New Member- New Bike- New Problems!

[bikerlady64]

Hello everyone, I have just joined the site. I have been riding since 1997 and have 2 bikes, a Suzuki Bandit s, which is the love of my life and I recently bought a 1990 VFR NC30, Which had been restored by a retired gent who had progressively lost his sight so never actually rode the bike. I took a mechanic with me when I went to look at it, and everything looked and worked great. I took it for a spin and again, it worked and felt fine. I rode it home, 45 miles or so, and when I got home I could smell burning. The cause being melted fuses. Still everything works fine. i'm not sure what the cause is, I have checked the cables as far as I can (not under the tank though), and they all look fine, I haven't had chance to check with a multimeter (a bit alien to me!) but I think I know what to look for , so maybe you can help with advice. If I connect to the battery and test the current should it be between 13.8 and 14.2 at 5K rev's? Greater than this its the rectifier, less its the alternator? I'm learning as I go, so would be grateful for advice. Also, as the fuse box has melted any idea where I can get parts? Thanks every so much.
Just a bit more info, there fuses where the wrong ones (I didn't put them in) there are 2 x 25A, 1 x 30 and a 10A. Could this be part of the problem?
I look forward to hearing from you and being part of the forum

[magg]

The fuses "melted" or were blown and which fuses are "x 25A, 1 x 30 and a 10A".

[Cal Walker]

Welcome!

For Parts:

David Silver Spares
CMSNL
This forum in the for "for sale/wanted" section
EBAY

If you cant get things due to stuff being discontinued, then this forum is definitely worth a shout! or EBAY. Fuses and stuff like that though......local automotive stores or bike stores.

That sort of Voltage sounds about right at 5k, so the regulator sounds fine to me, heard one before at being 19v!!?? lol

Regards.....Cal

[speedy231278]

Are you trying to say someone has put 30 and 25 amp fuses in the fusebox? If so, that's probably why things have burned. I can't remember exactly what's in there, but I think there's a 20 for the headlamps, and the others are 10. 30 is the main fuse located next to the starter solenoid. Although it's jumping to conclusions, it almost seems like there was an issue with fuses blowing, and the 'fix' in the opinion of the last owner was to put bigger ones in.

Edit:

Fusebox should have:

Indicators 10A
Ignition 10A
Headlamps 20A
Fan/taillamps/horn 10A
Also, there is space to store a spare fuse of each size.

[bikerlady64]

hello again, thanks for the replies. I was at Oulton park at the weekend, so this is the first chance ive had to get back on here. The fuses that were in the fuse box when they melted were 1 x10A, 1 x 30A, 2 x 15A one that was completely melted beyond recognition and 2 x 25A spares. I looked at a friends VFR nc30 and the fuses are 10 and 15Amp.I checked the battery at 5K revs and got 14.1, so I don't think its the rectifier, and I guess it's more likely to be a short somewhere. I contacted Dave Silver for a new fuse box and the bad news is, the fuse box is part of the wiring loom, so for me, not and easy fix. I guess my trip down memory lane has been very short lived. I don't really know what my options are now, so any help from you guys would be great. I really would love to get the little VFR back on the road :-)

[magg]

Do you have pictures of the fuse box, were the fuses blow or had the box simply deformed due to heat?

My wiring diagram says the fuse box plugs into the wiring loom, so I would image that a second hand fuse box from someone on this forum would be a place to start. Even if the fuse box is part of the loom, again a second hand loom from this forum should be no problem.

[bikerlady64]

Hi Magg, thank you for your message. I will take a few pics and try and post them on here tonight when I get home. I was hopeing to be able to remove the damaged fuse box and just replace that, then trace the cause and repair it if possible. That would be the better option for me, as I have no idea how to replace a whole wiring loom. I didn't know you could get parts on here, if thats the case its very usefull to know, so thanks. I cant say I'm not dissapointed at the moment, I only got to ride the bike home from buying it. I am determined to get it up and running again, but that may be easier said than done with my very limited knowledge of the mechanics and zero knowledge of electrics :-) But I will try my best and with help from you guys I might get there eventually :-)

[Speedy]

Hi, welcome aboard.
You've done 2 things right in my opinion: 1st you bought a V4 Honda and 2nd you joined this great forum!
Let us know as much info about the problem as possible and some here will be very knowledgeable and will be able to guide you well. If it turns out you need a new wiring loom plus other bits; well it's a bit time consuming but you can probably do it yourself and it's possible to get a second hand one, at a fair price! Here, is a good place to start looking for any bits you may need.
Which part of the world are you in?
Good luck!

[bikerlady64]

Hi Speedy, thanks for the message. I had a VFR NC30 not long after I passed my test in 1997, I rode a motorbike like a push bike back then, in the gutter! lol. I sold it to get my much loved Bandit 'Blue', but as the years went by I regretted letting my VFR go, which is why, when I saw the little VFR for sale, I bought it so I could ride it like it should be ridden, and I've got to say, when I rode it home (45 miles or so) I loved it, it felt so much better than I remembered. I actually wanted to lean it in to corners. I knew then I loved the bike, I was so gutted when I got home and smelt the burning. So now I have to try and get it fit for the road again. But as I said in my last post, I can do a few bits mechanically, but electrics are alien to me. The thought of fitting a new wiring loom is daunting, so 'L'al Nipper' as Ive called it (me living up in Cumbria and l'al being Cumbrian for small and Nipper is because its so nippy! lol )is hauled up in the garage waiting to be given love and attention (a bit like myself, only not in the garage lol). I will check the head light (as that was the worst damaged fuse) at the weekend and look at the wiring where possible. If I need to fit a wiring loom I think I will have to get someone to do it for me. :-) I will add a photo soon, still trying to upload it lol

[Speedy]

The difficulty in installing a new loom, is mainly with stripping the bike enough and routing the new loom properly; the connectors are all different, so you can't really connect them wrong.
Electrics is kind of a dark art for me too, but I find that pestering the fine people on here with the addiition of lots of photos does help.
I use http://photobucket.com/ to host most of my photos, but flicker and others are also good.