Electrical system dead.

This project is getting to the point of wanting to burn the stupid thing. Keep in mind that all my lights, starter, indicators, etc worked before this happened.

I fixed my tach today (the needle had become dislodged) and after I hooked everything up, I tried turning it over. As soon as I turned the key, the lights and gauges flashed and died. Nothing happens when I turn the key anymore. Won't crank, won't do anything.

I took pictures of everything before I disconnected it, so it was hooked up correctly. All the fuses in the fuse box pass continuity. I went over the wiring visually and could not find any obvious defects.

Anyone know what is going on? If not, I've got a 1981 KZ1000 LTD for sale.

did you check ground wires and battery cables?if i had a buck for everytime i told myself i checked everything just to find 1 thing i didnt check,well id be independently wealthy like steele or wiredgeorge!:whistle: (thats gonna cost me!)check up inside headlight bucket one more time would be my guess or battery cable. goodluck,happy wrenching!

Chassis ground passes continuity as well. I tested block, frame, handlebars, gauge casings, and light casings.

What, besides fuses, would cause the system to turn on and die suddenly like that?

Post edited by: minutiesabotage, at: 2006/08/14 00:12

I am not much of a J motor electrical expert but I would guess ALL of the fused sub-circuits come through the ignition switch just like on the older bikes. A white or white/red wire comes off your R/R and splits. One leg to goes to the battery to keep it charged (on solenoid post is where connection is) and the other goes to the ignition switch. The other circuits start on the ignition switch and are hot depending on the position of your key. They come back and are fused. If your main fuse blew, ANY of the subcircuits could be the cause or anywhere on that white or white/red wire path TO the circuit breaker but it is more likely a subcircuit. When you blow fuses, it can be a hot touching GROUND or... can be two hots touching. Likely place to look would be a bare insulation spot on a wire. Just takes some patience looking! You could put the bike in a DARK garage with the tank off, put new fuses in and turn the key on while watching for where a spark occurs. This is sometimes helpful for quick location of shorts.

Well thats the problem, all the fuses are good, they all pass continuity.

Hi again, friend. Just thought I'd let you know you have an Automotive Electrical Engineer on your side here, so don't give up on the KZ1000.

If all the fuses are good, it's time again to trace the wiring diagram to see where it might have all gone wrong. Sounds to me like it's in the ignition switch itself, or perhaps the wiring to the switch. You've got a voltmeter, right? Trace that battery voltage to see where it stops.

My bike had a loose connection on the ignition switch itself. I was riding home with one hand pressing the switch in before it finally gave up and left me stranded, so it's probably a good idea to make sure the soldering to the ignition switch is solid.

I would trade all your electrical woes for my mechanical ones.

I would have a look at your ignition switch.

I'll check it when I get home from work. I didn't think to check the ignition switch since it died so suddenly. Thanks for the help, very much appreciated.

Same thing has been happening to me lately. I'll bet just like everyone here that its the ignition switch.

Remove youre headlight assembly and remove the ignition switch. Uncover the relay point and if my assumption is correct the white wire will be flying in the breeze. Find a soder kit and just redo the connection. Dont forget to kill the power because that white wire is HOT all the time. Remove a fuse would be the easiest course.

Make sure you do it right, heat up both points so the soder can flow right on in and make a solid connection, or else it *will* break again. Good luck

Everybody is giving you what they did to fix an identical problem. Complete electrical failure with the fuses NOT blown.

If you read back one page in the Electrical section you’ll see my post of BADD Ground. I wouldn’t have believed this could happen unless I’d seen it myself.

A real usuful tool to get, over and above the multi-meter (ohm-meter) is an electrical trouble light. The little thing with the 12v bulb inside, has a ground wire with an alligator clip and the positive end has the sharp pointer to get inside of connectors etc. This is a good tool, because while the multi-meter which has fairly low internal resistance may show some or all of the 12v’s if you don’t have a good enough connection there won’t be enough amerage flowing to get your trouble light to light up, or it will just glow dimly.

I’d just start at the battery, and keep following your electrical diagram down the power circuit until you get to a point where you had power then across the next connector or ignition switch you won’t. Wa La, you’ve just found your “open” circuit, which is what you’re after.

I found mine because with the trouble light ground hooked to the engine or the frame I couldn’t get the trouble light to illuminate, but with the negative alligator clip hooked to the negative battery post I could. At that point I knew I had a ground problem and not a “power” delivery problem.

Post edited by: ThousandKaw, at: 2006/08/15 12:52