My battery, the VFRness, and resetting the clock...

Ok,

So I acquired my 2002 VFR with 19k on the clock on Sunday. Unfortunately, had to commute by train all week instead of my bike, so I tried to start it on Friday - dead battery.

Crap. Off to Cycle Gear I go for my $174.00 replacement.

I have no idea how old the previous battery was so now I am a bit concerned.

Using a voltmeter, I read 12.9v on the new battery out of the box. Installed it, and the VFour rumbled to life without immediately. While the engine was running (both at idle and approximately 4k rpms) my voltmeter read approximately 13.9v.

So, my questions:

1. Is 13.9v adequate to keep the battery charged?
2. If this voltage doesn't seem high enough, is the VFRness the answer?
3. I don't currently have a garage so I can't have my bike apart for more than a day - how difficult is to install?
4. How do set the time on my clock? I don't have an owner's manual and I tried every trick in the book today!

Thanks!

[image: View Post]BlackSamurai, on 22 April 2012 - 11:03 PM, said:

Ok,

So I acquired my 2002 VFR with 19k on the clock on Sunday. Unfortunately, had to commute by train all week instead of my bike, so I tried to start it on Friday - dead battery.

Crap. Off to Cycle Gear I go for my $174.00 replacement.

I have no idea how old the previous battery was so now I am a bit concerned.

Using a voltmeter, I read 12.9v on the new battery out of the box. Installed it, and the VFour rumbled to life without immediately. While the engine was running (both at idle and approximately 4k rpms) my voltmeter read approximately 13.9v.

So, my questions:

1. Is 13.9v adequate to keep the battery charged?
2. If this voltage doesn't seem high enough, is the VFRness the answer?
3. I don't currently have a garage so I can't have my bike apart for more than a day - how difficult is to install?
4. How do set the time on my clock? I don't have an owner's manual and I tried every trick in the book today!

Thanks!

Dear god, I just read my post and realized all of the typos.

Wine + iPad = typos.

That's my story.  :-)

I believe 13.9v is adequate.

Most batteries, even new ones, come about 80% charged.  So I hope they told you that you should charge it that last 20% before using the battery.  When I bought my new battery from Sears, they charged it until it was 100% before giving it to me.

If you want to dig a little deeper here is a fault finding guide to check your electrical system output.

http://www.electrosp...t-finding-guide

[image: View Post]Rogue_Biker, on 22 April 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

I believe 13.9v is adequate.

Most batteries, even new ones, come about 80% charged.  So I hope they told you that you should charge it that last 20% before using the battery.  When I bought my new battery from Sears, they charged it until it was 100% before giving it to me.

Without a garage I don't even have a battery charger/tender. I just installed it, took the readings, and ran the bike for approximately 100 miles - not so much to charge the battery - I just wanted to ride the damn thing!  :-)

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on 22 April 2012 - 11:11 PM, said:

If you want to dig a little deeper here is a fault finding guide to check your electrical system output.

http://www.electrosp...t-finding-guide

That's good stuff! I am optimistically hopeful that it was just a really old battery...

[image: View Post]BlackSamurai, on 22 April 2012 - 11:03 PM, said:

So, my questions:

1. Is 13.9v adequate to keep the battery charged?
2. If this voltage doesn't seem high enough, is the VFRness the answer?
3. I don't currently have a garage so I can't have my bike apart for more than a day - how difficult is to install?
4. How do set the time on my clock? I don't have an owner's manual and I tried every trick in the book today!

1. I would consider 13.9v to be "charging", however how long did you monitor the charging? Did the figure drop while you were running the bike? Was the bike hot after a run?
2. The VFRness mainly takes care of the battery side of things, it is a beef up fix for the battery output and and issues of 30amp fuse meltdowns.
3. I don't have a VFRness, but reading posts and looking at the item, a day should be plenty of time to install the VFRness.
4. Setting the clock should be as easy as holding both temp and trip buttons down together.

If you have a voltmeter and a set of allen keys, it would pay to check the stator outputs/ohms as per the flowchart vfrcapt linked. Check resistance, continuity and VAC output on the 3 yellow wires.

I did a bunch of stuff to improve my electrical system such as jumping all the connectors and adding grounds etc.  My LCD voltmeter reads between 13.7 13.9 volts directly across the battery just about all the time and I have never had a problem.  13.9 is fine.

I only monitored for about 5 minutes and that was right after startup - held pretty steady at 13.9v.

I will give some time before I start working on the electrical system.

Hold down both buttons together. Thanks!

Thanks everyone!

sounds like your charging, but new batteries normally  come about 70% charged at best. With a fully charge battery recheck

It's a good idea to bring the battery up to a full  charge off and on though ownership, and as already stated a full charge on a new battery.

Having lived in apartments with no garage for 40 some years, If you get a cover for your bike you can work on it for multiple days without a problem.

In answer to Q3, yes a day is plenty of time -- the VFRness is pretty much plug and play.

You might also check voltage at 5k rpm for a bit more insight into the state of your charging system -- if it's too high (>14.8v), your R/R is suspect.

Good luck!

12.9 Is about as fully charged as you would expect it to be.  12.5v or lower and I would maybe see some problems with the readings, but like Tom said check it at different RPMs.  That and have fun with it!

Update - since replacing the battery I haven't had any problems with it what so ever! Starts right up perfectly each and every time. Not going to replace any electrical components until I suspect an issue (yeah - not proactively replacing the harness is probably going to bite me in the ass...).

Thanks!

Walnut Creek is away from the bay & it's salt air, but still pretty moist. Storing the bike outside in such an area means you need to keep a sharp eye on your electrics in general.

A healthy battery should show at least 12.6 volts at rest 24 hours after a full charging.