So I took my VFR for a ride today. Started right up no issues running fine. Go up 105 to Monument and stop for gas. Battery is stone dead. I jump it a several times until it eventually stays running long enough for me to get on and hit the highway. Get it home and shut it off, same problem. Put it on the battery tender until charged. Turn it on and get all kinds of clicks and crap. Hook it to the charger and it makes some weird buzz when I try to start it. No idea where to go from here.
Last edited by Jmetz; Sun Mar 9th, 2014 at 10:46 PM.
I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.
possible loose connection at battery? remove the connectors and inspect
Could possibly be the regulator/rectifier.
But from watching the videos, you definitely ought to check your connections. Seems like something is loose.
Have owned: '01 Volusia
Currently own: '05 Z750S
Checked connections and they were tight I loosened them and retightened, same result as first vid.
I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.
next I'd take connections off and fully charge the bat, check further for loose connections. a shop would use a battery tester to check the bat charge and starter load
maybe try a charged bat from another bike?
I'll give it a shot.Originally Posted by Native
No other bike.
I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.
sometimes places like checker can test the battery, you use a tester to check the voltage under load, bat has to be fully charged
Jumper cables to your car battery-
Remove the battery from your bike - connect jumpers right to the leads. With car off start bike and see if it keeps running.
My guess is that your battery took a crap.
Certainly other loose connections could play in - I would check ground to frame and then the connections to the starter relay and the starter if the battery test doesn't work.
I'll place my $1.00 bet right now. Shot battery.
You win sir! The next question: The battery is a year old tomorrow this leads me to believe possibly my stator is taking a dump? I checked the ohms and with my meter set to 2000 I get a reading of 002 or 001 across all 3 phases. I don't know if this is good or bad. The "how to" I watched was running 00.6 on a Honda Magna.
Thank you very much for all the responses thus far!
Last edited by Jmetz; Sun Mar 9th, 2014 at 09:38 PM.
I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.
check the voltage across the bat terminals with engine running about 2-3k, should be about 14.1
That is what I was thinking. regulator/rectifier is a common problem for 2002-2005 vfrs. What year is yours?
R/R is a much more likely culprit than the stator.
You'll want to measure input voltage (any two of the three poles, since it's AC) and output voltage (DC)
The problem comes when the R/R doesn't shunt voltage to the battery once it's charged, meaning the full charging voltage is always going to the battery. This causes it to boil off and eventually die.
I've seen a lot of "one year" batteries lately. It might be that quality of the parts is going down, but there are lots of reasons the small batteries we have in motorcycles have short lives, not the least of which is the vibration they see on our bikes that causes the lead plates to fracture.
The stator in Hondas is typically pretty strong. The R/R's is usually the weak link.
The VFR does have an issue with stators, I have gone through 3 in admittedly 78000 miles. With the engine off check each stator lead to ground with your meter. Resistance should be infinite. However from your description I lean more to a bad battery.
Did the warranty exchange this morning. Battery = wasted. They couldn't even test it.
I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.
So I picked up a better meter. I'm getting .0 or .1 across the 3 phases of the stator. Infinite ground on all 3. I'm getting 13.8 across the battery while running and 13.85 at 3k.
Last edited by Jmetz; Mon Mar 10th, 2014 at 01:26 PM.
I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.
definitely sounds like it's charging, rr might be in question like rybo was saying. I f the bike is starting fine you don't notice any weakness later why fix what's not broke right?
Charging system passed all tests so you are good.
I had a similar problem with a Harley Sportster a few years ago. Apparently, the battery had a loose plate in it. If the plate made contact with the others inside the battery case, then I had no voltage, partial voltage, or momentary voltage. If the plate was in the right spot, the battery worked perfectly. It took a long time to figure out what was going on. H-D ended up giving me a new battery under warranty.
Rodger Rogers.
Thank you all for your input and help, I really appreciate it!
I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.
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