R.i.p. 10 Amp Signal Fuse

The facts: '06 ABS, 10,000 miles, daily driver, with a thermostat in the process of failing. No electrical mods of any kind, strong battery still.  All else, pretty good :thumbsup:

Today after exiting the freeway, I decided the light was long, and turned off the bike.  Upon turning it back on, I had no turn signals, nor horn.  This includes the hazards on the right control block.

I knew the fuse blew; earlier tonight, I removed the meter panel, and sure enough, the 3rd fuse in the block, which on an '06 ABS controls the TURN SIGNALS and HORN, had blown its 10 amperage!

I don't have an updated wiring diagram, and can't read that stuff well anyway, so...

Besides the fact that I ride every day with highbeams (daylight hours) and have a failing thermostat (hot cookin' radiator just below and aft of the fuse box) what else on the revised '06 ECU/wiring might this be?

:idea3: I replaced the fuse and bought a new "spare" but am wondering if this is an indication of a deeper problem on the gen 6.5 stock bikes?

Thanks!

That same thing happened to mine on my 5th Gen.  The fuse would blow at various times and I did a super wiring check to see if something was shorted but found nothing.  I also looked at all the bulbs involved to see if one of the filaments were broken that would cause a low resistance short and eventually get to the fuse.  Nothing.

I posted the problem to the crew here and my man RADAR came through by saying that his front brake switch was pushed against the clip on and that shorted the wire at that point to ground.

I checked mine out and sure enough, the small boot that covers the push on connector at the bottom of the brake lever switch (hard to see) was worn through and intermittently shorting to the clip on which is at ground potential thus taking the fuse.

Repairs made and no more trouble.

Thanks for the input.  

But, the '06 and up VFR doesn't have the brake lights nor switches on the same fuse as the turn signals any more.

My brake lights are fine, they now run on a separate fuse; it's the horn/turn signal/hazard flasher that won't work (though the switches operate, the lights died due to a blown fuse)

Any other ideas maybe? The blinker switches are self-contained units, unless similar to what you're saying, either the clutch or brake levers are munching a cable?

My 03 6'th gen blew the fuse a few times, once when dark (Yikes).

Turns out that it was some wires on the license plate light was causing the short. A couple of other folks here have had that same problem too, perhaps 3 or 4 of us. Constant bumps for the bike had caused some chafing of the wire. A heavier wire and some electrical tape did the trick.

I'm convinced its the HONDA coolant causing the Thermo failures

I installed a regular bulb license plate light (previous owner had two little LED's) and the body would touch the the frame and blow the 30amp main fuse.

[image: View Post]sirimiri, on Jul 27 2007, 03:18 AM, said:

I don't have an updated wiring diagram, and can't read that stuff well anyway, so...

Thanks!
I recently scanned the updated schematics, on the off chance you want to have a look.


[image: Posted Image]

Hey, thanks a bunch for the wiring diagram.  Maybe I can decipher something from it, see who's sharing the circuit/fuse, etc.

:thumbsup:

Sorry 'bout yur fuse issue; I do have a question. What makes you think the thermostat is in the "process" of failing?

[image: View Post]rad, on Jul 28 2007, 11:14 AM, said:

Sorry 'bout yur fuse issue; I do have a question. What makes you think the thermostat is in the "process" of failing?http://www.vfrdiscus...showtopic=34426
Slooow to warm up, and the rads (pun!) are really cookin' even in night riding...

EDIT: the fuse blew again  <_<  two days after.

OK, I removed ALL bodywork not connected to D.O.T.-required goodies, and looked at just about every wiring cluster I could identify. 'Looked' as in inspected it for melting.  Aside from a part of the wiring harness that rests on top of the radiator and is sloooowly melting a bit, all else looks fine, especially the rear brake/license/turn signal lights, connectors and wiring. Even cracked open the turn signal/hazard stuff on the bars!  http://www.vfrdiscus...tyle_emoticons/default/sad.gif

I've replaced the fuse again, and will expect it to blow within 3 days (I ride 345 days a year). That would be 3 ten-amp fuses in a week.
------
Well, I'm pretty sure it's not the battery/charging system, the service manual says these values are OK.

• Ignition off:                                     12.93v
  
• Idle @ �1,200 RPM w/high-beams:  12.81v
  
• �5000 RPM w/high-beams:             13.83v

[image: View Post]sirimiri, on Jul 27 2007, 07:34 AM, said:

My brake lights are fine, they now run on a separate fuse; it's the horn/turn signal/hazard flasher that won't work (though the switches operate, the lights died due to a blown fuse)

Any other ideas maybe? The blinker switches are self-contained units, unless similar to what you're saying, either the clutch or brake levers are munching a cable?
Looking at the "After '05" digram it looks to me like your "F" fuse is supplied by the R/W (Red/White) wire that comes into the fuse box.  Since the "F" fuse is blowing the problem has to be AFTER the fuse starting at the Bl/Br (Blue/Brown) wire.  

Follow the Bl/Br (Blue/Brown) wire after the fuse and you'll end up at the horn or the hazard switch.   The name of the game is "MAKE THAT FUSE BLOW".

That horn is a pretty simple circuit - if that one is the problem it has to be a short somewhere from the "F" fuse to the horn switch. Put your new fuse in and then try to get it to blow.  Play with the horn button, move the handle bars back and forth, check the connection at the horn itself, wiggle the wire bundles all the way from that fuse to the horn switch.   If you can't get the horn to blow the fuse someway then I think you can rule the horn out.

Now move on to the hazard switch wiring.  Same thing - play with the hazard switch, move the bars, check the connections, wiggle wiring bundles.  Try to blow the fuse if you can.  No luck?

Time to move down the wiring some more.  You'll see that the Bl/Br wire also comes out of the hazard switch as the W/R (white/red) - I think that is the color - it's hard to tell from the scan.  Anyway it goes to the "TURN SIGNAL POSITION RELAY" - find that relay and again work the switch, handlebars, connections and wire bundles from the hazard switch to the relay.  Maybe that won't work.

Maybe the fuse only blows when you signal RIGHT for instance - now you know it's somewhere on that side.  Check the Lb/W (light blue / white) wire from the relay to the front right signal then check the Lb (light blue) to the rear signal.  Don't forget that this wire also goes to the instrument panel.

Don't forget to check the obvious on each item before you go nuts pulling the bike apart - a chaffed wire rubbing on the frame near the connection is always a winner.  Wet things (I don't want to know).  If you can get that fuse to blow and identify what did it then your in business.

One other thought is that the "F" fuse is a 10amp fuse.  You could try putting in a LOWER amperage fuse for your testing - something that might be MORE SENSITIVE.  This could lead you astray though - what if your horn draws 8 amps and you have a 7.5 amp fuse in?  It will blow every time your press the horn switch giving a false indication.

While your at it you might as well buy some dielectric grease from your local auto store and put it on each and every connection you find.  

Stick with it - you'll sort it out and then you can post the cause back for us to learn from  :thumbsup:

Wow, Talus, thanks very much for the informative post! You have many points there, I might take you up on the "intentional fuse blow"  :joystick: technique.

I've been riding around ghetto-style, sans bodywork, anticipating the next 10A fuse pop but it won't do it now, which leads me to believe is is a very specific set of events just like you say....if it still exists (I hope not, after my wiring harness jiggle-fest!) than I will find it!

On the plus side, man I think my bike lost about 20 pounds, after losing the Givi case and rack, plus major bodywork.  It handles like a KNIFE!!!!   :rolleyes:

[image: View Post]sirimiri, on Jul 31 2007, 12:10 AM, said:

Wow, Talus, thanks very much for the informative post! You have many points there, I might take you up on the "intentional fuse blow"  :joystick: technique.

I've been riding around ghetto-style, sans bodywork, anticipating the next 10A fuse pop but it won't do it now, which leads me to believe is is a very specific set of events just like you say....if it still exists (I hope not, after my wiring harness jiggle-fest!) than I will find it!

On the plus side, man I think my bike lost about 20 pounds, after losing the Givi case and rack, plus major bodywork.  It handles like a KNIFE!!!!   :rolleyes:
If this was my problem...  I troubleshoot alot with a battery charger.  My inclination would be to connect the positive lead to the the socket where the fuse inserts.... however...  melting a very expensive harness would have me with an inline fuse on the lead.

Connect power only to that fuse socket and see what lights up.  You can also whip out the multimeter and set to ohms.  touch the two test leads together and you should get 0 ohms.  Yank the bulbs and the leads to the horn.  On the positive leads of the horn and lights place your test lead and the other to ground.... you should get infinite resistance... if you get 0 resistance... you found the short.

Or you can bring me a 6  pack of something really good and we can tear into it at my house in Alhambra.

Hmmm, Johnny, mebbe I should grab my Fluke multi-meter and a  sixxer of whatever (I've been into the Baltic brews, lately!) and head out to Alhambra for a diagnosis + uh....beer sampling? You're more knowledgeable about this than I!   :rolleyes:

[image: View Post]sirimiri, on Jul 31 2007, 02:31 AM, said:

Hmmm, Johnny, mebbe I should grab my Fluke multi-meter and a  sixxer of whatever (I've been into the Baltic brews, lately!) and head out to Alhambra for a diagnosis + uh....beer sampling? You're more knowledgeable about this than I!   :rolleyes:
Hrm

The other day I realized I have all but abandoned my prior hobby (classic italian scootering) and just needed to admit it.  The VFR has been so much more to me that I dont touch my hotrod scooter.  I learned alot from troubleshooting old scooters and cars, so I dont regret it.

Baltic brews? I owned a forum license and well VFRs are so well covered by HS here... I put up beertasters.org  Its still got some bugs but will be working perfect by next week.

You have a fluke$!?$!?  I have an Ideal multimeter on the cheap from Home Depot.  As far as I know I am free or reasonably cheap Saturday Morn.

Okay, the resolution: I stripped off all the bodywork and went looking for exposed cabling, rubbing, grounding out against the frame, metal, etc. etc.

I couldn't find anything  <_<

So then, I disassembled the turn signal switch, and looked it over.  Re-assembled it incorrectly  :thumbsup: doh! then fixed it a day later.

I put the bodywork back on, had the thermostat replaced (unrelated) and now the bike no longer eats fuses.  I don't know what brought it about, but I wanted to leave a conclusion on the thread for anyone else who stumbles upon this problem....

I replaced the fuse and bought a new "spare" but am wondering if this is an indication of a deeper problem on the gen 6.5 stock bikes?)))))



I've got 27,000 mile on my 06 , not a single issue.  I think its Hondas own coolant aiding in the thermo failures. I dumped mine at 2,000 mile for prestone and have not had the thermo issue.

I go through low beams about every 8 months but no fuses have blown.  My bike is completely un modified, so I'd start there



oophs I see ya already fixed it

if ti does come back and blow again i would set my interests on areas where the body work either bolts on near or around any wires.. also check UNDER and straps, zip ties, or wireing guides...my bet is its gonna be a very slight abrasion from wind n rubbing something.  note flattened areas of the wiring covering could be a very good indication of a problem or future problem..

Good Luck