OMG throwing parts at it.

Hi all, 5gen in shop for two weeks now. They can not find out why it has no power anywhere- yes it has a newer hot batt.( As stated in an earlier post).
Really bumbed they are now going to start throwing parts at it. Starter switch and sensor(?) yikes. I am at their mercy since I can not work on it where I live.
Anybody know of a good shop in the NE New Mexico or SW Colorado area??? Really hate to hear that the Honda ™
shop really has no idea what they are doing.

Before they start having you buy parts, buy them a multi-meter with an instruction manual..........

Thanks Mr.Monk, I asked them if they had tested the componet and they said they had. They said they did not know why they were not getting power anywhere. I knew that when I brought it in! Looks like I am in repair hell and gave them a $ repair limit-sorry just venting.

[image: View Post]texasvfr, on 04 June 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

Thanks Mr.Monk, I asked them if they had tested the componet and they said they had. They said they did not know why they were not getting power anywhere. I knew that when I brought it in! Looks like I am in repair hell and gave them a $ repair limit-sorry just venting.
Sounds like they're as bad at elecrics as I am, only I don't claim to know how.

Sounds like the airline I work for nobody wants to do any real trouble shooting just throw parts at it when non of that works they call us the avionics team
we are aircraft electricians and work on navigation and radar systems. I wish you were closer I would love to TS your problem; I worked on my buddies
yellow 2000 that had wires shorted out to the frame ended up replaceing 4 wires.

[image: View Post]texasvfr, on 04 June 2012 - 07:33 PM, said:

Hi all, 5gen in shop for two weeks now. They can not find out why it has no power anywhere- yes it has a newer hot batt.( As stated in an earlier post).
Really bumbed they are now going to start throwing parts at it. Starter switch and sensor(?) yikes. I am at their mercy since I can not work on it where I live.
Anybody know of a good shop in the NE New Mexico or SW Colorado area??? Really hate to hear that the Honda ™
shop really has no idea what they are doing.

If they had the right equipment and the knowledge needed to use it they wouldn't be trying to throw multiple parts at your motorcycle.  I am, of course, assuming this is a constant problem and not an intermittent one?

Thanks- made an earier post in 5 gen. Have had bike for 10 years and only had to put sea-foam in it one time.
    It has been as trouble free as a machine could be!!
Not an  ongoing prob. Stopped for a coffee and she was dead . Batt. showed 13.1 v on a mc charger- could find no burnt wires, big conns were clean- zero corroision.
  Clock on dash worked, turned key to ON ,clock went out and no power to anything- no lights,fuel pump no nothing.
Not my week- that is why I always keep 2 bikes - Big red has never let me down.
Thanks for the input.

There are 3 main fuses one of them must have burned out, the one right off the battery, the one on the starter relay, and one more next to the starter relay. They have to pull up the rubber flap to get to the main fuses, right on top of the battery box.  I found on my 5th gen the wires to the horn had worn and the positive lead was rubbing against the fork leg and shorting out - it kept blowing fuses, might be a common problem? I just taped the shit out of it with electrical tape and it never happened again.  Then there is a ground cluster that some 5th gen members have reported as burning up its just a cluster of green ground wires that either gets dirty or something and burns up, that could also be the cause.  Good luck, dont let them buy parts till they know for sure its the problem!  Too bad you cant work on it yourself sounds like you have more expertise then that small town dealer does.  I think Raton has a honda dealer, I know Las Vegas does not!  BTW 64 up the canyon is a fun road, well up till about 4 years ago when they turned it into tar snake city!

Thank You sir for the comment. It might be cheaper for me to rent a place where I can work on it than live in my RV ! Retired so I do not have any real money. I run Hiway 64 to Eagle Nest at least twice a week (just for FUN!)

Allowing a shop to 'throw parts' at your bike on your dime is absolutely ridiculous.  Get that bike the hell out of there - if you can't fix it, find somebody who knows what they are doing.

Mate bring the bike back home.   We can diagnose this simply with a wiring harness diagram and a multimeter.  I'm personally happy to help and can assist over the Internet.

Our goal would be to trace the problem to the source, not necessarily fix it.  But at least you would get to the point where you knew exactly what needed fixing.

Thanks for the kind words! As I took a break from everything else I thought to myself-this is really the wrong way to go about this. When I came back to the inet you two gents gave me the sage advice that was rolling around in my pea brain pan. Have the shop button it up and get gone.
Thanks for the advice!!
Hate to say that it is a Honda dealer.
More
Later

+1 on HS discription of fuse issue. Exactly why my y2k died. Hard to find that third fuse. I believe it's under a red and green fitting. I posted a pic of the three fuses somewhere this spring.

link: http://www.vfrdiscus...o-pwr-no-nothn/

From your description, this is definately an electrical short issue or bad earth connection. Look at the fuse box on the bike take a picture if you don't have a manual. Then pull ALL the fuses except the main starter one. Try to start the bike. Then replace them one at a time until the fault reappears, then you know which circuit is causing the issue. You can pull them one at a time if you wish but it may take longer to isolate the fault.

Good luck.

Thanks for the ideas. Going to call the shop in a few minutes and go get my bike. This is going to be difficult because I can not work on my bike where I live.
   I will have to trailer my bike to a rest area and work on it there. Pretty goofy! Will post further in a coulpe of days.
  Thanks all ,you are fantastic.

Complete BS to tell a customer that; sooooo unprofessional.  Pull the bike and log a complaint with Honda if they are a dealer.  I've been a tech for 25 years and I can tell you that these bikes are really not that bad to fix.  Find a way to DIY.
My advice?
Accept your fate:
This is going to be a challenge for you to figure out...accept it.
This is going to require you to cut the tape and pull apart the harness and other stuff like the fairings and tank, disconnect things make drawings take pictures whatever it takes...accept it.
This may require you to learn some new skills that you really would prefer to stay ignorant about...accept it.
This job is going to suck...accept it.

Once you accept your fate, that you will have to do this, then you will actually be better prepared to focus on the issues.  I see this phycologically in technicians all the time.  I give them a job that's not going to be a slam dunk and some of them accept their fate and others swim around the job trying to find the short cut the easy way out and takes FOREVER to actually get traction and start making real progress on the issue.

Any layman here, if they think of a challenge they've had to face (in mechanics anyway) when they look back on it could probably remember that the beginning of when they started to make meaningful progress on the difficult task happened when they accepted their fate; <FAAAAAAAAAACK I'm going to have to pull off all the fairings, fuel tank, plenums, fuel rails...everything just to change that friggin Thermostat...   ...   ...   ...OK lets get to it then...>

[image: View Post]texasvfr, on 05 June 2012 - 10:03 AM, said:

Thanks for the ideas. Going to call the shop in a few minutes and go get my bike. This is going to be difficult because I can not work on my bike where I live.
   I will have to trailer my bike to a rest area and work on it there. Pretty goofy! Will post further in a coulpe of days.
  Thanks all ,you are fantastic.

Really?  In the great state of Texas, near you somewhere is there not a charitable VFRD member or other motorcycle group that could offer you a secure place to work and some moral support? A family member? a former Co worker? a community group?  a small gas station?
I live in what you would consider rural Canada and I just find it hard to accept that you have no other options but to trailer it to a rest stop to work on it.  Push it out of the parking lot you aren't allowed to work on it in, out to a public street and work on it there?

C'mon VFRD someone help this guy out!

I was taking a r tyre off my bike in this "green" area under a tree that was next to the MC shop I was taking the wheel to.....Time lapz........ While reinstalling my wheel with new rubber, a policeman came up and wrote me a ticket for maint in a park...... I smiled, thanked him(for not doing anything worse) and finished the install, then got on the bike and rode on over to the courthouse and talked to the small crap court rep'........ and 'splained that there were no signs saying it was a park, and not only that there weren't any things like a park bench/trash-can/etc. that would identify it "as" a park, and there for should be marked as one before writing tickets for using it illegally............ They let me off........No points/fine...........

I lived in apts most of my life, what a pain to have to deal with the "no maintenance" crap..... Next thing you know they'll say you can't spit on the sidewalk :tour:

Thanks for the support and thoughts. Went back to the shop and they  had narrowed it down to ignition switch. They are such graciious (sic) people that they offered to let me work on it in a warehouse area they they have ! No matter what else happens it is hard to find people that are that nice to their customers! Will post about this next week.
  Am an ex-pat Texan and live outside of a town of 888 people in NE New Mexico.