I've got a 2001 CBR 600 F4i that runs flawlessly, day in and day out... until this morning... when I turned the ignition on everything shorted out. No display, no priming of the FI, nothing.

So I pulled up my trusty service manual and jumped to the electrical section and began troubleshooting. The battery tested good (thankfully, as its only 10 months old). I have every piece of plastic torn off the bike and have inspected every single electrical connection-- no melted plastic or exposed wires. Took apart the ignition and checked all those wires with the ammeter-- all good. Removed the reg/rec and checked with ammeter-- still good.

I'm really effing stumped. Anything else on the bike I could handle, but electrical?? FML. Anyone got any ideas? Its scheduled to go into the shop on Thursday, but I'd like to do whatever I can in the meantime to avoid shelling out mega-$$$.

To reiterate, when I turn the key, everything is dark. Even the dash clock disappears. Oh, also, when I tested the battery, it read about 12V. But when I turned the key with the battery tester attached, it registered 0V. That's why I'm 99.9% convinced there's a short somewhere. Any help would be so greatly appreciated. If you need more clarification on anything I'll try to give you greater detail with my limited understanding of what the eff is going on, haha.

Thanks!

 

I think your battery it toast. My wifes F3 had the exact same symptom. It started right up and we rode it to the gas station. Turned the key after and it was dead. No lights, nothing. Pushed it home about a mile. Put a meter on the battery and it showed 12v. Turn the key and it dropped to 0.3v. Took battery to Cycle Gear to have it load tested and it was dead. New battery and it's fine. This happened 2 weeks ago.

 

My battery isn't that old. Which tells me there probably is some underlying cause. The battery shouldn't just be instantly dead.

 

Ya know, I hear what you're saying. In my instance her bike has started every time with no hesitation, including that morning. It gave no indication that it was going bad. I believe that the battery cracked or broke internally and has lost connection with the terminals.

Now, in your case, you believe that something is "Shorting" the electrical system. It sounds good, but if you have any understanding of electricity, specifically voltage and current, think about how much current would have to be flowing through the wiring harness in order to pull all the voltage on the battery down to zero (a good battery at that). Wouldn't you think that some wires would be smoking or melting with that much current draw ? It's only going to take 10 minutes for you to take the battery out and go to an auto parts store to have the battery tested. That's $0 out of your pocket. At a minimum, you're going to have a diagnostic fee from the dealer. What do you have to loose ?

 

Yeah, I went with your initial advice and took it to BatteriesPlus, where I bought it, and they're load testing it for me. For some reason its taking them over 4 hours. But I have a feeling its going to fail and I'll be out $80 for a new battery, which is a much better alternative than however many hundreds I'd be out having a shop tear through the electrical system.

And you're very right, if there was a short, there would be evidence somewhere (which I've found none of). Granted, there could be a short inside the stator or alternator, perhaps, but again, I'm feeling you're probably right and its the battery.

 

Well, now see, I'm not so sure. When they tested my wifes battery, there was no long term testing, it didn't need it. As soon as it had the load applied to it, it dropped to 0.

If it turns out it's not the battery I really don't know what else it could be. Drawing that much power would require some really heavy cable to be able to withstand the large amount of current. The Starter cable is the only thing large enough to do that. I'd still expect to see some smoking or melting though.

Let us know what you find.

 

Did you say the battery was only 10 months old? If so, didn't it come with a 12 month warranty? I'd take it back and ask for a replacement if it is under warranty. Could just be a duff one! You could try giving it a low amp charge for a good period of time and then check the voltage across the terminals. Any less than 14 volts and I'd say the battery is toast. Did you charge it for long enough when you first bought it? Most 'new' batteries still need a good charge intially. Hope you get it sorted!

 

Okay, battery failed the load test. Got a new one, everything hooked back up, but now I have a new problem, haha.

When I turn the ignition on everything powers up normally EXCEPT the FI does not prime. I've checked every connection 3 times, as well as all fuses, fuel, and air lines. If I push the starter the engine turns over at a normal rate, but there is no fire. Seems to me the fuel pump is not functioning. Checked the engine and fuel cutoff relays under the rear cowl/passenger seat, they're good as well.

Thanks again for the battery advice, you were very right. I'm almost there, just need a little more help. I really appreciate it.

 

check how many volts are coming out of the pink wire from the ingnition switch shouldnt be more then 9 volts. if it has no volts or over 12 volts then the diode inside the switch is no good and has to be replaced. i just went through this a couple weeks ago..pm me if you need anymore help

 

Okay, nevermind, false alarm based on my stupidity. I had the front faring laying next to the bike, not on it, so the bank angle sensor thought the bike was laying nose down.

She's back to purring like a kitten. Thanks again for all the help!