Hello all, I have seen various posts and threads on here regarding the white plastic 3 yellow wire plug melting. I have searched but can't find the comprehensive one I wanted.
My story: I checked the plug several months back, maybe a year ago. It was slightly "melty" small areas of discoloration corresponding to the wire placement. I separated it, no real signs of damage inside, I cleaned it and applied Dielectric grease. Reassembled and rode for the last however long. This week I changed my spark plugs and took the opportunity to check the 3 wire plug. It was More "melty" and the inside was blackened and sort of scary. I need to address it and I would like to cut it out and solder in "jumpers" of the same gauge wire (12, I think) and cover with shrink tube.
My Question: Downside? Tips? What does all this foretell?
Ditch the dielectric, it does not promote good connections, it is actually an insulator, and not a conductor, I know people swear by it, but unless its a connection which has a serious corrosion problem, its not really needed. What you need to do is find a small pick or pin and pop the pins out of the connector, and squeeze down the female sides so they are tighter on the opposing male pins, make sure to scrub both with a wire brush to take off all ant corrosion or other contamination. Once these connections are tightened the resistance drops, the heat produced by said resistance drops and stops melting your plugs.
Cool, I will look into connectors, but will probably solder direct. Duc, Thanks! That's the one... The test procedure in the manual or on here in The Great Library of VFR Wisdom? I may try and fumble through that... I need an excuse, err, reason to buy a digital multi tester.
Only bad thing about hard soldering the connections, when comes time to test the stator you have to cut or unsolder it to test the grounding. Unfortunately that testing will not be remote or a rare occasion. Its the very first test for a stator failure, rarely have to go past that test if the stator is bad, as it wont past that test.
So your setting yourself up for a pain in the A$$ in the future.
The stator typically lasts 40k to 60k miles. Heating up stator plug or 30 amp fuse could be a sign your stator is nearing end of life. The stator plug solution I used below allows you to disconnect the stator plug for testing which you will likely need soon.
I had a '02 for 8 years and 85k miles, I went through the typical electrical system failures and fixes at 50k miles including the stator plug melt down. Replaced bad stator, R/R, and battery. It was a great bike except for the several months to sort it out. I know now how to fix it. I sold that bike a year ago and picked up a fresh like new '02 with 15k miles.
Both bikes charging systems ran in the upper 13 volts, lower end of spec. Recently the charging voltage dropped to around 13 volts. The wiring recall was already done. The stator resistance, continuity to ground, and AC voltage all checked out good. No burnt wires, but stator wires were very warm. I know the weak spots and the fixes I learned about at VFRD that I did to my last bike so recently I got out the soldering iron and $15 worth electrical hardware and fixed it up.
14.5 volts steady now at idle and 5k rpm.
These fixes I would do on any 6th gen:
1. Replace the 30 amp fuse holder by the battery with a "Litlefuse" heavy duty ATO fuse holder with protective cover. Snip, solder, & shrink wrap.
2, Monitor wire fix. I soldered an extra wire to the fuse holder that connects to the battery, ran it over and connected it to the rectifier/regulator voltage monitor wire. The monitor wire on the recall wiring monitors voltage immediately down stream of the R/R not at the battery. Now it does.
3. Replaced the stator to R/R plug with the Stator Hard Wire Kit from Wiremybike.com http://www.wiremybik...-kit-p-693.html I shaved some plastic off so it would fit in the protective plastic sleeve that went over the old plug.
4. GB Ox-gard anti oxidant compound on charging system connectors.
I ran my last VFR several years after doing these fixes and figured when I bought my latest bike I would end up doing them again. They did the job before and are now.
Only bad thing about hard soldering the connections, when comes time to test the stator you have to cut or unsolder it to test the grounding. Unfortunately that testing will not be remote or a rare occasion. Its the very first test for a stator failure, rarely have to go past that test if the stator is bad, as it wont past that test.
So your setting yourself up for a pain in the A$$ in the future.
Only bad thing about hard soldering the connections, when comes time to test the stator you have to cut or unsolder it to test the grounding. Unfortunately that testing will not be remote or a rare occasion. Its the very first test for a stator failure, rarely have to go past that test if the stator is bad, as it wont past that test.
So your setting yourself up for a pain in the A$$ in the future.
Not true at all, all you'd have to do is unplug the R/R and test from there.
So, I got a new digital multi-tester. I did the 2500/5000 RPM test at the battery. I got 13.9 at both RPM ranges. Good, no? My several month old Motobatt is holding up nicely with crisp starts. So, I think I am going to replace the "melty" connector and yellow 14 Ga. wires with 12Ga. soldered in both directions as far as I can reasonably reach. I am also considering the VFRness as a preventative measure for future wiring degradation. Thoughts?
So, I got a new digital multi-tester. I did the 2500/5000 RPM test at the battery. I got 13.9 at both RPM ranges. Good, no? My several month old Motobatt is holding up nicely with crisp starts. So, I think I am going to replace the "melty" connector and yellow 14 Ga. wires with 12Ga. soldered in both directions as far as I can reasonably reach. I am also considering the VFRness as a preventative measure for future wiring degradation. Thoughts?
So, I got a new digital multi-tester. I did the 2500/5000 RPM test at the battery. I got 13.9 at both RPM ranges. Good, no? My several month old Motobatt is holding up nicely with crisp starts. So, I think I am going to replace the "melty" connector and yellow 14 Ga. wires with 12Ga. soldered in both directions as far as I can reasonably reach. I am also considering the VFRness as a preventative measure for future wiring degradation. Thoughts?
The oem units normally have the best output, so I guess it depends on what you have, 13.9 is better than minimum spec but it is on the WEAK side. KNowing that my bike normally outputs above 14.5 volt, 13.9 would tell me I have issues developing.
13.9 at the battery is what mine runs all the time.
I don't have a VFRness but I have upgraded my 30a fuse holder and wiring, beefed up all my grounds, and solid wired my stator connectioms.
Bike starts all the time, never needs an external charger (though I use one during winter storage) and its consistent, so it seems to be "normal" for mine.
So. I did the "melty plug" replacement this weekend. All went well. I used the terminal block approach and soldered in 12 gauge wire from an inch or two from the Stator "inlet" and the same from the R/R. I soldered the loop lugs onto the wire and heat shrinked everything I could. I also taped all the new wires together to tidy things up. I mounted the block on the frame in roughly the same spot that the plug was located. I went from 13.9v at the battery in both 2500 and 5000 RPM to 14.1v in the same Rev ranges. I presume the increase is due to less resistance.
Not really, I have a non-stock location of the R/R that may need to be disconnected time to time. I also would like a easier fix when time to swap out.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The simple question stands, (it's a rather specific question) :1:
What color/size Posi-Lok connectors have those who have used them for this application used? If you have not used the Posi-lok option their may be no need to respond to the question.
Not really, I have a non-stock location of the R/R that may need to be disconnected time to time. I also would like a easier fix when time to swap out.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The simple question stands, (it's a rather specific question) :1:
What color/size Posi-Lok connectors have those who have used them for this application used? If you have not used the Posi-lok option their may be no need to respond to the question.
the r/r has a plug at the the r/r so its shouldn't mater where you mount the damned thing. and if you cut the stupid block out and use 12 gauge wires.. it will last longer anyway :wink:
The whole point is too eliminate that connection and beef up the ground
Not really, I have a non-stock location of the R/R that may need to be disconnected time to time. I also would like a easier fix when time to swap out.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The simple question stands, (it's a rather specific question) :1:
What color/size Posi-Lok connectors have those who have used them for this application used? If you have not used the Posi-lok option their may be no need to respond to the question.
the r/r has a plug at the the r/r so its shouldn't mater where you mount the damned thing. and if you cut the stupid block out and use 12 gauge wires.. it will last longer anyway :wink:
+1 The whole point is too eliminate that connection and beef up the ground...
Not really, I have a non-stock location of the R/R that may need to be disconnected time to time. I also would like a easier fix when time to swap out.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The simple question stands, (it's a rather specific question) :1:
What color/size Posi-Lok connectors have those who have used them for this application used? If you have not used the Posi-lok option their may be no need to respond to the question.
I do not know exactly what type of connector, but it has to be something to hold over 35 A without problems and that is a lot.
Metri-Pack 280 Connector Sealed Option for Part B Above
I now offer you the choice of a sealed connector to replace whatever is on your bike now. This will help ensure a corrosion free connector. However, you will have to replace the connector now on your bike. This means cutting the wires, stripping, and either crimping or bending/soldering three terminals in place, then clipping them into the new connector body and plugging in Part B. (One extra terminal is included). Order extra terminals and seals here.
When you order Pt. B with this option, the male half comes installed on Part B as you can see above. On the left is the mating half of the connector which you install on your bike’s wiring to replace the stock connector. One extra terminal is included. You can order more further down this page. This is a large connector, very rugged and waterproof. The terminals and seals are quite easy to work with, even if you’re pinching and soldering. NOTE: Unless you have the right crimper for this job, I suggest you pinch and solder. You want a really good connection here.
I also like using the Metri-Pack connectors for the stator and R/R. I am using the 280 on mine, but I have the compufire series R/R.
The 280 is a 30 amp connector and one of our members did measure 31 amps. That's not enuff margin in my book, so I prefer to
use the 630 (47amp) or 480 (40amp) series connectors. -- I did install the 630 on a repair and that sucker is kinda huge. I may go down to the 480 next time mostly for space/packaging reasons and then still have some margin to work with.
-- Agree about having a quality crimp tool on hand to do this.
End of thread · 34 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 15 Dec 2015
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