05 VFR800 firing issues

Hey VFR peeps,

Looking for help. The bike will turn over strong but is not getting fuel. I recently had to fix the BAS wiring as the connectors melted so I removed the connector and spliced in directly. The bike was running well until the BAS wire melted so I figured that was the only issue. The bike died while riding. As you will see and hear in the video, something else is strange. When I turn OFF the kill switch and hold down the start button, you can hear what sounds to me like the fuel pump. It did this 4 times and will not do it anymore. The “pump” sound was only while I held down the start button but again, it’s not doing that now…

I’ll take any and all advice/comments with appreciation. TIA!

Troubleshooting steps so far;

it’s worth noting, that before I spliced/soldered the BAS, I bypassed it and it would still not start.

1) fixed BAS wiring
2) cleaned kill switch button with CRC electronic cleaner, 3 times.
3) checked all fuses are OK
4) made sure all connections under fuel tank are secure
5) the R/R and Stator were
replaced within the past year.
6) kickstand up or down, doesn’t make a difference
7) brand new battery today

 

pull a plug wire to check for a spark first to discover whether its electrick or fuel. plenty of fuel in tank of course.........?

 

Noted, will do. Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

if battery voltage is too low FI wont be working rite.

 

Thank you, it is a brand new battery and I triple checked the voltage before I put it on. I just checked the voltage again and it’s perfect.

 

do any maintenance recently ?

 

No sir

 

As you mentioned, you are following my post.

1. Have you had the recall done on your bike? If so, stop what you are doing, and have that done. It's free, Honda recalls don't expire, apparently. That will replace the whole front wiring harness, and any issues you may have up there will be solved. In my case, the sketchy, pump-only-priming-sometimes issue was solved there.

2. Have you taken a printed out copy of the ECU diagram, the good, color coded one, along with the wife and a multimeter, and started testing continuity from the ECU connector, to the end of each sensor connector? That's how I found where to look on mine. I was not getting spark, but some mixed voltage readings on the coil packs. I pulled the battery, and the ECU and started testing continuity, and lo and behold, there was no continuity between any of the coil packs and the ECU, or any other black/white connectors, like the injectors. I was able to get a good reading from coilpack to coilpack, but not to anything else. This made me suspicious. I went deep searching on the interwebs, and ran across a fixya post. I typically laugh at fixya, but this guy was spot on, as I found out later.

https://www.fixya.com/motorcycles/t19075221-honda_vfr_800_a2_only_firing_1

3. I hate to say it, but you should check your harness for moisture. That was the killer. All of the crimp splices, where multiple wires splice down into one, are heavily corroded, if not broken. The tape was holding the wire close enough that there would be some spark jumping from wire to wire, but not enough for actual constant voltage.

Good luck. I'll try to remember to keep you updated as I go. I am trying to remember to update my post on here, VFRDiscussion, and one on Reddit as well.

 

Thanks a million, I will have to check out the recall. How do I tell if the work was performed?

 

You can check through a dealer via your VIN number, but you should see a punch/mark to the lower left area around the "J" on the VIN on the right of the steering stem. I'll go check mine and take a picture.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2007/RCRIT-07V359-6830.pdf

 

I checked and I do not have a punch mark on the VIN tag. Also found the recall online and see my VIN is within the range for my 2005. I’ll call my Honda dealer Monday and will have to tow it in. NP.

I also spent time today pulling off the fairings today and inspecting all the connectors and harnesses. The wiring overall looks good, all wires are dry and no damage found on most connectors and loom is clean.

NOW what I did find had me all kinds of excited, but 10 minutes later, disappointed…

I found this blue connector and the ground has been tampered with. Only one side is ground to the frame, the other side, as you will see in the pics, remains intact on the connector . Should that side be ground? I need help to know if the previous owner wired this right, I don’t think it’s correct.

What had me excited was the ground wire that goes from the loom to the frame was actually broken! So I thought “bam” I found the issue! So I re-did the connector, cleaned the ground area, screwed it back on and no joy. Bike is 100% same. No fuel pump engaged.

Can anyone advise on this connector? Should both ends be ground or should I cut the other side and splice/solder it together and bypass the connector all together?

thanks!

 

I would highly recommend just waiting for the recall to be serviced before going any further. Anything related to the harness that you do now, will have to be re-checked when they replace the front harness. A lot of my issues were solved by the front harness replacement, but now I am looking at possibly having to replace the main harness as well. Debating on how much I want to deal with this, at this point.

 

Agreed, I actually just called my dealer now that they’re open and he found that my bike has not had the warranty recall done. For whatever reason he says he needs to speak to his manager who doesn’t get back in the office until Tuesday, so I have to wait…

 

Ok Honda had to order the harness… So I’m sure that will take 60 days or more. He said no one carries them in stock, they have to be ordered by VIN, not sure how true that is…

 

They are correct. Nobody carries them, but shouldn't take long. Mine was in and out, (with the part ordered after I got the bike there) from a tiny shop in 13 days.

BTW, mine is running now. Going to go put the bodywork back together. I'll try to update tonight on my posts.

 

That’s great news! Post some videos!
60 days is something I came up with in my head, if they get it within a couple weeks that will be amazing. The dealer is quite large, in Houston, Texas, so I’m sure it will be faster.

 

our honda wires were cheapened and minimized too much on bikes after about 1992, with aluminum core compared to copper on the older bike. old big fat wires are better imo.

 

not your skinny modern wires

 

Dropped the bike off today at Honda to get the front wiring harness recall completed. Should have it back within a week. I’ll keep the thread updated to see if that fixes my issues.

 

I just picked up an 03 that has not had the recall done....please let me know how this goes for you!