Electrical Starting Problems - Need Troubleshooting Guidance

Looking for some troubleshooting guidance for my 2003 VFR800A that does not want to start.

Situation: With a Fully charged battery

1. Turn bike to ON - Lights come on, Fuel pump primes

2. Hit starter - I hear the relay click, lights go out, clock resets. Starter does not turn.

Additional notes: the bike has a VFRNess that has been installed for over a year, with no known issues before that.

The battery is brand new - I replaced it when I first had issues (see below), and has been fully charged using a known good smart-charger.

Problems first arrived when I came out of work to experience the issue above. I was able to bump start the bike to get home. Charged the battery, same problem. Replaced the battery, charged the battery, Same problem.

I'm getting ready to pull the fairings to check all wires connectors, voltages, etc. as outlined int he several exhaustive electrical threads here.

Can anyone help me to prioritize the work? Is the behavior above indicative of a known issue?

I appreciate the support.

~Brian

Check the fuses first make sure they are conducting through them

A volt meter at times like this is so helpful

With the VFRness you shouldn't have all of these issues but it wouldn't hurt to inspect them all.

1. Remove battery and charge overnight
2. Inspect the starter relay and related wires for melting while battery is out
3. Remove right side lower cowl and inspect yellow wiring from R/R to white connector for melting.  It'll be tucked inside clear vinyl boot above right radiator
4. Not as common but the blue/green connectors behind the left lower cowl above the left radiator have been known to melt
5. Check that the bundle of ground wires to the frame are clean and secure
6. Also check the starter button to make sure it's not getting stuck
7. Reinstall freshly charged battery that hopefully tests above 12V
8. Make sure battery cables and terminals are tight and clean
9. I'd test the R/R and Stator per the service manual

Electrosport Troubleshooting Guide PDF

Hopefully you won't see any of this...

[image: VFRElectricalProblems018.jpg]

[image: IMG_3555.jpg]

[image: IMG_3240.jpg]

I know you said the battery is "new" but it might be worthwhile to try jump starting from your car battery (car turned OFF) just to rule out a faulty battery, before you go on to the other things.

Thanks for the tips. I have the Multimeter ready for the task. Will update when I find the issue.

If you have a voltmeter, connect it to the battery and look at the readings on battery before and while pressing starter button.
1) Charged battery should be over 12V if not - probably the battery is dead. Jump start or get new battery.
2) If voltage drops below ~10V while pressing starter button - the same as previous.
3) If voltage stays ok, but clock resets - check wires. Battery ground first.

That's how i would diagnose it.

Was the main harness replaced for the recall? If not do the blue connector(left side) wire ground jumper to the frame.

Update after First Troubleshooting round:

A. Battery Voltage is low, even though it just came off the charger - 10.75 V

B. I jumped the bike using a passive car battery as backup, and it started.

C. Voltage at the Battery was 9.5 volts with bike running.

D. Revving the Throttle to ~3500 RPM brought voltage to 11.5 V.

e. I thought I could smell a faint burning plastic, but that could just be my doomsday psychology.

I've taken the battery out of the bike & put it on the charger.

Fairings are coming off now...

The battery sounds like it's a goner - 10.75v after being charged is way too low as are the readings with the engine running.   Hopefully the burning smell doesn't mean BBQ'd connectors, but that would at least partially account for the very low charging numbers (but so could a bad stator and/or R/R).  Don't forget to follow the negative battery cable to where it attaches to the frame and check for corrosion and a snug bolt.   Depending upon what you find, some photos might be helpful.  You can get some Oxgard at just about any hardware store or home center to use on the connector terminals - it will help with corrosion and promote conductivity.     Good luck with it. 

Just because the battery reads the correct charge doesn't mean it will crank the bike.  Take it to a parts dealer like AutoZone, O'Reilly's, Advace Auto, etc and have them check it out.  If there's a dead cell it won't crank the bike.  Light will come on, but nobody's home.

Update after First Troubleshooting round:

A. Battery Voltage is low, even though it just came off the charger - 10.75 V

B. I jumped the bike using a passive car battery as backup, and it started.

C. Voltage at the Battery was 9.5 volts with bike running.

D. Revving the Throttle to ~3500 RPM brought voltage to 11.5 V.

e. I thought I could smell a faint burning plastic, but that could just be my doomsday psychology.

I've taken the battery out of the bike & put it on the charger.

Fairings are coming off now...

10.75 coming off the charger, you need a good battery before you can troubleshoot anything further. 

Update after First Troubleshooting round:
A. Battery Voltage is low, even though it just came off the charger - 10.75 V
B. I jumped the bike using a passive car battery as backup, and it started.
C. Voltage at the Battery was 9.5 volts with bike running.
D. Revving the Throttle to ~3500 RPM brought voltage to 11.5 V.
 
e. I thought I could smell a faint burning plastic, but that could just be my doomsday psychology.
 
I've taken the battery out of the bike & put it on the charger.
Fairings are coming off now...

Just in case.. Measure V on the charger w/o battery of it is capable to start like that.
But mostly looks like you've got bad battery which can draw large currents from charging system - it means you can toast your stator / r/r just because of this battery. Don't try it again on the bike.

Update and clarification.

The Battery as mentioned in the first post had been charged, while installed in the bike, and had failed to start the bike.

After the charge and the failed start, it had sat, connected up for about 10 days. it was after the 4-5 failed starts and the 10 day sit that the 10.75 reading was taken.

Updates.

The Battery finished its charge cycle (out of the bike) and is reading 13.04 volts after resting for about 1 hr. I will check again in the morning after a 12 hr rest. 

I checked for parasitic draw, and it was 4.3 mA.

With the battery out, I used the jumper cables to start the bike to do the Electrosport trouble shooting checklist.

The red/White wire from the RR is running high (~8V vs.<0.2V)

I bumped into the 3 yellow stator wires, and they were physically HOT, after the bike had only been on for about 2 minutes.

Something is obviously drawing a Lot of current off the stator.

I'm off to the shop manual to find/ check fuses per the ElectroSport flowchart.

Thanks for the support.

Or  your  stator  bad .

With the battery out, I used the jumper cables to start the bike to do the Electrosport trouble shooting checklist.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying, but I hope you're not running the bike without a battery in the circuit. You'll damage your electronics for sure, because besides starting your bike, the battery also acts as a "buffer" to smooth out the voltage spikes on the charging circuit.

Great News!

It turns out that the Bike never had the Q57 Electrical recall completed.

Off to the dealership for some professional troubleshooting.

Checksix - Good question, but there was still a battery in circuit, it was just a car battery, not a bike battery.