Well it happened to me, So now I suppose I can step up my VFR involvement another notch.
I thought I would write out the sequence of events in case any one else sees a similar pattern. Fore warned, is fore Armed.
It all started on the day of the 48,000 Km service on Tuesday, April 3. Which just so happens to be at the place where I purchased the bike new, Just under 2 years ago (19 April 2010 to be exact).
After the service I went to ride the bike away, but noticed the "F1" light was on. The service guy took a look at it then stopped it and started it a couple of times and then took it into the workshop for about 15 minutes. He came back and said that it went away, but the diagnostics did not reveal anything. They said bring it back in if it comes on again.
On the ride home I got caught up in the peak hour traffic and crawled along for maybe 30 minutes of stop-Start. Noticed that the temperature was climbing, saw it up to 112C. In order to give it some relief, I turned the engine off at the next red traffic light.
When I started the bike again, I noticed that the headlights did not come back on again initially, ( I have Tightwads HID Kit so the battery voltage must get above about 13 volts before they will strike.) They did strike and come on once I started moving with a bit of speed, but by now my attention was well and truly focused. My volt meter was only reading around 10 volts with the machine at idle.
Back at home I rounded up my multimeter and removed the seat so that I could measure the voltage directly at the battery terminals and avoid voltage drop errors.
The bike had cooled and when I started it, The voltage easily went up to 14.2 volts at around 5,000 RPM.
To me this looked ok, and the headlights come on with no problems.
On Wednesday I did a quick run down the gold coast and back, at highway speeds, no peak hour traffic, but my fixed voltmeter went up to about 13.5 volts. My thinking was that there would be maybe 0.5 volts drop along that wire, So it would be about 14 volts on the battery would mean that the operation would not drain the battery, but On the same token, It would not give the battery any appreciable charge either.
I had no repeat of the earlier mentioned low beam lights not coming on.
Thursday I had to go down the Gold Coast again, (about 50 km each way) and as this was the thursday before Easter, you can imagine how the traffic was when I got back to Brisbane. This time I crawled along, stop start for a much longer time, say about 60 minutes. Complacency had gotten to me, so I did not actually see what the volt meter was doing. I stopped at the post office to collect the mail, and when I came out, The bike would not go at all. All the display lights came on, and no F1, The fuel pump pressurised, but when I hit the starter, NOTHING.
NOW I KNEW I HAD A PROBLEM.
I Managed to get the bike going by clutch starting it down the driveway at the post office, and luckily home was little more then 500 meters away so I made it there with no further problems.
Over the Easter long weekend I did a few runs and never saw a repeat of the problem, although my little fixed volt meter never showed the voltage getting above 13.8 or 13.9 Volts.
On Easter Monday I stripped of all the plastic, and did a very close inspection of all the plugs associated with the R/R and the alternator, No sign of any discolouration and no bad plug connections. All looked good. I checked the wiring associated with my various electrical modifications to make sure nothing had come astray during the service, (48,000 Km is a VTEC Valve clearance check so they would likely have stripped away a lot of stuff to allow them to do it). All looked correct and serviceable.
First thing Tuesday (After the Easter break) morning I contacted the Bike shop and they said bring it down. I did.
They inspected it and told me that one phase of the alternator was shot, and started to quote my pricing for a new alternator. I stopped him mid sentence and commented that it should be still in the 2 year warranty period. He checked and said that it still was, (for at least another week or so anyway). Arrangements were made with Honda for a replacement alternator stator, and a battery as well.
His opinion ( and it makes sense to me too) is that the high engine temperature either initially caused the alternator winding failure, or just made it deteriorate that much faster.
I am away on the other side of the country at the moment, and I will go straight the US once I get back home, so I arranged with them to keep my bike for the two or so weeks, and they will install the new stuff when it comes in.
I have to say that the guys at the Honda dealership, were very supportive, and have told me they will deliver the bike back home (35 km away) when the work is completed.
I suppose the moral of the story is that as soon as you notice a change in the way the charging system operates, It is time to get it all looked at by someone that knows about it.
Tom
I thought I would write out the sequence of events in case any one else sees a similar pattern. Fore warned, is fore Armed.
It all started on the day of the 48,000 Km service on Tuesday, April 3. Which just so happens to be at the place where I purchased the bike new, Just under 2 years ago (19 April 2010 to be exact).
After the service I went to ride the bike away, but noticed the "F1" light was on. The service guy took a look at it then stopped it and started it a couple of times and then took it into the workshop for about 15 minutes. He came back and said that it went away, but the diagnostics did not reveal anything. They said bring it back in if it comes on again.
On the ride home I got caught up in the peak hour traffic and crawled along for maybe 30 minutes of stop-Start. Noticed that the temperature was climbing, saw it up to 112C. In order to give it some relief, I turned the engine off at the next red traffic light.
When I started the bike again, I noticed that the headlights did not come back on again initially, ( I have Tightwads HID Kit so the battery voltage must get above about 13 volts before they will strike.) They did strike and come on once I started moving with a bit of speed, but by now my attention was well and truly focused. My volt meter was only reading around 10 volts with the machine at idle.
Back at home I rounded up my multimeter and removed the seat so that I could measure the voltage directly at the battery terminals and avoid voltage drop errors.
The bike had cooled and when I started it, The voltage easily went up to 14.2 volts at around 5,000 RPM.
To me this looked ok, and the headlights come on with no problems.
On Wednesday I did a quick run down the gold coast and back, at highway speeds, no peak hour traffic, but my fixed voltmeter went up to about 13.5 volts. My thinking was that there would be maybe 0.5 volts drop along that wire, So it would be about 14 volts on the battery would mean that the operation would not drain the battery, but On the same token, It would not give the battery any appreciable charge either.
I had no repeat of the earlier mentioned low beam lights not coming on.
Thursday I had to go down the Gold Coast again, (about 50 km each way) and as this was the thursday before Easter, you can imagine how the traffic was when I got back to Brisbane. This time I crawled along, stop start for a much longer time, say about 60 minutes. Complacency had gotten to me, so I did not actually see what the volt meter was doing. I stopped at the post office to collect the mail, and when I came out, The bike would not go at all. All the display lights came on, and no F1, The fuel pump pressurised, but when I hit the starter, NOTHING.
NOW I KNEW I HAD A PROBLEM.
I Managed to get the bike going by clutch starting it down the driveway at the post office, and luckily home was little more then 500 meters away so I made it there with no further problems.
Over the Easter long weekend I did a few runs and never saw a repeat of the problem, although my little fixed volt meter never showed the voltage getting above 13.8 or 13.9 Volts.
On Easter Monday I stripped of all the plastic, and did a very close inspection of all the plugs associated with the R/R and the alternator, No sign of any discolouration and no bad plug connections. All looked good. I checked the wiring associated with my various electrical modifications to make sure nothing had come astray during the service, (48,000 Km is a VTEC Valve clearance check so they would likely have stripped away a lot of stuff to allow them to do it). All looked correct and serviceable.
First thing Tuesday (After the Easter break) morning I contacted the Bike shop and they said bring it down. I did.
They inspected it and told me that one phase of the alternator was shot, and started to quote my pricing for a new alternator. I stopped him mid sentence and commented that it should be still in the 2 year warranty period. He checked and said that it still was, (for at least another week or so anyway). Arrangements were made with Honda for a replacement alternator stator, and a battery as well.
His opinion ( and it makes sense to me too) is that the high engine temperature either initially caused the alternator winding failure, or just made it deteriorate that much faster.
I am away on the other side of the country at the moment, and I will go straight the US once I get back home, so I arranged with them to keep my bike for the two or so weeks, and they will install the new stuff when it comes in.
I have to say that the guys at the Honda dealership, were very supportive, and have told me they will deliver the bike back home (35 km away) when the work is completed.
I suppose the moral of the story is that as soon as you notice a change in the way the charging system operates, It is time to get it all looked at by someone that knows about it.
Tom