Poll for tracking, what year did you have electrical issues and did you have added accessories. Please only vote if you have had problems to keep the data clean.
I added the multiple choice option for those of you with multiple 6th gen bikes of differant years, same with the accessories poll.
Please post below only if you have had issues with a 6th gen, your fix, and approximately how much it cost you to repair. Many have mentioned pushing Honda to cover repair costs on this issue, perhaps we can build a database right here for evidence.
I had the classic 30 amp fuse wire turning brown. This caused me to investigate further, and check my sensor wire output. It was at 11.8 volts or so, battery while running was at 15.8 or so.
Cost to repair:
New wire for 30 amp fuse holder - $2 + 1/2 hour labor
Wire harness(custom built by me) for fixing the sensor wire, and adding addition ground/power runs. $25 + 3 hours labor (installing was 30 minutes, building took the time)
Smoked the 30amp fuse wire with no failure or issue, replaced it with h/m Radio Shack set-up. Aprox. at 25k on 02. $8.00
Blue connector ground failed somewhere in the high 30k miles and because of the "Vtec Elec. problems"post knew exactly what it was and had it repaired(new ground) in 20 min. and still made my ride. :thumbsup: No cost!
As far as tracking, there was a large post prior to the one I started that had most of the problems and the owners who had problems, but that post was lost in one of the crashes. Lots of the same info in the new post "vtec elec. problems".
We tried to keep a data base of all the harness issues and for the most part it seemed that Honda covered all the parts and labor for most of the members no matter if they were under warranty or not, but some got shafted ! <_<
Some members reported that some Honda Regional Service Reps admitting a problem and others deny it.
30 amp and added ground wire to blue connector(connector was OK at that point)
Also had a very bizarre occurence(documented on the elec prob sticky) where the front edge of the tank, right side, wore through the insulation covering the metal brake line tube and caused some "wierdness" :P
Overcharging R/R fried the battery...04 VFR with 8k miles with only GPS accessory. Replacement Yuasa @ $113; 30 amp fuse, blue connector and monitor wire mods under $10. Will replace my fix with Tightwad's $47 mod for a more professional install. Total parts $170.
my 04 had the 30a wire and fuse holder failure,both were toasty.
i have no electrical accessories.
i did the 30a fuse fix and sensor wire fix,along with the blue connector ground fix.
$17 total cost and about 3 hours labor.
i had no issues with how mine ran and the original battery is still working well at 18k miles.
but mine was just a ticking timebomb of troubles.
Black monitor while from R/R to ignition had resistance issues, bike was charging at 17vdc. I have a lot of gadgets, hooked up. See below mods for list.
My battery was "whistling" after a 500 mile ride. Wouldn't hold a good charge after that. Nothing melted. I was running GPS and an mp3 amp, but I don't think those contributed to the problem. I checked the charging system and it was definitely overcharging. Replaced the battery and did the monitor wire fix. The charging system output is in the right range and haven't had a problem since.
Last night I finally dared to open it up and look I found a huge wad of electrical tape holding it all together. My fuse was a little melted but the wires are Crisp to the point that they wont bend. I located the part number for the factory replacement 32401-MCW-D00 and my dealer wants $73.00 for it. I am sure the dealer would just replace the wiring not fix the problem. I am the second owner of the bike the origina owner had put 3500 miles on it and I have added another 1000 miles, so it is not an issue of mileage. I am looking at tightwads fix or maybe building my own. I have not had any luck opening up the existing connections so I can just replace the wire with larger wire.
[image: View Post]jayazusa, on Aug 15 2007, 03:18 PM, said:
Last night I finally dared to open it up and look I found a huge wad of electrical tape holding it all together. My fuse was a little melted but the wires are Crisp to the point that they wont bend. I located the part number for the factory replacement 32401-MCW-D00 and my dealer wants $73.00 for it. I am sure the dealer would just replace the wiring not fix the problem. I am the second owner of the bike the origina owner had put 3500 miles on it and I have added another 1000 miles, so it is not an issue of mileage. I am looking at tightwads fix or maybe building my own. I have not had any luck opening up the existing connections so I can just replace the wire with larger wire.
[image: View Post]Ducatti20, on Aug 15 2007, 01:21 PM, said:
Keep it coming guys, I'm going to build an access database for this for tracking.
All the other threads are too hard to sort through quickly!
I don't really the need for this post as you are gathering the same info that's already in the "Vtec Elec. Problems" post.
I just purged a bunch of unneeded post in it and you can get every bite of info your asking for right there w/o running a duplicate thread asking for the same info.
Am I missing something? :unsure:
my problems have been posted otherwise, but bike quit on the freeway going speedlimit + 1 mph or so... battery was checked okay, stator was tested no voltage coming out, replaced stator and flywheel (in kit together), stator was 'outside' the vin# for the recall in 2002's, everything working now with only new stator/flywheel, have the R/R but have not installed new one as yet, so cost would be i think around $180 or so plus 1 and a half days off work to fix myself, if the R/R is replaced add another $140 to that
[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Aug 15 2007, 01:27 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Ducatti20, on Aug 15 2007, 01:21 PM, said:
Keep it coming guys, I'm going to build an access database for this for tracking.
All the other threads are too hard to sort through quickly!
I don't really the need for this post as you are gathering the same info that's already in the "Vtec Elec. Problems" post.
I just purged a bunch of unneeded post in it and you can get every bite of info your asking for right there w/o running a duplicate thread asking for the same info.
Am I missing something? :unsure:
The poll is OK.
Mainly looking for the years of affected cycles and accessories if they were installed. Didn't mean to create a duplicate thread.
[image: View Post]Deathstar13, on Aug 15 2007, 02:22 PM, said:
my 04 had the 30a wire and fuse holder failure,both were toasty.
i have no electrical accessories.
i did the 30a fuse fix and sensor wire fix,along with the blue connector ground fix.
$17 total cost and about 3 hours labor.
i had no issues with how mine ran and the original battery is still working well at 18k miles.
but mine was just a ticking timebomb of troubles.
I just picked up a stock 2003 VFR and want do these fixes as preventative measures...I had a 97 VFR that left me stranded once and don't want that to happen again.
[image: View Post]dcstewart77, on Aug 16 2007, 08:12 AM, said:
[image: View Post]Deathstar13, on Aug 15 2007, 02:22 PM, said:
my 04 had the 30a wire and fuse holder failure,both were toasty.
i have no electrical accessories.
i did the 30a fuse fix and sensor wire fix,along with the blue connector ground fix.
$17 total cost and about 3 hours labor.
i had no issues with how mine ran and the original battery is still working well at 18k miles.
but mine was just a ticking timebomb of troubles.
I just picked up a stock 2003 VFR and want do these fixes as preventative measures...I had a 97 VFR that left me stranded once and don't want that to happen again.
i found it a very simple fixand its been stated to me after i used a seperate fused line you can just run a line off the new 30A fused line that your doing.
I havent had any issue with the beefed up wiring harness on my 06, I just hit all connections with WD back when it was new Including the stator connections and the Blue connector ground harness. I just checked my 30 amp area the other day (still like New).
My 05 ABS had the black battery monitor incorrectly reading the battery too low so the R/R overcharged my battery. Did the bypass and fixed it like a charm.
I'm slightly bothered by the second question pertaining to accessories. My accessories consist of heated grips and heated vest, both are only used for a few months in Minnesota (so are mainly off.) The current draw for both are nothing close to the second set of stock lights and the cooling fan, which can run alot in the summers. So if I answered YES to running accessories, I feel like I am indicting myself as THE PROBLEM when that can't be the cause.
I do have a voltmeter installed and can tell you the voltage drop is substantial when the high beams are on, the cooling fan is running and sitting at a light with the rear brake light engaged and a blinker on. In this particular situation, the voltage is registering 12.3 volts and suggests that not only is the regulator not keeping up but also a slight discharge is occurring. This will heat that subharness like nothing else. In my opinion, the root of the problem is not riders running accessories, rather Honda's failure to beef up the wiring system to handle the extra load when they had the neat idea of adding a second set of lights. Maybe the poll question could ask if riders use the high beams alot and ride in conditions that result in extended cooling fan cycling.
[image: View Post]PKPK, on Aug 18 2007, 04:32 PM, said:
I'm slightly bothered by the second question pertaining to accessories. My accessories consist of heated grips and heated vest, both are only used for a few months in Minnesota (so are mainly off.) The current draw for both are nothing close to the second set of stock lights and the cooling fan, which can run alot in the summers. So if I answered YES to running accessories, I feel like I am indicting myself as THE PROBLEM when that can't be the cause.
I do have a voltmeter installed and can tell you the voltage drop is substantial when the high beams are on, the cooling fan is running and sitting at a light with the rear brake light engaged and a blinker on. In this particular situation, the voltage is registering 12.3 volts and suggests that not only is the regulator not keeping up but also a slight discharge is occurring. This will heat that subharness like nothing else. In my opinion, the root of the problem is not riders running accessories, rather Honda's failure to beef up the wiring system to handle the extra load when they had the neat idea of adding a second set of lights. Maybe the poll question could ask if riders use the high beams alot and ride in conditions that result in extended cooling fan cycling.
Have you done the monitor wire fix? Since I did mine, no matter what draw there is the voltage stays at 14.3 at all times.
[image: View Post]jeremy556, on Aug 18 2007, 03:48 PM, said:
Have you done the monitor wire fix? Since I did mine, no matter what draw there is the voltage stays at 14.3 at all times.
No I haven't. I did perform the harness mod three years ago but was not aware of the monitor wire fix until today. Are you certain you are able to maintain 14.3 at ALL RPMs with the high beams, cooling fan and brake light engaged? I have always believed the alternator output just wouldn't allow that sort of draw at lower RPM, no matter how good the wiring is.
[image: View Post]PKPK, on Aug 18 2007, 01:32 PM, said:
I'm slightly bothered by the second question pertaining to accessories. My accessories consist of heated grips and heated vest, both are only used for a few months in Minnesota (so are mainly off.) The current draw for both are nothing close to the second set of stock lights and the cooling fan, which can run alot in the summers. So if I answered YES to running accessories, I feel like I am indicting myself as THE PROBLEM when that can't be the cause.
I do have a voltmeter installed and can tell you the voltage drop is substantial when the high beams are on, the cooling fan is running and sitting at a light with the rear brake light engaged and a blinker on. In this particular situation, the voltage is registering 12.3 volts and suggests that not only is the regulator not keeping up but also a slight discharge is occurring. This will heat that subharness like nothing else. In my opinion, the root of the problem is not riders running accessories, rather Honda's failure to beef up the wiring system to handle the extra load when they had the neat idea of adding a second set of lights. Maybe the poll question could ask if riders use the high beams alot and ride in conditions that result in extended cooling fan cycling.
What type of Voltage Meter are you using? Where have you tied your voltage meter wires to? I am looking at voltage meters and wondering what people are using and where they tie into to get accurate voltage.
[image: View Post]PKPK, on Aug 18 2007, 05:15 PM, said:
[image: View Post]jeremy556, on Aug 18 2007, 03:48 PM, said:
Have you done the monitor wire fix? Since I did mine, no matter what draw there is the voltage stays at 14.3 at all times.
No I haven't. I did perform the harness mod three years ago but was not aware of the monitor wire fix until today. Are you certain you are able to maintain 14.3 at ALL RPMs with the high beams, cooling fan and brake light engaged? I have always believed the alternator output just wouldn't allow that sort of draw at lower RPM, no matter how good the wiring is.
I just went and tested it, I was actually off just a bit, with the fan, brights, and brake light on it actually dips 0.15 volts. Voltage is the same at all RPMs. Voltage just after starting from cold is about 13.8 and ramps up to 14.27/14.28 within 10 seconds.
At idle
http://www.jgosling.net/images/misc/vfrd/monitorwire/idle.jpg
Brights on
http://www.jgosling.net/images/misc/vfrd/monitorwire/brights.jpg
Brights and brake light
http://www.jgosling.net/images/misc/vfrd/monitorwire/brake.jpg
Fan, brights, and brake light
http://www.jgosling.net/images/misc/vfrd/monitorwire/fanbrights.jpg
[image: View Post]jayazusa, on Aug 18 2007, 04:26 PM, said:
What type of Voltage Meter are you using? Where have you tied your voltage meter wires to? I am looking at voltage meters and wondering what people are using and where they tie into to get accurate voltage.
Thanks,
Jay
I have a Datel meter mounted in the front of my tankbag. I used a piece of aluminum inside the bag as a support. The bag serves as a point for power distribution but I have a master switch and the whole bag plugs into a Jastek socket. The power is direct from the battery.
[image: View Post]jeremy556, on Aug 18 2007, 04:52 PM, said:
I just went and tested it, I was actually off just a bit, with the fan, brights, and brake light on it actually dips 0.15 volts. Voltage is the same at all RPMs. Voltage just after starting from cold is about 13.8 and ramps up to 14.27/14.28 within 10 seconds.
Well, I'll have to give that monitor wire a try. What happens if you let the idle fall to 1000 rpm with all that stuff powered?
I thought you might ask that, so I turned it down after these pictures, it doesn't make a difference. I keep my idle up high to reduce engine braking / wheel hop on downshifts and because the VFR tachometer reads about 400 rpm high at idle.
[image: View Post]PKPK, on Aug 18 2007, 01:32 PM, said:
I'm slightly bothered by the second question pertaining to accessories. My accessories consist of heated grips and heated vest, both are only used for a few months in Minnesota (so are mainly off.) The current draw for both are nothing close to the second set of stock lights and the cooling fan, which can run alot in the summers. So if I answered YES to running accessories, I feel like I am indicting myself as THE PROBLEM when that can't be the cause.
I do have a voltmeter installed and can tell you the voltage drop is substantial when the high beams are on, the cooling fan is running and sitting at a light with the rear brake light engaged and a blinker on. In this particular situation, the voltage is registering 12.3 volts and suggests that not only is the regulator not keeping up but also a slight discharge is occurring. This will heat that subharness like nothing else. In my opinion, the root of the problem is not riders running accessories, rather Honda's failure to beef up the wiring system to handle the extra load when they had the neat idea of adding a second set of lights. Maybe the poll question could ask if riders use the high beams alot and ride in conditions that result in extended cooling fan cycling.
But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.
[image: View Post]Ducatti20, on Aug 20 2007, 10:26 AM, said:
But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.
The other thing the poll shows is that the older the bike the more likely a problem, not that it's really related to specific years. :unsure:
[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Aug 20 2007, 10:56 AM, said:
[image: View Post]Ducatti20, on Aug 20 2007, 10:26 AM, said:
But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.
The other thing the poll shows is that the older the bike the more likely a problem, not that it's really related to specific years. :unsure:
I think this is key. When people get Honda to replace their harness, it restarts the clock on all those crimped connections that gain resistance over time. In most cases the wires don't go bad, it's where they conenct, flex, move, and arc against each other. Anyone who has looked at a set of points after use knows what happens when you break an electrical connection multiple times.
[image: View Post]Ducatti20, on Aug 20 2007, 10:26 AM, said:
But if you look at the poll results so far you will see that issues on bikes without any accessories far outweighs those with accessories, indicating a design flaw rather than a user caused fault.
Honda won't care about what the poll seems to be suggesting. They would only care that I had a harness fail and that I ran accessories....case closed as far as they are concerned.
In other words, Honda would probably look at this poll and say 26% of the failures can be attributed to running accessories while the other 74% remains unknown. I've seen that sort of creative interpretation going on all the time in the high tech industry. <_<
[image: View Post]jayazusa, on Aug 15 2007, 01:18 PM, said:
Last night I finally dared to open it up and look I found a huge wad of electrical tape holding it all together. My fuse was a little melted but the wires are Crisp to the point that they wont bend. I located the part number for the factory replacement 32401-MCW-D00 and my dealer wants $73.00 for it. I am sure the dealer would just replace the wiring not fix the problem. I am the second owner of the bike the origina owner had put 3500 miles on it and I have added another 1000 miles, so it is not an issue of mileage. I am looking at tightwads fix or maybe building my own. I have not had any luck opening up the existing connections so I can just replace the wire with larger wire.
My 30amp fuse started to brown and I found the bike charging at 16 volts at 5k. I bought a VFRness and all is well. Will be doing the blue connector mod very soon. 04' abs with 6800 miles, just bought 2 months ago (used).
I can guess why we in western Washington State are getting the electrical shaft here. We ride year round. We get used to the winter drizzle, it gets us wet but not severe enough to get us off the road. Thus corrosion.
I went 47k miles in 4 years with out any electrical problems. I used heated gear regularly, no problem. This summer I added a head light modulator and started using my high beams, then bam! 30 amp fuse and the stator fries on my trip to Utah this summer. Stranded in Salt Lake and Honda stators have a 1 month back order. Had to buy after market stator to get home.
Last summer a guy on our ride to Oregon fried his stator (2003 VFR) He was riding with his high beams on all day long. Made it home draining a new battery with disconnected headlights.
Makes me think it is the extra ~100 W when all 4 head light bulbs are burning that put us over the edge.
I did the 30 amp fuse fix and stator w/ labor $450.
Now I am wondering about the other fixes for prevention. Blue thingy ground wire and some sensor thingy?
I am closing this thread as it is doing a exactly what I don't want it to do, take away from the original "vtec elec. problems" thread. Two threads of the same info only makes it harder to keep track of the problems.
End of thread · 39 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 12 Apr 2010