77 kaw KZ1000 No spark

hey,

need some help..my bike had been running fine. one day i went to start it and it wouldnt start. so i checked for spark. no spark at the plugs. i have tested the coils, i have tested the condensors, new battery, new spark plugs. i bypassed the ignition wiring harness by putting a jumper between the positive post on the battery and to the +'s on the coils, still no spark at the plugs. when i turn the key on i have power going to the coils, power from the coils going to the points. what else can i try next?...any info would be awesome...Thanks Fran

Do you have power (as in 12 volts) going to the points when they are closed? If so, then either the points are not closing, the points are bad (corrosion or burnt), or the points are not grounded (check for power between the point mounting plate and battery ground).

ok just did some more testing, i checked the volts of my battery first , it is 12.44 volts. then the with the key on i checked the power from the ignition switch going into the coils and it was 10.78 volts. then i checked the points with the key on and the volts were at 9.75 volts. i closed the points and there was no power at the points i opened the points and there was 9.75 volts again. so there working good. then i checked for power between the - battery post and the points mounting plate and nothing there.. any more suggestions would be awesome...thank you steell for the advise. Francis

Just in case you don't know, the KZ's use a wasted spark ignition, so if one plug or plug wire is bad neither plug on the same coil will have spark. So if you pull one wire off a spark plug to check for spark, the other wire off the same coil "must" remain connected or you won't get any spark on the one you are checking.

Simple version, the spark travels out from the coil through one wire, jumps the gap at the plug, travels through the head to the other plug, jumps the gap on that plug, travels through the spark plug wire back to the coil. If there is a break anywhere in that path, neither plug will spark.

yeah i was told that in another forum, yeah i checked one at a time with the others remained plugged in.

You have no spark on all four cylinders?

That's strange since they are almost two seperate systems, electrically. Maybe you have a dual condenser (it looks like one but has two wires to it). If it gets disconnected from the frame, all 4 cyclinders may quit.

Just guessing here.

yeah there is no spark on all plugs. and no the condensors are seperate. Francis

That's a tough one. Indications would lead to the coils or wires, but it's strange to have both coils fail simultaneously on their own.

Did it rain the last couple times you rode?

no it didnt rain lately. ive been stumped on this one for the last couple weeks. Francis

If you manually open and close a point do you see a tiny spark on the points?

i figured it out, it was a combination of 2 things. i cut an inch off of each sparkplug wire and got new plug caps. the bike started right up, thanks alot for all the help

Good to hear!