NHTSA Investigation PE05047

STALLING & SUDDEN HEADLIGHT OUTAGE

ODI OPENED THIS INVESTIGATION AFTER RECEIVING THREE COMPLAINTS CONCERNING ALLEGED ENGINE STALLING AND/OR SUDDEN HEADLIGHT OUTAGES WHILE UNDERWAY.ODI ALSO FOUND NUMEROUS POSTINGS ON A WEB-BASED CHAT BOARD RELATED TO THE SUBJECT VEHICLE AND THESE ALLEGATIONS.FREQUENTLY, THE POSTING REFERENCED THE BLUE CONNECTOR JOINING THE MAIN HARNESS AND THE HEADLIGHT SUB-HARNESS.ODI HAS INSPECTED SUBJECT MOTORCYCLES AND ITS PEERS AND MET WITH THEIR OWNERS, DISCUSSED THIS MATTER WITH SUBJECT MOTORCYCLE DEALERS AND INDEPENDENT SERVICE PERSONNEL, AND REVIEWED HONDA'S RESPONSE TO OUR INFORMATION REQUEST.BASED ON THE INFORMATION GATHERED TO DATE, THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT MOST FAILURES HAVE DEVELOPED SLOWLY OVER TIME WITH THE OPERATOR NOTINGDIFFICULTY STARTING THE MOTORCYCLE,AND A SMELL OF MELTING INSULATION, (NO FIRES ARE REPORTED).IN THE MAJORITY OF REPORTS, THE PROBLEM IS NOTED WHILE STARTING THE MOTORCYCLE.MANY REPORTS STATE THE ENGINE STALLED WHEN THE STARTER BUTTON WAS INITIALLY RELEASED. FOR THE HEADLIGHT PROBLEM, MANY OF THE CIRCUIT OVERLOAD REPORTS WERE DUE TO THE INSTALLATION OF AFTERMARKET ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT.CURRENTLY, NO DEFECT TREND HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED WARRANTING FURTHER EXPENDITURE OF AGENCY RESOURCES AT THIS TIME.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY THE AGENCY THAT NO SAFETY RELATED DEFECT EXISTS.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS ISSUE CLOSELY AND SHOULD CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE, ODI WILL TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION.

An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.