Ok

Have new R/R & battery installed last year, about 5k ago.

Anyway, riding home today, while lane splitting VTR just died. iTs an '02

Pulled over - hit starter - bike cranked, but would not start

Luckily a friend lives about 20 mins away - came & trailered to his place, we started checking stuff.

Pulled spark plugs & front had none & rear very little. Then heard a whining noise w/ ignition on @ rear of bike. Behind R/R is a silver controller (ignition ICU ?) anyway it was making noise - a whine, squeal, not loud. Is that normal?

Just got home & starting to look at manual & here - but if anyone knows what it could be please HELP

I'm suppose to ride to Canada this next week!!! - OH No HELP

Thanks

 

my little silver box under the seat never makes any noise so i guess that could be your problem. I just thought it was a handy pedistal for my insurance card and registration papers.

 

What is this?

the ignition signal pulse?

This is making the whining sound as mentioned in 1st post

 

It is called a "converter unit". I do not know what it does. It is mentioned on page 17-3 several times as a possible culprit for No Spark electrical issues, and then through out chap 17. Take a look and run some of the tests. As for the whinning, chould be a lose circuit board connection aggravated by pulses.

I found this:

http://www.vendio.com/stores/FastShi...f-cd/lid=70118

plus 6 others listed on ebay

 

thanks for info.

 

That's the box responsible for the spark, simple explanation... And while it is possible that it's a connection like residentg said, I'd put my money on a blown capacitor... They typicly "whine" when they have failed and it's more likely than a loose connector since most parts inside would be potted and unable to move...

 

Tweety is right - I remember my electronics class now. I was a bit potted back then myself. Thanks. JB

 

Is the capacitor in there or some where else?

 

It's in there... Buried in potting material... Not something you want to play with removing... Usually you end up damaging something else before you get it all out and can fix what's broken in the first place... With the symptoms I'd say odds are good you can swap that box and keep riding... But I'd probably recommend going through all the electronics like R/R, stator battery an full harness and checking it before you do... Just to make sure the dead CDI is the cause and not the effect of your problems...

 

Is there a way to test the CDI??

How much is a new one?

 

no way to test yourself, it is rare they break on a hawk though so not too much worries buying used one on ebay.

 

CDI $450 New
Converter unit $525 new

some examples

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda...Q5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-05...Q5fAccessories

 

Nope - see my pic its not the CDI, but the converter box, but thanks for help

I'm freaking out - I leave for F1 race Thursday & was planning on taking moto

 

the second link is the converter box. I don' know why yours looks different, mine looks like the ebay link one.

 

Mas ?'s

Would the ICM be OK & the converter unit bad, or would the ICM cause the converter unit to go bad?

As stated the converter unit was make a low noise

I didn't check the ICM last nite.

VTR is at friends house - about 1 hr away

 

Worked with computers for years, take a sniff of the offending part. If it smells like rat **** on a hot grill with garlic, you've popped a capacitor Those things could clear the work room when they went lol!

The Bandit 400's from Suzuki were prone to capacitor failure over time. I successfully swapped those out on mine, making a huge difference in starting / running etc. Getting to the board was the biggest trick, as they weren't really designed to be serviced. Involved a bit of chipping, cutting, melting and cursing.

 

ask the ebay sellers if they will overnight a unit to you. Whoever says yes, gets the buy.

JB

 

I think I will proceed like this.

1. After talking to 2 moto mech. whom I know - one of which is a Hawk owner - the converter unit should NOT be making any noise.

2. Try to find a used one, as the cheapest I've seen a new 1 is about $380. OUCH. But the ebay ones I've seen the plug is mounted different from mine - see pic below



3. tomorrow on way to work stop by where bike is now & test the ICM to make sure that is OK.

4. Have parts over-nighted so I can be on road Thursday morning to F1 in Montreal!!

on two, ready break

 

what year is your bike? I have a 99 and an 05, I will look to see if they are different.


UPDATE:
The 1999 unit has the plug on the flat / top side of the box
The 2005 unit has the plug on the side of the box like the one in your photo.

My guess - they are functionally the same. Honda only lists one part number: 30460-MBB-E30. The fiche shows the older flat side mount in the diagram (#32).

 

If the older style unit will work on your newer bike, then this one here is from inderocker one of our esteemed moderators: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CONVE...Q5fAccessories

 

that is cheap insurance!

 

Inde can be trusted and knows his stuff. Several members here have done business with him (me too! - those damn wheels still haunt me) and he's a "get it done" guy. Airlines still do "next flight out" but you pay for someone to hand carry your part from counter to counter.

 

I had the same problem....same noise.....replaced CDI no more issues.....I hope it is that easy for you....Good luck.....I have purchased from Inderocker....I would recommend.

 

Also I doubt the CDI would fry the converter. Just my opinion though.

 

Yo would there be a difference between an '03 & mine ('02) - I doubt it. But I saw one OEM parts web site that had an '03 w/ different part # & was also cheaper - I think $330 new for an '03

 

If it were me, I would ask inde to overnight his $19 unit, it will probably work and you can go on your trip. If not, relist it and buy a new one. Electrical issues are tough to diagnose and can be expensive. This is a cheap way out. My 2 cents. Study the wiring diagram in the service manual, see what you can find out.