Error code 46 - check engine light comes on

[carcrusher]

I have a 2007 FZ6 S2, weirdly my bike seems to be running fine, but while riding around town (30mph, around 4k rpm and a lot of stop and go) after about 20-25min my check engine light comes on.
I checked the error codes by going into diagnostics mode and error 46 comes up. The service manual says "Symptom: Power supply to the FI system is not normal. Probable cause of malfunction: Malfunction in CHARGING SYSTEM."
I checked the battery and it seems to be fine, with the engine turned off it shows around 13.5v, when I start the engine it drops to around 12v and then it comes back up after starting up, and when accelerating it goes up to around 14.5v
I checked the stator coil resistance and it's withing the specified range 0,23 - 0.32 Ohm
I replaced the fuse for the FI system and also cleaned all of the other fuses.
I don't know what else I could check, anyone else encountered something like this? I googled this error but all the info I found doesn't really apply to me since my bike seems to be running fine.

Edit: I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section of forum, I created the thread without checking first :/

 

[bigborer]

Check all connectors, especially the ones at the ECU for oxidation.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Sounds like a pretty wide swing with your voltages.

Here's a video (cold start) of my 07 showing voltages. Mines NEVER touched 14 volts, low 14's is fine...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/147134237@N06/29303851750/in/dateposted/


@Motogiro , @ Finalimpact

 

[carcrusher]

I'll check the ECU connectors tomorrow, in the mean time I checked the rectifier/regulator and it seems to be working fine.

Sounds like a pretty wide swing with your voltages.

Here's a video (cold start) of my 07 showing voltages. Mines NEVER touched 14 volts, low 14's is fine...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/147134237@N06/29303851750/in/dateposted/


@Motogiro , @ Finalimpact

You mean the fact that the battery outputs more than 14v can cause problems?

 

[FinalImpact]

Measure battery voltage after sitting over night.
Then key on.
Then cranking.

If the battery is aged more than 4 years, perhaps it all comes down to a battery issue. Is it trickle charged often?

 

[carcrusher]

Sounds like a pretty wide swing with your voltages.

Here's a video (cold start) of my 07 showing voltages. Mines NEVER touched 14 volts, low 14's is fine...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/147134237@N06/29303851750/in/dateposted/


@Motogiro , @ Finalimpact

Went to a garage and they hooked up a tester to the battery, all the measurements were in range.

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome: to this great forum!

One thing that may be happening with regard to voltage error may be intermittent high voltage. The intermittent may be heat related. Most bikes use a shunt type voltage regulator/rectifier that loads the output of the stator. This shunt loading creates heat that is dissipated through the heat sink.

I would check the regulator/rectifier plugs as well. It may have a problem at the pins in the plugs and this could reduce the loading causing higher than normal voltages even if the reg/rect is still good.

If there is a way to make a temporary voltmeter connection, it may show this overvoltage but keep in mind the event may be a spike that is recorded by the ECM but not not your DVM.

 

[carcrusher]

One thing that may be happening with regard to voltage error may be intermittent high voltage. The intermittent may be heat related. Most bikes use a shunt type voltage regulator/rectifier that loads the output of the stator. This shunt loading creates heat that is dissipated through the heat sink.

Hm, what your saying actually makes a lot of sense to me right now. This problem always happens when temperature around the bike / under the tank where the regulator is positioned (don't know how else to say it) increases, I never saw the light come on when I'm doing motorway speeds and there's a constant flow of air keeping it cool.

I checked the regulator/rectifier yesterday after watching a couple of youtube videos (I suck when it comes to electrical stuff) and it seems to behave correctly, meaning that when checking the three white wires and the +/- leads I get 0 0 0 0 / 490 490 490 / 0 0 0 / 490 490 490.


Edit: so today I got some contact cleaner and used it on the pins of the ECU since I saw some oxidation on a few of them and also cleaned the connector of the rectifier, went out for a quick ride around town hoping that would fix it but no luck. The on thing I did notice is that the check engine light would turn off when I turned on the high beam, so I guess the rectifier is failing and sending too much power back into the system?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Sounds like it as the little bit of extra voltage draw is bringing your charging volts down a little (and the ECU isn't going off/warning you of an issue).

 

[Motogiro]

Hm, what your saying actually makes a lot of sense to me right now. This problem always happens when temperature around the bike / under the tank where the regulator is positioned (don't know how else to say it) increases, I never saw the light come on when I'm doing motorway speeds and there's a constant flow of air keeping it cool.

I checked the regulator/rectifier yesterday after watching a couple of youtube videos (I suck when it comes to electrical stuff) and it seems to behave correctly, meaning that when checking the three white wires and the +/- leads I get 0 0 0 0 / 490 490 490 / 0 0 0 / 490 490 490.


Edit: so today I got some contact cleaner and used it on the pins of the ECU since I saw some oxidation on a few of them and also cleaned the connector of the rectifier, went out for a quick ride around town hoping that would fix it but no luck. The on thing I did notice is that the check engine light would turn off when I turned on the high beam, so I guess the rectifier is failing and sending too much power back into the system?

Before you replace the regulator be sure the battery connectors are cleaned and reconnected as well as checking any chassis/frame ground. The shunting is highly reliant on it's connection between positive and ground.



Sent from Moto's Motorola

 

[Motogiro]

I had a rider come to me with a bike he was ready to replace the 2nd failed battery. He was cooking them because the R/R was wide open and not shunting any voltage. When he got to my place I could smell the chemicals in the battery.

In the OP's case there is no dead battery where you might often see this error, so a higher voltage intermittent is suspect. The R/R gets hot, goes open (no load) the ECM see higher voltage and throws a flag on the field.
Again reaffirm the battery and ground connections are good because these connections are important for voltage sensing and regulator shunting.

 

[carcrusher]

Thanks for all the suggestions but I'm kind of short on time, in two days I'm leaving on a 2000 mile trip so I just ordered a new regulator and battery, hopefully that will fix the problem. I'll update this thread when I get back.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Run with your HB on when you can and if you don't have a towing service, get one..

Or perhaps forward the Regulator to one of your stops, it's easy enough to change out.

You may cook your battery mid flight...

Safe trip..

 

[carcrusher]

Before you replace the regulator be sure the battery connectors are cleaned and reconnected as well as checking any chassis/frame ground. The shunting is highly reliant on it's connection between positive and ground.



Sent from Moto's Motorola

I replaced the R/R and the problem seems to be fixed, I rode around town for 20 min with the engine sitting at 100C and the light never came on. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Motogiro]

I replaced the R/R and the problem seems to be fixed, I rode around town for 20 min with the engine sitting at 100C and the light never came on. Thanks for all the help!

That is awesome! Glad you were able to do this before you did your trip. Have a great time!

 

[jumperAmper]

carcrusher,

I have a 2007 FZ6 S2, weirdly my bike seems to be running fine, but while riding around town (30mph, around 4k rpm and a lot of stop and go) after about 20-25min my check engine light comes on.
I checked the error codes by going into diagnostics mode and error 46 comes up. The service manual says "Symptom: Power supply to the FI system is not normal. Probable cause of malfunction: Malfunction in CHARGING SYSTEM."
I checked the battery and it seems to be fine, with the engine turned off it shows around 13.5v, when I start the engine it drops to around 12v and then it comes back up after starting up, and when accelerating it goes up to around 14.5v
I checked the stator coil resistance and it's withing the specified range 0,23 - 0.32 Ohm
I replaced the fuse for the FI system and also cleaned all of the other fuses.
I don't know what else I could check, anyone else encountered something like this? I googled this error but all the info I found doesn't really apply to me since my bike seems to be running fine.

Edit: I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section of forum, I created the thread without checking first :/

That is awesome! Glad you were able to do this before you did your trip. Have a great time!

Hi everyone.

Thanks for that detailed topic.
A had the same issue with my FZ6, 2006. During riding near 20 minutes, I have got a red light for the engine.
It did not affect any system, my bike worked as expected. But it was an unnerving symptom.

What I did:
First of all, I checked all connectors and connections - all was fine
Then I checked the generator - using a multimeter, all three phases worked as expected
Then I checked the relay of the voltage regulator using a multimeter in the diode-mode test - and again all was fine. Everything pings only in one direction only and all three pins have similar values.

So I decided that I had an issue with my accumulator.
In the end, before replacing a battery, I found that topic and tried to replace the relay of the voltage regulator - and YES, the issue is fixed.

Thank you so much, guys! Have a nice riding season