30 Amp Fuse on Starter Solenoid

I haven't gotten to the ignition switch yet. Do you mean the switch itself or the Starter button on the handle? I can't get the screw in the front of the handle off, it's in there pretty good and it's going to strip so I can't get in there to check that, but I know I need to. So, I have not checked either of those yet, I will tonight. I'm about out of time, the bike is my transportation and my Wife wants her car back lol. Sigh, I'll check it out tonight, install the new Starter Solenoid relay and post up and update.

Where I've seen problems is where the ignition switch plugs into wiring harness(connector)

I'll remove the guages and have a peak back there and see if there's something going on with the ignition. I hope I can find this problem, it's been a frustrating couple of weeks! Thanks for the ideas/ help!

The connection in question is under the right fairing.  Look for a connector with a red/black wire in it.

Okay, I installed the new Starter Solenoid and the Clutch Diode started to smoke and got very hot to the touch... I'm guessing the Diode is where the short is? I'm going to replace the length of G/R wire from the Clutch Diode connector back to the Relay with 12 Guage wire. I couldn't get the connection out of the relay fast enough so my reaction was to cuut the wire so it didn't burn up the new relay. If the Diode wasn't bad, is sure is now!

I got the right handle controls off and aside from a bit of dirt (not much at all) it looked good and seems to be functioning okay. Off to Honda House to order a new Diode tomorrow at lunch, unless I can find one on Ebay or somewhere else online.

I'lll check the connection on the right side of the bike this evening after I get the kids fed dinner and in bed.

Thank you very much for everyones help, it is very much appreciated.

New Clutch Diode (Silicon Rectifier) ordered... Won't be here until Tuesday or Wednesday... I sure hope this fixes the problem.

Are you 110% sure you have the wires in the right order?  The clutch diode shouldn't be causing a problem...it sounds like you are feeding power the wrong direction.

The picture shows an example of a 96 VFR melted connection...note where the wires are and be sure yours are in the same spots.  Green and Yellow are closest to the fuse, green on the left side looking down at the starter relay with the fuse at the top.

Attached Images

• [image: 96VFRRelayConnection.JPG]

Tightwad... THANK YOU!! Holy crap I'm an idiot. I have them reversed! The Diode is toast now for sure though, it melted guts out of the bottom. I'll switch them around and see what happens. Would this possibly cause the headlight issue as well? I'll be at church until late this evening, I'll try it out in the morning before work. I'm hesitant to put the old Diode back in now though.

She's alive!! Welllll almost... She cranks but the battery gave up before I could get enough fuel for her to run. Now, I need to see if the fuse will hold up and if not, why. So, I'll have to borrow my buddies charger and multimeter again and check the voltages when I get it running. I hope this was just a weak wiring issue and not the R/R taking a dump. I won't be able to afford another R/R for a loooong time, It's too close to Christmas.

Thank you very much to everyone for the input, advice and ideas!!

Hello, My VFR 750 RR just blew the main fuse, luckily only 1/2 mile from home(downhill). I looked in wiring diagram  and only 4 wires go to  the starter relay. I put a new fuse in and connected 4 way plug(4wp)  with the key in the on position and it blew again. Oh well, got to dig deeper, well the r/w wire goes to the reg/ rectifier, the red to the ignition switch, the g/r to the clutch diode and the y/r to the starter switch(button). I only got a 5 pack of 30 amp fuses. So I put another in and turn key to off and connected 4wp and it blew again(2 down). Well the ignition switch is a pain to get to, so I disconnected the clutch diode and the reg/rec ,put a new fuse in and connected 4wp and low and behold it didn't blow, turned ignition on and it didn't blow,reinstalled clutch diode, fuse still good. Then I hooked up the 5wp to the reg/rec and it blew.(3 down). Disconnected reg/rec reinstalled new fuse and connected 4wp and it starts right up. I happened to have a new reg/rec in my spares so I installed it, and checked continuity on one on the bike and it was shorted between the red and green and the center yellow wire(made my meter beep)It was one on the $20.00 ebay chinese reg/rec. I've never had one short out before, had them stop working and the voltage slowly goes down, but never short. Anyone else have them short and did you find any underlining reason. Thanks Tom

I've never heard of the R/R shorting but I'm sure that's because when it takes a dump no one is really looking for a short in it. They just chalk their problems up to a bad R/R and swap it. I would imagine it's pretty common given the number of R/R's that fail. I hear Tightwad sells Ricks for a good price and they are the one to have.

The Chinese ones are junk...I bought a few just to see and they are really probably 20 amp units at best...made for a 4-wheeler or something.

Ricks OEM replacements are pretty good, or you could upgrade to a 98-99 model and get the MOSFET version.  Over engineered for the 90-97 bikes but that isn't a bad thing in this case.