02 vfr800 bike died while riding now fuel pump won't prime

I was leaving work and rode maybe 200 yards when the engine died the dash lights stayed on. I pulled over and tried to restart it. The dash lights come on but the fuel pump doesn't prime when the kill switch is turn on. I tried toggling the kill switch and checked the kickstand before getting towed. The recalls were performed by a previous owner and I installed the vfrness on an otherwise stock bike. I got home and checked the blue connector on the left side but the green ground wire coming from the front harness wasn't there, I guess the front harness recall changed that? The 20amp fuse near the battery looks fine as does it's harness the 20amp vfrness fuse looks fine too. No symptoms before the bike died the motor just turned off but dash lights stayed on. The gas tank is full. I am going to try and check the fuel pump and clean the kill switch tonight. Anybody have the same experience or insight that might be helpful it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,

 

Did you check voltage at the battery?

 

Not yet will check when I get home. It started up right away no issues.

 

Battery voltage is 13.05v. The fuel pump pasted the service manual test. No voltage change measured at the brown harness under the fuel tank when the ignition is turned on no matter the position of the kill switch. I took apart the kill switch but couldn't get the switch out of the harness before I had to quit for the day. The kill switch looked clean and operates crisply. The directions for testing the kill switch seemed confusing at first glance. Any tips for testing the kill switch and fuel pump cut off switch?

 

Hi and welcome to the MadHouse:welcome:

If the bike has previously been running OK, without some external cause (like riding in heavy rain) I rather doubt the kill switch or fuel pump are the problem. Sadly the weak spot with these bikes is the charging system, which seems to particularly afflict the early 800s, and it sounds like your bike is following the trend.

Personally I would get the multi-meter out and give the charging system a proper check over. The basics are spelled out in post #9 of the following very very long thread:-

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/39277-How-to-fix-common-regulator-Stator-failures

Please note those tests need to be done TWICE - once with the bike cold and again after the bike has been for a good 30 minute ride to ensure the electrical components are all hot. Sometimes bikes test out OK when cold, but RR diodes may fail when hot, and likewise the insulation in the stator windings can fail meaning instead of the bike being charged when riding it starts to drain the battery to a point where it does not have enough power and the bike shuts down with virtually no warning.

The standing battery at 13.05 volts looks OK so I assume you have checked the basics - loose battery terminals - any signs of melted/burnt connectors on the charging circuit wiring - especially the connector with three yellow wires running from Stator to RR.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.


SkiMad

 

Thanks, I will look at the basics of the charging system and a more thorough go over once I get it running. Funny it did get rained on hard but I wasn't riding at the time. Forgot to mention something important, the bike does not turn over.

 

If your battery is at 13.05 resting ... turn the key on and take a measurement as well. If it's below 12v then you may have a grounding issues. If it's above 12v then you may have a switch / sensor gone bad.

I would start by testing voltages starting at the fuel pump and work backwards.

- bank angle sensor
- kill switch
- relay
- kickstand switch
etc ...

 

Check the sidestand & clutch switches. - don't think this is a fuel pump issue or charging issue as the engine would still turn over (just really slowly) ...

 

When I turned the key the voltage dropped to 12.9. I'm starting to check all the switches. Any tips on how to by bass any of them to eliminate as a source of issue?

 

When you turn the ignition switch do the dash lights come on?, sounds like a bad loom connection somewhere

 

Thanks to all! It was a blown Bank angle sensor fuse. I'm not very comfortable with a multi meter but using it to test the sensors on this bike wasn't that difficult of a procedure. The kill switch was easy to test once I saw the color of the wires the diagram made sense.

 

Check the wiring for any evidence rubbing and touching ground. Were the lugs on the fuse corroded? Fuses normally blow for a reason.

 

The lugs looked to be in good shape. I was starting to think about why the fuse blew. I thought maybe the BAS was starting to fail.

 

thats excellent news - great news that you have got it going

 

Here are some screen clips from the manual:





Fuse C is 10A for BAS. The white wire with the black trace goes to Engine Start switch, then feeds black wire to Engine Stop relay too.

The White/Black also goes to the R/R, haven't quite figured that one out, it must be some trigger voltage. When I upgraded my R/R to a series unit, I did't use it. Check and see if yours is disconnected, possible point of a short.

 

Thanks D.P. I'm glad too as I just spent a bunch of time and money replacing brakes and rear rotor.

Allyance, Thanks for the tip I will check and see if the R/R wire is connected.

 

Update. I was checking the wiring around the bike and found an arc spot on the right side of the frame but no obvious culprit. I did find one of the factory zip ties had cut off some of the wire casing on a wire. I taped it up and taped up a purple wire from the VFRness that didn't lead to anything. I started the bike jiggled the wiring harnesses around real good and couldn't reproduce the problem. I put the fairings on and went for a ride. I noticed the clock had reset as well as the A tripometer leading me to believe it was a ground short somewhere and not the BAS. Thanks again for being a great place to go for some help!

 

Hope that's the ticket!!!

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk