ok, so my bikes together afterdriving2 or 3 hours to my parents to finish it...last night I rode it and it was fine, i rode it into the garage and parked it. I just now tried to start it and it wont turn over and start. like it will turn over once out of 10 times so its not totally gone. when i hold the start button the headlight dims and it makes a noise. I have researched the old forums and it sounds like the rectifier but im not comepletly sure because like i said, it will turn over every once and a while. is there any way I can check it? or will someone who went through this please tell me whats going on. maybe somethings loose?



Oh i forgot, the bike only has 6500 miles on it so that anoter reason im thinkin it might not be the rec/regulator

 

Well, the things it could be in my mind are:

1. bad battery connection - battery not charging
2. bad battery - if you can charge it with a charger and start the bike with the charger off - it's probably not bad.
3. bad rectifier/regulator
4. bad generator/alternator coil

 

dont let low miles fool you , it could still be the reg/rec

http://cbrworld.net/forums/thread/140473.aspx <<<< this will tell you how to diagnose the charging system

 

I had trouble cranking my F3back last winter due the cold weather. Then this summer not a problem. Then one day me and my wife went riding, it started fine as usual. stopped & got gas, started again as usual. About another 6 or 8 miles we stopped to decide which direction to go and I let it go dead, wouldn't turn over, battery dead. I then pushed it off and it started right up. went on down the road about 3 more miles and it started cutting out like running out of gas, so I flipped it on reserve and nothing changed. About another 100 yards and it was barely pulling itself then just died! indicator lights, headlights, all DEAD! I was stopped in the sun so i saw a tree up ahead and pushed it to it. Couldn't visably see anything wrong. I tried it again and it turned real slow but not fast enough to crank. A man across the road saw me and offered his low amp charger to charge me back up. We did and it started right up ran fine. Made it back to the house about 10 miles or so and left it running to put my wife's bike up and it died again ...battery dead again. Replaced the stator from a parts bike I got, didn;t work still killed the battery. That's when I discovered the rectifier plug was melted some. I almost destroyed it getting it loose. Took the rectifier off the parts bike, replaced the burnt terminals charged the battery back up and PROBLEM SOLVED! cranks fine to this day.

 

It's most likely the rectifier/regulator. I just had the same problem a few months ago. Battery would drop down below 12 VDC, then the engine would die. Wouldn't even turn over. The battery would charge up no problem on my trickle charger. It would last about 2 hours of riding, then die again. I followed the troubleshooting chart that's in the Service Manual, which is available online for free.

You can find rectifier/regulatorson eBay from $40-$70. A new one costs about $120! [sm=insomnia.gif]

The link posted by HAVOC pretty much explains how to troubleshoot the problem.

http://www.hondaparts-direct.comhas them for $117. RECTIFIER, REGULATE 31600-MV4-010

The rectifier is located on the WIREHARNESS section of the online parts finder for the F3.

Good luck.

Dave

 

you can also get a good used one from a local motorcycle recycler for around $40-$50... and its a easy swap. im sure once you change your reg/rec and charge the battery you will be fine

 

alright guys thanks for the help but i found it was just a bad connection. I was freaking out because i had to take it back to school yesterday after working on it for the last 5 months and i though this would stop me. I was convinced it was the rec/reg from always hear about guys saying theres blew out. so now the bikes done looks great and it rips! I was afraid cuz I dont have either the money or patients to buy and wait for one to come in. over the winter I might get an aftermarket one and just replace it so something doesnt come up if im on the road. thanks for the feedback right away and to anyone thats helped me over the summer, this forum has helped me w/ everything
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a bad connection where ? just becareful with the charging system.. its very tempermental.. if one piece has a failure or starts to fail it causes problems in the other 2 pieces (3 pieces are , batery, stator and reg/rec) then its just basically dominos _//

 

I just found some of my problems that's causing my charging issue. The connection between the bike harness and stator melted. Check you connections too by the way. The connection is located in battery box but forward of the battery. You have to pull the tank off to really get a good look at it. You want to check the connection that has big connection with 3 wires. It's also a semi cream colored plastic of black and brown if melted. By the way, does anyone know where I can just purchase the plastic connectors?

 

its only a temporary fix but your can pop the clutch if you need to get it started...just be sure not to stall out at a light or nething...good luck