Hi all, Apologies for the essay.... I have a 04 blade with 11k on the clock. In August/September last year it kept cutting out mid ride and loosing all power/electrics so I put a new battery on it but it didn't fix the issue. After some research I saw the stator was a common fault so I replaced that and it seemed fine but I'd only been on a coupleof short rides. Took her out of storage in April for the MOT and the battery wouldn't hold charge even after being plugged in for a week so put on another new battery thinking the cold had killed it over winter but it's still loosing all power after about 50 miles once the battery is drained. Could anyone have any idea of what else it could be if not the stator or battery?
I'd say the batteries are quite small... they're unlikely to last a winter if not being regularly maintained... get a trickle charger. For the charging issue... best bet is to measure the voltage across the battery whilst the engine is running. Should be over 14 volts and rise a bit as the revs rise. Do you have a multimeter?
Reg/rec - check resistances and voltages as per manual. ...and the little yellow gremlin box is worth a look too. Pop out all the connectors and check their fit individually onto the bridge. Sound more like reg/rec though. The gremlin box could easily cause cutting out but not sure if it could cause battery drain.
Evening, Thanks for your reply, they were my next thought too, I think I replaced the rec when I did the stator last year but can't be 100% it was that ♂️ When you say the gremlin box, what box are you referring too? The fuses?
Under the right hand mid fairing panel there's a taped-up power branch-out affair with a mass of black/white wires coming out of it. Mine had a couple of loose connectors that took down my fuel pump but it could just as easily been any other electrical system. You can use a little electrical screwdriver to hold back the locking hooks on the female connectors and slide them out of the box. Take out the bridge first. Edit: Here it is. Not one of Honda's brightest ideas.
I've just looked and the reg/rec are the same part, I did replace it last year so I guess I need to check it's all working properly. Thanks for the info, I'll strip the fairing at the weekend and have a fiddle.
Initially issue was “loss of all power”. Are you saying everything was completely dead ? Check for parasitic draw on your battery. Multimeter required. Grooveski’s connector is always worth investigating when electrical issues arise. He also mentioned his fuel pump, can you hear yours prime ? Classic failure within yellow connector for that one. Do you have any electrical modifications ? As suggested by others, put a meter across your battery before start up, during start up (voltage drop lowest value) and whilst running. Record the values and tell us what you have.
Once the battery has drained then I loose power completely as if the ignition is off and the key is removed, when the battery has been recharged it all runs perfectly and the pump primes before ignition, until the battery is empty again. I need to get a multimeter first to check the power. I have led indicators/rear lights and a power commander but they've been on it for a couple of year's now.
Also worth popping apart every connector you come across whie you have the fairing off, checking for green and giving them a spray of contact cleaner. The bike's 20 years old after all. The 'blade connectors are pretty good - I haven't found any real rough ones on my RR5(apart from the little ones for the indicators - had to junk both of those at the back). ...but it only takes one dodgy connection to cause grief.
When you're buying a multimeter. Make sure it has a Diode Test function(for checking the rectifier). Most do but not all. ...and an audible continuity(beep) setting as well. You don't need it for this job but it's worth having.
She's been dry stored and rarely sees water apart from when I hose her down, the connectors that I've came across have all been in good condition but I've not dived in deep previously. My initial thought was a chewed wire by a mouse as it's been stored in stables. I'll be stripping the fairings tomorrow though so will post an update.
