Electrical gremlins!!!

[shanek6]

Hi guys, can anyone help me? My nc30 has been running perfectly for the last year until the track evening I did on monday. The first session went fine and I parked her up and made her comfortable. When I came to start the next session it appeared as tho my battery had gone flat (the lights went dim and the starter motor would not turn) but I managed to get her push started and she idled fine. Everyone lined up and we all filed out but I only made it to the end of the pit lane (when I gave it a big handfull) and she died . When I made it back to the pits I managed to get a battery charger and get some life back in the battery (or so I thought) and tried to fire her up again only to find that the starter relay fuse had blown. After changing the fuse I tried again but had the ominous clicking of the relay that suggested the battery didn't have enough power to turn the starter motor. Also, the lights were very dim with the kill switch selected to run but normal brightness when selected to stop.
So off home I went and fully charged my battery only to find that the fully charged light came on straight away, even so I gave it all day to do its thing. I have just tried it all again with a fully charged battery to find that it is just the same except that the starter relay isnt clicking this time. Thinking that it might be coil pack related, I disconnected them with the same results. The fuse is fine as well. After trying these few things the batterys charge had dropped dramatically almost as though there was a very large load being drawn by something but what? Does anyone have any ideas as to what I may be up against?

[MexicanGringo]

I had a similar problem with the beams being dim and various instrument lights also lit up erroneously, sort of simulating a flat battery. In that case i had disconnected the main beam relay and the contacts hadn't been properly reset. Didn't try run the bike so i can't say if it affected the ignition system, but maybe try reconnecting the relay and seeing what it does

[Smev]

it could be a reg/rectifer problem - a similar thing happened to my mate - we were out riding - came to a stop for a roundabout then he went to drive off and it just died on him.

I think he needed a new battery and reg/rec and it was sorted straight away.

Do you have a mates one you could try?

Good luck and I hope its nothing too bad :)

Smev

[Cammo]

Yep, as Smev says a new reg/rec (and battery depending how stuffed it is) will have it fixed. Check the reg/rec plug, you'll most likely see signs of overloading.

Your symptoms are exactly the same as I've been through on 2 vfr's.

Common problem, fix it properly the first time and install a Yam R6 unit, much better reliability than Honda reg/recs. Make sure to solder all new joins for less resistance.

[shanek6]

Had a little more of an invest today and I found out that my bike has already had a Rick Oliver reg/rec modification. On disconnecting a few things (trying to find the culpret) I found that the only thing that would let the starter relay operate when the kill switch was selected to run was to unplug the large connector on the CDI, this also stopped the dimming of the lights when switching the kill swtich from stop to run. Also the CDI smelt like burning when I removed it!
Is there anyone in the norwich area that I could borrow a CDI from to check it is the problem before spending a fortune only to find it is not the answer?

[Neosophist]

Check the wiring to the box to make sure something hasn't shorted out hence eliminating the possibilty of blowing a replacement / friends unit.

Does sound like yours is shafted tho.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/vfr400-vfr-400-cd ... .m14.l1318" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HONDA-VFR-400-NC3 ... .m14.l1318" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

theres two there, both under a £5. :)

[shanek6]

Cheers for all your help fellas, after a new CDI, battery and talking Rick Oliver into parting with his last newtronics reg/rec(the one off his own bike) I finally got the old girl running again today :D Not a day too soon as I have some good track days coming up in sept.
See you all again for the next catastrophy!!