Wiring problem - Honda

[Morcs]

I have a peculiar fault with my nc30 vfr400...

Turn on the left indicator - Idiot lights and rear light flash.
Do the same when in gear - 15amp fuse blows taking out lights, rectifier and tacho.

Have had a wee nosy at it and cant seem to find the problem, must be a short.

Anyone with any knowledge or ideas of where i can look?

I need a warrant asap and this is all thats in my way..

[moT]

Replace the fuses and get a after market regulator rectifier that will fix your problem and check all connections for your lights make sure nothing is short curciting most likely your regulator rectifier

[Grub]

It's a short in the loom for sure (or very possibly water in a connector block, but I doubt that).

Look in the obvious places where the loom, can get cut, crushed or split by sharp objects, Like around the steering head (full lock crush), under the fuel tank (cuts) or the seat locators (sharp objects)

One of my winking lights episodes like that in the rally car was because I'd been welding under the floor and melted the loom inside the car (d'oh!!)

[skidMark]

listen to what dan told you , ive talked to him and i would say he is right matey, take off your indicator switch block, it's obviously shorting out and he says it got squished is your crash, thats the most likely place that this problem will be coming from mate.

[Morcs]

listen to what dan told you , ive talked to him and i would say he is right matey, take off your indicator switch block, it's obviously shorting out and he says it got squished is your crash, thats the most likely place that this problem will be coming from mate.

Cheers Mark, ive already done that, but ill have another look tonight.

[surfer]

Sounds like an earthing problem. Get a voltmeter and do a continuity test on the wires if a visual check reveals nothing.

[Morcs]

Yeah ive thought of trying to earth it and see what happens, just not sure what to earth...

Whilst im on the subject, anyone know how often the radiator fan should be going, ive only ever had it go once?

[surfer]

Yeah ive thought of trying to earth it and see what happens, just not sure what to earth...



It doesn't need earthing, it is earthing out by itself. You need to find out where this is happening and fix it.

More than likely you have a bare bit of wire that is touching another bare wire or touching the frame. Check in the indicator switch block first, see if all the connectors are ok and tat nothing touches anything that it is supposed not to.

(If it is not in the indicator switch block then you will have to go along the part of the wiring loom that is causing the prolems. You will need a wiring diagram unless you know how the wiring loom fits together.)

Good luck

[Morcs]

It doesn't need earthing, it is earthing out by itself. You need to find out where this is happening and fix it.

More than likely you have a bare bit of wire that is touching another bare wire or touching the frame. Check in the indicator switch block first, see if all the connectors are ok and tat nothing touches anything that it is supposed not to.

(If it is not in the indicator switch block then you will have to go along the part of the wiring loom that is causing the prolems. You will need a wiring diagram unless you know how the wiring loom fits together.)

Good luck

Cheers :)

I have the full workshop manual, though its an old skool wiring diagram that in black and white is a bit difficult to interpret on a computer screen... ill give it a bash.

[surfer]

Cheers :)

I have the full workshop manual, though its an old skool wiring diagram that in black and white is a bit difficult to interpret on a computer screen... ill give it a bash.

See if you can get a colour one as it will make your life much easier.

Also occaisionally some manufacturers have been known to run out of a cloured wire so use a different one so your diagram even though in colour might show the wrong colours.

You may have an earth wire, usually black that runs from the switch unit to a place on your frame. This is unless your switch unit is self earthing in which case it earths itself directly onto what it is attached to. Sounds like your problem is that you have a connection or other wire that is also earthing onto the frame or shorting onto another wire.

Did you replace anything or attach anything before the problem occurred? If it was due to a bin you may have torn a wire and this is causing the problem.

[Roj]

I have a peculiar fault with my nc30 vfr400...

Turn on the left indicator - Idiot lights and rear light flash.
Do the same when in gear - 15amp fuse blows taking out lights, rectifier and tacho.

.

I had a similar sort of problem when in nuetral everything worked fine, put it in gear neutral light goes out and so did the head light, traced it to to the earth return from the mess of wires behind the headlight back to the frame being faulty, ran in a replacement wire and solved the problem

[zzr1100boy]

I got a tip for when you have a serious short circuit..

instead of blowing one fuse after the other when locating the problem wire,
Use a bulb 12V / 1W and weld it to the contacts of a blown fuse.
Put that bulb/fuse back in you bike

When that light is burning bright, you still have a short circuit :done:

[surfer]

I got a tip for when you have a serious short circuit..

instead of blowing one fuse after the other when locating the problem wire,
Use a bulb 12V / 1W and weld it to the contacts of a blown fuse.
Put that bulb/fuse back in you bike

When that light is burning bright, you still have a short circuit :done:

A fuse is there to protect the electrics in your bike. If you effectively by pass a fuse you are likely to damage something else. Let the fuse blow, or use a multimeter to test it.

[Morcs]

So if I supply beer does anyone want to fix it? please... :)

[surfer]

So if I supply beer does anyone want to fix it? please... :)

Dude, I really feel for ya and would love to help out and sort it but I don't have the time to spare at present. I'm strapped to a desk and am trying to work; the KB site is my only distraction and the nearest I'm getting to biking at present.

Tell you what my bike is sick too with an ominous enginer rattle that I haven't yet got round to sorting out. I'll do your electrics if you do my engine rattle - could be a cam chain or a piston or a bearing on its way out, not sure yet. What do you reckon?

[zzr1100boy]

@Surfer...

Ofcourse I ment ONLY during the time you are trying to solve a short circuit problem..
Absolute not to use it as a solution ! :yes:

[surfer]

@Surfer...

Ofcourse I ment ONLY during the time you are trying to solve a short circuit problem..
Absolute not to use it as a solution ! :yes:

Noted dude :yes: . Nothin wrong with a bit of wire and a bulb in fault finding as a cheap alternative to a meter.

My angst came from a past experience. I had someone hard wire a fuse that kept blowing in an effort to help me out, all it did was to pass the problem along the circuit to blow the light checker. Turned out an expensive experience for me. All it took was to sit down and study what was going on and figure out the why, took ages but man was it a simple fix in the end.

[FROSTY]

it aint rocket science dude --pull the tank off .There is a short ---go digging till ya find it.

[Roj]

All it took was to sit down and study what was going on and figure out the why, took ages but man was it a simple fix in the end.


That is the best method, as has been said, there appears to be a wiring fault, so yes a careful, thorough approach is needed, I have in the past split a wiring loom to find where the cables had been squashed together, can take a few hours but sometimes is the only way.

Start at the indicator switch, dismantle and check there are no broken or shorted wires, then trace the curcuits back through the loom, as painful as it may sound, metre each wire, try flexing them as well just in case there is an internal break in the wire. A broken wire can mean the current will try to find an alternative return path causing all sorts of strange things,

I am sure you have seen a trailer that the lights do all sorts of wierd stuff when the indicators and brakes are on together, usually due to a poor earth connection.:scooter:

[Morcs]

Okay so skidmark and disco came into my shop today, i ended up throwing mark my key so he could take it home and fix it...

Watch this space...

[Morcs]

well my bike came back in one piece and with the problem fixed.

Cheers Mark!

[skidMark]

no worrys dude need anything else let me know

[skidMark]

theres a problem though,

i'm i'm i'm

in love with a hondur!

i'm gunna buy one as my next bike,

more flcikable than my bloodey zxr250's

and has enough grunt for me too.

this is the only honda ive ever liked,

nice to ride, seats a bit hard but thats easily sorted, felt connescted to it it ddnt feel cheap and tacky or anything either.

i think i will wait on getting a 600 for now

i went thru sum twisties **i honestly actually kept to the speed limit**

got to the end

wheres disco, ...sits around for a minute and round the corner comes disco,

i need to get a bike to make him not scared of them there cornery thingys hehe
he can even confirm i was a gud boy

that thing handles so damn nice dude.

Cheers: SM

[Roj]

no worrys dude need anything else let me know

So what was the problem in the end?

[Morcs]

A pin somewhere or other was bent onto another pin somewhere or other.

There was 1 piece left over when they put the bike back together... waiting for it to fall apart :laugh:

[Disco Dan]

he can even confirm i was a gud boy

that thing handles so damn nice dude.

Cheers: SM

ahem.... :shutup: 99.9% of the time you were :yes:

[Morcs]

Farking Honda electrics. Buggered again.

Low beam, speedo and both indicators now gone. Bugger.

[surfer]

Check your fuses for this one

[Morcs]

Check your fuses for this one

Fuses are all good. Its always first port of call. Indicator relays dont even go. It cant be the main fuse either as the bike runs and everything.

Damn electrics. Anyone want a go at it? :D

[skidMark]

arg....bring it round then...just leave ur lights on high beam...cmon

ugh.

hondas....

[surfer]

Fuses are all good. Its always first port of call. Indicator relays dont even go. It cant be the main fuse either as the bike runs and everything.

Damn electrics. Anyone want a go at it? :D

Try looking for a broken wire or a bad connection.

When you checked your fuses did you inspect them really carefully, also were they able to connect with the pads at both ends inside the connection? Sometimes if a fuse blows it will generate enough heat that the pads inside the connector will melt into the plastic (if you have this type of fuse holder on your bike) and thus prevent the current from flowing.

[Morcs]

Try looking for a broken wire or a bad connection.

When you checked your fuses did you inspect them really carefully, also were they able to connect with the pads at both ends inside the connection? Sometimes if a fuse blows it will generate enough heat that the pads inside the connector will melt into the plastic (if you have this type of fuse holder on your bike) and thus prevent the current from flowing.

mmm good point, ill replace all the fuses (i have heaps :yes: )

I fixed the indicators, just no dip lights now...

[johnnyflash]

Sorry, arriving a bit late in this thread,(so appologies if Im off beam) but I assume from the posts that the fuse only blows when you turn on the left indicator, and only under that scenario, if so then the short is only in the left indicator circuit, in which case you may be able to disconnect the wire going to lamp and trace that back to find fault, also check bulb housing where wiring enters... then trace back to flasher unit.