VFR800

Wonder if anyone can shed any light before I spend too many £s..

I have a 1999 VFR800. When I bought it (about 6 months ago), I'd noticed
that the wires to the R/R (3 yellow ones from the alternator) had been
'modified'. The connecting plug had been removed and replaced with
bullet-type connectors. Everything seemed ok though - no problems
starting/charging so, apart from bolting a cooling fan to the R/R, I left it
as is.
Yesterday, after about 45mins, I stopped for fuel. Came out and the bike
wouldn't start - just clicking form the starter relay under the seat. Lights
were bright, horn worked, but the starter didn't even try to spin. After
about 10mins, I tried again and it started fine. Rode for another 45 mins,
switched off and all fine. After work, when I got home (about 1 hour's
riding), had the same problem. I could hear (and feel if I touched it!) the
starter relay clicking, but the starter refused to spin. Now, it seems that
R/R is common on these bikes, so this morning I did a bit of testing.
Off-load, engine off, the battery reads just under 13V. At about 3000 RPM it
reads around 14.8V (14.5 with lights on). When running, the voltage seems
pretty stable at all revs.
I have no idea how old the battery is. Bike has done 19k miles and the
service sheet for its 12k service indetifies a charging RR fault - don't
know what it was or if it was fixed! Doesn't get used much - mainly
weekends.
Before I go buy a new battery ad R/R, does anyone have any other
suggestions? Anyone got experience of failing starters on theses bikes?
Planning to go to LeMans in a couple of weeks and don't fancy being stranded
on the ferry!

Thanks,
ALan

 

Sounds like the brushes in the starter motor are borked.
Look up a friendly auto electrician in yellow pages and ask him to take
a quick perkel.

 

That charge rate is perfect. Could be a battery that isn't holidng a
charge. Much more likely is a knackered/dirty solenoid. I'd check these
two out before proceeding to starter motor bruchses, as others suggest.

(In my experience, it's generally *not* the starter motor)

 

Alan laid this down on his screen :

The R/R is a known weak point on the VFR, but your voltage readings
sound perfect. Your problem doesn't seem to be anything to do with the
charging system....

You need to (when the fault is apparent) check out the starting relay,
the starter motor and /or connections including earths.

 

In exactly the same manner as "If you are certain it's an electrical
fault it's always fuel".

 

Heh. Yes, precisely.

 

Nope, no dimming lights, nothing but a click from the solenoid/relay thingy

Connections all seem tight. Have taken off the starter - connection was a
little corroded but not much. Generally had a poke around, cleaned contacts
here and there. Just been out for an hour...~seems~ ok...we'll see!

Got the Thursday night midnight sailing from Portsmouth- LeHavre, back on
Monday afternoon at 5pm. Never been before...any tips?
Oh yeah, I'll be the poor sod on the yellow VFR pushing it up the ramps!

 

OK, took the starter off, had a general poke about at the relay/solenoid
under the seat. No idea if it's fixed - time will tell. Couldn't get the
starter apart cos the bolts are coroded (and, errr, rounded off now!). Seems
to me that if I can hear the relay click, then power must be getting to the
starter? If it's getting there and not turning then surely it means a facked
starter motor? So, anyone breaking a '99 VFR800 and want to sell me a
starter??

Alan

 

IME the ship rarely never leaves much before midnight...

 

No. A common cause for a starter motor not turning is that the earth to the
casing is compromised by corrosion or a loose connection.

The simplest way to ckeck is to connect a jump lead directly from the
battery earth to the starter motor casing. Hit the starter button. If the
motor spins freely then hey presto. Find where the engine block gets its
earth. There's probably more than one.

There could be burnt/corroded contacts in the relay, a poor connection or
an open circuit from the relay to the starter motor. You have a multimeter.
Checking these should be simple, especially if you have an assistant to
push the starter button whilst you take measurements.

 

Unless you've proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the relay is working
properly, it's the relay.

The first thing to do is unplug the relay, clean up the pins and plug it
back in. If this fixes it, then it's just a bit of corrosion. If it
doesn't...

A relay generally has four pins - the east-west pair power the electromagnet
that closes the circuit, and the north-south pair is the circuit that's
being switched. The north-south pair should be open-circuit when the relay
isn't powered up. When you apply power to the east-west pair, the
north-south pair should go to zero-ish ohms, allowing current to flow to the
starter solenoid.

If the relay is clicking, as yours appears to be, then the east-west pair is
getting power. You need to check if the north-south pair is making a
circuit, and if there's voltage available on the supply side of that
circuit.

 

Short out the relay terminals with a big spanner.
If the engine spins, the relay is probably duff.

 

What he said.

I repeat:

In my experience, it's generally *not* the starter motor