At Least I Made It Home....

I'm sure nobody wants to read about ANOTHER electrical fiasco and normally I wouldn't mention my problems but I found it to be somewhat funny.....at the time.

So around 4pm I pull the Black Beeyatch (as my wife has dubbed it) out of the storage shed and start my usual pre-flight routine.
Oil....yep it's got oil....Check.
Coolant....can't see it so out of sight out of mind.....Check
Tires....yep got em'. Wait a minute....pressure in tires....Check.
Clean bugs off from last ride....Check.
Switch On....Hit Starter and she fires to life just like normal.

I headed off for a nice little 60 mile ride for our monthly meet and greet. Temperature was in the mid 70's and I only had to pass two cars so it was a fabulous ride. After eating a greasy burger and bs'ing with my fellow bikers I headed home.

Once I got out of town I switched the high-beams on. Uhhh, I switched the high-beams on. Ok, NO high beams for a few seconds and then they finally came on. I switched back and forth for then next 40 miles with no problems. I made it all the way back and was about two miles from the house. I had to sit at a light for a couple minutes and then as soon as I took off everything blipped off for about a second as if you had switched the key off and then back on. After that it cut off three more times. It was disturbing because I'm heading down a busy road with several cars around me but seemed ok for the moment.

Now I'm about fifty yards from my street when the bike shuts off. No headlights and a very minimal glow from the gauges. Tried to restart and nothing. So I'm coasting down a busy road without lights and realize that I could probably coast into the left turn lane and actually make it to my street. Light was green and I had just enough time to slip past an oncoming car. Luckily my street is downhill so I just kept on coastin'. First house goes by, second house goes by, third....ok you get the idea. My neighbors were sitting in front of their house and they had the funniest look on their faces as I come whizzing past in full gear with no lights and no motor running. I made it into the alley and chuckled to myself until I realized that I still had to push the ol' girl another forty yards uphill to my driveway.

Video Proof

Presently With Key On:
Buzzing behind the gauge cluster.
Motor will fire off but shut's down immediately.
No headlights but all turn signals and taillight are lit.
Gauge lights are dim and will flash when the blinker is turned on.
Battery voltage with key on is 12.7

Before Tonight:
27K Miles With No Problems
Lots of Accessories
30 Amp Fuse/Wire Replaced
Blue Connector Ground Done
All Connectors In Good Shape
Voltage Static: 12.75
Voltage Idle: 14.24
Voltage at 5500: 14.28

Honda says, "Told you not to ride it until we said it was ok you moron!!" :goofy:

Sounds just like the blue connector issue I just had while on a trip in Cortez, CO.

Hope you can get it fixed before the TX vfr meet!

Good luck.

Mark

[image: View Post]ki-speed, on Oct 12 2007, 12:35 AM, said:

Sounds just like the blue connector issue I just had while on a trip in Cortez, CO.

Hope you can get it fixed before the TX vfr meet!

Good luck.

Mark

Yup.

Got to make your album public, too. No video. Asks for YOUR password. LOL.

Did the mod??????????? Perhaps your harness is rubbing, and shorting.

Video link fixed. Not sure what's up with photobucket becuase I had it set to public.

Blue connector looked great a few weeks ago but will tear into it and start looking for the culprit.
Mark, I hope I can too! Why do these things always happen right before a ride?

That sure sounds like the faulty ground issue on the front harness(blue connector) but if I read right you have already made the extra ground wire mod! :unsure:
Is that the case, if so how did you implement the fix(where did you add it, did you bypass the B/C?)

thanks and glad you made if home safely! :thumbsup:

Might want to double check the blue connector. According to the recall letter:
3. Closely monitor the behavior of the instruments panel indicator lamps and headlamp relay.
Any flashing or abnormal behavior of the indicators or buzzing sound from the headlamp
relay (below instrument panel) is one of the first signs of a failing ground terminal connection.

You better make it to the Texas meet. Even if your not on the VFR, you can ride bi*ch with me. :goofy:

[image: View Post]hondalover, on Oct 12 2007, 09:08 AM, said:

Might want to double check the blue connector. According to the recall letter:
3. Closely monitor the behavior of the instruments panel indicator lamps and headlamp relay.
Any flashing or abnormal behavior of the indicators or buzzing sound from the headlamp
relay (below instrument panel) is one of the first signs of a failing ground terminal connection.

You better make it to the Texas meet. Even if your not on the VFR, you can ride bi*ch with me. :goofy:
Sorry...but that violates the "nuts to butts" rule! :goofy:

I did the blue wire fix after my instrument panel went dead and still stay away from the high beams for just that reason. Credit to those who have gotten us this far but there may be plenty of gremlins left in that harness and I don't feel like tempting fate. :joystick:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 12 2007, 10:04 AM, said:

That sure sounds like the faulty ground issue on the front harness(blue connector) but if I read right you have already made the extra ground wire mod! :unsure:
Is that the case, if so how did you implement the fix(where did you add it, did you bypass the B/C?)

thanks and glad you made if home safely! :thumbsup:


Yep already added it. Bypassed the connector.

I just went out to see if it was still buzzing and blinking this morning and everything worked like it was supposed to. Fired right up so I wheeled her into the house to see what I can find.

[image: View Post]hondalover, on Oct 12 2007, 10:08 AM, said:

You better make it to the Texas meet. Even if your not on the VFR, you can ride bi*ch with me. :goofy:



Ummm.....yeah.....I'll get back to you on that!! :blink: :lol:

Sounds like the front harness ground issue in conjunction with a dirty headlight switch. The fact that it was not switching right to me means that it is dirty and possibly aggravating a poor ground. Check for burnt wires and clean the ground and headlight switch. I bet that'll clear it up.

Mods,

Can we get the video hosted on the server.

"Symtoms to look for", in the blue connector fix therad, of Ken's. :thumbsup:

Hows it Coming along Dutch, Thats a pain having this issue?

There was something I saw were on the left side of the bike were the wiring goes into the lower cowl and around to the front, the wiring was get pinched on that corner bend or something like that.


Sounds like you've checked about everything else

Your mod might have come loose, wires seem to do that on a bike. No doubt its the ground wire.

HS you guessed it. One of my mod'd ground wires came apart at the ring terminal. It looked ok since it had heat shrink over it but was obviously seperated.

I inspected the wires going up towards the headlights and did find a worn spot where it snakes around the fairing stays. Didn't look to be worn all the way through but wouldn't have been far from it. I added a piece of mtn bike inner tube and taped that section up.

Lesson Learned: Don't trust your crimp tool only. Add solder.



Thanks for the suggestions guys!!

[image: View Post]dutchinterceptor, on Oct 16 2007, 12:31 PM, said:

HS you guessed it. One of my mod'd ground wires came apart at the ring terminal. It looked ok since it had heat shrink over it but was obviously seperated.

I inspected the wires going up towards the headlights and did find a worn spot where it snakes around the fairing stays. Didn't look to be worn all the way through but wouldn't have been far from it. I added a piece of mtn bike inner tube and taped that section up.

Lesson Learned: Don't trust your crimp tool only. Add solder.



Thanks for the suggestions guys!!


:+1: Solder is good

It was a cold rainy Sunday morning in Arkansas far from home when I learned and felt the effects of the dreaded blue ground wire...Actually it wasent until i got home and found the discolered 18 pin connector. So yes you were very lucky indeed but I will admit the timing is pretty lousy!

Hope you get it sorted in time!

Chris

[image: View Post]dutchinterceptor, on Oct 16 2007, 12:31 PM, said:

...I added a piece of mtn bike inner tube and taped that section up.


Those old Mt Bike Tubes are good for dang near anything!!!

Heck I used one just last week to fix the hole in my Tubless Mt Bike Tires!

(DANG UST)

I have been fighting charging problems all summer on my 99, 52,000 miles. Two stators, three rectifiers. All from Ricks Electric. My wires were getting too hot to touch. The plastic plugs were melting. The tech at Ricks said I must have a bad short. I looked and looked. I did the wiring mods. No change. Last week I put a new stator and rectifier on with a new fully charged batt. When I went to connect the stator/rectifier plug one of the yellow wires pulled out of the metal connector easily! I went ahead and soldered all three of them. I ran out of time and didn't solder the wires on the stator side. I rode it for a couple of days and it seemed fine, charging about 14.2 on my Lascar volt meter. I decided to take a look at the wiring. The part of the plug on the stator side was melted. At this point the ol`girl is about to go into the classifieds, CHEAP!!!! A couple of hours later I looked at it again and found both red wires were loose in their connectors also. I cut the plug off and solded ring connectors on. Screwed everything together. I soldered All the connects!!!! Now all wires and connectors barely get warm. I called Ricks and let them know what I found. I 'm hoping that my problem is solved and I can trust my scooter again. I know that lots of guys on our site have had the same type of problem and maybe this will give them someplace to look and help them.

Dude, what a nightmare. Hope you solved the problem.

[image: View Post]VFRRRED99, on Oct 17 2007, 01:30 AM, said:

I have been fighting charging problems all summer on my 99, 52,000 miles. Two stators, three rectifiers. All from Ricks Electric. My wires were getting too hot to touch. The plastic plugs were melting. The tech at Ricks said I must have a bad short. I looked and looked. I did the wiring mods. No change. Last week I put a new stator and rectifier on with a new fully charged batt. When I went to connect the stator/rectifier plug one of the yellow wires pulled out of the metal connector easily! I went ahead and soldered all three of them. I ran out of time and didn't solder the wires on the stator side. I rode it for a couple of days and it seemed fine, charging about 14.2 on my Lascar volt meter. I decided to take a look at the wiring. The part of the plug on the stator side was melted. At this point the ol`girl is about to go into the classifieds, CHEAP!!!! A couple of hours later I looked at it again and found both red wires were loose in their connectors also. I cut the plug off and solded ring connectors on. Screwed everything together. I soldered All the connects!!!! Now all wires and connectors barely get warm. I called Ricks and let them know what I found. I 'm hoping that my problem is solved and I can trust my scooter again. I know that lots of guys on our site have had the same type of problem and maybe this will give them someplace to look and help them.

Loose or corroded wires/connections cause many electrical problems on everything, just had a 100 amp 3 phase motor starter fail at work completely blowing out one leg from a loose connection! :blink:
Poor connection generate heat as you found on your bike, always safer to solder IMO. Hopefully you've do the final fix for a long time on your VFR! :thumbsup: