inside and out.
What electrical mods have you made? Heated anything takes power away from the battery charge, hid conversion frees up power but at the cost of the r/r working harder to keep the voltage down to 14.2 ish volts (dont be alarmed if its as high as 14.8 or as low as 13.6, this is measured at 5000rpm. If the voltage does not come up while going from idle to 5000rpm then check the r/r connections, its frame connection the stator connections etc. The startor outputs 3-phase ac at about 60vac per leg pair. This is without load, if you have a pair thats not equal to the others then you must do a resistance check on the stator. More than 1% difference is a bad/ failing stator. Your r/r has two wires to the battery positive and must have good connections or it wont work right. Best test for the r/r is a full load test, turn on the high beams, turn signals and grab the brakes. Abs units get their power from the battery plus what ever it can steal from the charging circuit. So ignore it if you have one. Your measured voltage with your full load should be more than 12.8vdc at the battery posts. 13.2 is a good number to be over as it means your battery is getting a charge.

Test your battery by charging over night on a good 4 or 5 stage charger. If you have a battery tender then use it over a cheap charger. A cheap charger requires you to monitor the battery charge state and drop the current when iy reaches 80% charged. Do not try and over charge the battery or use a high voltage to bump the battery. You will cause damage that can not be fixed.
What battery type is it?
Most common today is SLA ( sealed lead acid), you dont add water to these and are sold as maintenance free.
Next is AGM (absorbed glass mat) do not add water to these! The acid is in the glass matting between plates, adding water will dilute the acid and kill the battery.
I try to find flooded batteries when possible as then I can fix them, but they are getting hard to find and they weigh more than an SLA which is a flooded battery but is not 100% full due to gassing space required.
If you have a gel cell or a lithium battery, then charge following the batteries specidfic instructions, the stand by voltage should be 12.6 to 12.8 on thes two as the technology allows for it to hold that high. Else comon stand by voltages are between 11.6 and 12.2. A battery that is discharged below 10.4 is basically garbage as thats when the plates get eaten and erroded anything below that and just buy a new battery, its not worth the time or frustration of bringing that battery back to have it die at random.

 

I wanted him check battery directly, figured if bad connection, battery wouldn't drop as much. If there was contact resistance on terminals, than battery will read higher, if same, I agree problem is elsewhere. Seen a lot of cars with corroded battery terminals, not passing current.

Not just batteries, I had a VW Cabrio that wouldn't charge. VW used 2 washers on either side to sandwich cable lug. Took apart to find washers were covered in white dialetric coating, wire brushed everything, fixed charging (after buying new battery!).

 

Vw uses lithium di-silicate grease for batt term sealing, its ok until it gets wet or someone touches it..... then it must be removed and replaced. Best contact paste is silver cpu paste. Make sure it has 0.1% silver or better, put the paste between the post and connector then coat the outside of the connectors in liquid vinyl. You will never worry about that connection again! We used to do that on 300ft or taller towers for all connections. Never had to go up one for water in the connector unless the cable split, which does happen from time to time.

 

This was many many years ago! Sorry, wasn't on battery, but stud on alternator. Used my meter, got voltage on stud, but not on cable lug! Sounds like you have had a lot of field experience. I used to design communications systems for Military Hospitals and did all the CAD work for our group. Installed networks system and PCs for 20 years, before that I built and installed sound systems for hotels and nightclubs (yes, disco, I'm old).

 

Im a telecom engineer and studying to become an electrical engineer because Canada does not have such a thing as a telecom engineer
Spent 10 years building and fixing voice/data and radio systems for clients. Even made vonage run a fax over a satellite link XD
I have 15years or so of being paid to fix computers and sever systems and now run my own business aside of my regular work. I got my own alphabet behind my name XD and continue to add more.
Im sure we have a few electrical engineers here, I know we have a software engineer or two. Its nice that I have others to back up and or correct (depends on how much I've had to drink) or chime in with other things that should be checked or direction of investigation.
Currently I'm designing solar systems for clients, helping them choose grid free or grid tie. Providing UPS systems for 48hrs or more and correctly sizing generators to load requirements with UPS protection. No mind work but they pay nicely

 

Most everything I learned is self taught, including AutoCAD! Get as much formal education as you can, but it is no substitute for hands on.

I agree with about lousy connections, I think too many guys replace stators and R/R units which were damaged by bad connections, thinking they were the cause!

 

I am retired and pick up dog shit when I feel like it in my spare time.

 

Nothing like hands on, you must feel it, grab it and have been slapped to really know it.

Fresh from school guys never understand how I come up with my answers and never like it when I'm right.(which is usually the case)

 

Worlds most boring update: I've ridden it every day now and I've learned that it doesn't do that if I'm in neutral when I start it. I guess its just a tiny bit too weak for that resistance of the trans. Keeping it in N during starts will save me some money on a battery.

 

Tells me that you have a bad frame connection up front. The ecu and dash is using the clutch circuit to ground to frame. Look for loose and broken connections, bad crimps in the connectors and possibly a broken wire. Remember not all negative wires are black so check every wire. Also do a test on those reverse current diodes. The bike isnt supposed to find frames through them so they may need to be replaced. They look like fuses but instead of a fusible link they have a small ceramic or glass bead with two wires sticking out.


Good to hear you have a solution, but thats not ideal. This could be a lead up to a major issue.

 

I'm sure you could be right about this, but I have no idea what you're talking about. I have as much experience with electrical stuff as you do with medical bills.

 

I unfortunately have had my share of the med bills our medical system isnt as simple as you just walk in and no bill. You get fixed up then they bill you.

Do you have the honda book for your bike?
If its a 6th gen I can scan a few pages of the schematic for you and highlight the wiring to look at.

Your neutral safety switch grounds (goes to frame) a line in the ecu so it knows that the bike is in neutral or the clutch is pulled in. This circuit on the 6th gen goes through your guage cluster. It lights up the light when your in neutral. Your frame is tied to the battery negative, and thus the frame is nothing more than a wire, we call it the ground from an old term for single wire distribution which the ground was the power return to the power plant.
Very simply you have a frame connection or a connection between the frame and the ecu/ guages that is not good. Check every thing over and pull all connections apart and physically touch the wires and tug on them. Start by taking all the plastics off including the headlight mount.