Charging system updated

Hi folks,

I started the charging system rejuvenation process last year. My system was working perfectly 12.5-13v at idle, 13.8-14.1v at 1500 RPM & 14.4v at 5000 RPM, but I wanted to insure against future problems.

My stator-R/R plug (3 yellow wire) was getting hot, but not yet burned so I cut that out and soldered & heatshrinked the wires. No heat in the wires now.

Then I bought a mosfet R/R and installed that. It came with a "kit" of 12 gauge wiring, a new 3 yellow wire plug and a weather-proof 4 terminal plug for 2 red and 2 black 12 gauge wires (1 red & 1 black directly to the battery). When I cut the original R/R harness, I put 1/4" spade terminals on both sides of the cut and matching connectors on the new R/R wiring for an easy roadside swap if it was ever necessary. (I have read stories that not all of these are as reliable or long-lived as they should be and I didn't buy the "name brand". My decision, you may decide different.) That's when the trouble started. Idle voltage was 13v, then 13.8v at 1500-2000 & 13.8v at 5000 RPM.

When I unloaded her after the big move, I went for a ride to get gas only to need a boost at the gas station. I found the 3 yellow wire plug had come undone. Aha, I thought. But no, even after a charge and a ride a week later it still cranked over slower than normal.

Yesterday I put the meter on it and watched it intermittently lose charge. Hmmm, then I watched the 3 yellow wire plug and saw an occasional arc. One of the terminals had pushed out a bit the last time I connected it at the gas station. I fixed that, but DAMMIT, 13.8v is still not right!

So I thought about it and realized that the spades in the weather-proof plug that came with it were less than 1/8" wide. Why didn't I think about that before - nowhere near big enough. This also explains why the wires connected directly to the battery made no difference to the voltage received by the battery.

This morning, I went out and snipped out the plugs - both of them. They weren't necessary anyway since I had the 1/4" spades in there for emergency use.

 I reconfigured the connectors and got 13.8v at idle and 14.2v at 5000 RPM. Then I connected the extra red & black wires directly to the battery and now have 14.2v at idle and 14.3-14.4v from 1500 all the way up to 5000 RPM. So, those 2 wires to the battery are worth 0.5v over the stock harness.

This morning I started to do The Drill ( http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthrea...2131-The-Drill ) until I was sure I had no stator or R/R trouble. I also read through Jeff Barrett's write-up on the charging system of his 6th gen ( http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthrea...ectrical-Loads - great job, Jeff).

The moral of the story is to go with a mosfet R/R, 12 gauge wire, connect the extra red and black wires directly to the battery and do the 3 yellow wire fix.

Cheers,

Glenn

Woha, some overthinking over here [image: emoji23.png][image: emoji23.png]
You've got to keep it simple, if it works don't mess with it. There are other points to check out on that bike for sure. Once you fix charging move on to other subject. Nothing is bulletproof when it comes to vehicles so don't fixate on just one thing, check the bike as a whole, and think on other point of failure to check... Oils coolant brake fluid suspension bearings... You name it, there is a lot to check and maintain.

1 hour ago, vegaquark

Woha, some overthinking over here [image: emoji23.png][image: emoji23.png]
You've got to keep it simple, if it works don't mess with it. There are other points to check out on that bike for sure. Once you fix charging move on to other subject. Nothing is bulletproof when it comes to vehicles so don't fixate on just one thing, check the bike as a whole, and think on other point of failure to check... Oils coolant brake fluid suspension bearings... You name it, there is a lot to check and maintain.

Overthinking? I don't think so. People on the VFR boards are continually warning that the original R/R WILL fail, not MIGHT fail. Why wait. If I had thought more about it before the initial installation I would not have had to fix it. Others may do it differently or disapprove of my methods, but my methods are right for my situation. Maybe my experience will help somebody else.

Whatever made you think I was fixating on this one thing? I've already put on new Pilot 2CT's, new ceramic pads on the front, new EBC Organics on the back, 2 oil & filter changes, flushed the mud out of the clutch master/line/slave, checked the coolant and replaced the coolant temperature sender. And I've still managed to ride it 3000 kms.

Man, some people's children. SMH.

First of all; I'm sorry. I've done almost all mods you listed there, but did them my way... installed a fh012ab from a triumph, replaced 3 pin stator connector for a 6 pin one duplicating each connector to minimize failure and regreased all other connectors with dielectric grease to prevent corrosion. 

Since i've owned the bike, the electric problem was just one of them because I bought it from what looked like a easy-fix crash but once diassembled I had to weld and mill the steering bearing location on the frame because the crash broke the bearing itself and the supporting material on the frame. Clutch and brake fluids looked like never changed by the PO, clutch relief hole on the master cylinder was clogged and the clutch wont disengage when the bike reached operation temp. Exhaust was carbon fiber underseat MIG that was not approved for street use (So no MOT seal with it), son new exhaust from ebay... Front wheel bearings where gone so replaced, wheel was misaligned, brake discs too, so the wheel and discs also had to be realigned on the lathe. Tail light was cracked so new one  installed, one of the headlight plugs was corroded and melted and had to be replaced, front forks was like the brake lines, one leaking and the oil on them looked like mud, drive chain was like a piano, new one installed with sprokets, all plastics repaired or replaced, the one between the two front cowls was missing, pair valve was stuck open like on every 5th gen so it went disabled... 

The list continues, but in the end what i wanted to say is that there are lots of work to do on the bike that each one of us has to priorice in order to keep the bike up to the task and to keep us safe, and yes, electrics are important, so sorry for bothering you on my first post and let me say that it was a great job. And thank you for sharing your experience on here.

Thank you vegaquark. I had previously shared my experience over on the other VFR board only to have a member write a rant tearing up my efforts. I thought maybe the members here might be more appreciative of my experience. It sounds like your 5th generation was a very big project - maybe bigger than you anticipated. That must have been disappointing in the beginning, but very satisfying to see the results of your work when finished. Thankfully, mine was in excellent condition for a 24 year old bike (when I bought it). It had only been subjected to dealer maintenance its entire life. That meant going through it and tightening all the clamps, re-securing things the dealer mechanics had forgotten to reattach, fluids, brakes, etc. The usual.

Vamos Alonso!

Cheers,

Glenn

slovcan It sounds like your 5th generation was a very big project - maybe bigger than you anticipated. That must have been disappointing in the beginning, but very satisfying to see the results of your work when finished.