New to the forum...

... and I'll probably ask alot of stupid questions, but I promise I'll search first

My name is Ryan, I'm in Spokane, WA, and I just bought a 1982 KZ1000J2.... and it's a project. Someone butchered the wiring to the point where no one wants to touch it... so I guess I've got a project LOL

It's a cool bike, good shape, but I'm going to have to redo all the wiring... I'm probably going to go bare bones, rather than replace the harness... if that's a terrible attitude, please let me know

anyhoo, I've been reading a bit already, and this seem s like a great forum. Happy to be here

welcome! plenty of wiring gurus on here. might as well and start a project thread and start posting pictures

welcome.

leon

Welcome and enjoy the wealth of information.

ramtough_63 wrote: welcome! plenty of wiring gurus on here. might as well and start a project thread and start posting pictures

That's a good idea - I think I will...

Here's a factory shop manual, it's been reported to been having some download problems:
www.kawiworld.com/index.php?option=com_c...icle&id=77&Itemid=99

And another choice of a manual:

Manuals (Some of these websites sell used manuals, just ask)
www.repairmanual.com (Use # 99924-1026-03 for Kawasaki 1981-2005 Kz/Z1000 Factory Service Manual)
www.manualsnmore.com
www.midwestmanuals.com/
www.books4cars.com/
www.repairmanualclub.com/motomanuals/
moto-manuals.com/
www.e-classicbike.com/

Cleaning Motorcycle Electrics

1. Get some of the De-Oxit electrical contact cleaner and figure on spending a good day going from the front of the bike to the back. It’s a plastic safe cleaner/preservative. www.deoxit.com is their website. Or use any plastic safe electrical contact cleaner(NOT WD-40 !).

2. On the older Kawasaki's, a majority of electrical connectors are inside the headlight housing requiring removal of the headlight, then the fun begins.

3. Do one set of electrical connectors at a time to avoid mixing up what connects to where. Usually disconnecting, spraying with De-Oxit and reconnecting is about all you'll need.

4. However, when encountering the green crud of corrosion, a brass wire brush may be needed on the pins you can reach. Some 400-600 grit wet and dry sandpaper strips rolled into a tube should reach the male and female pins in the more difficult to clean connectors.

5. Smoker’s pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and wooden toothpicks work as cleaning aids.

6. Really small electrical connectors may require the use of a welders tip cleaning tool assortment.

7. Most pins in the connectors are coated with a thin plating of tin, and others may be nothing more than copper or brass.

8. If moisture is added, the resulting corrosion lowers the voltage/current being carried causing dim lights, slow engine cranking, slow turn signal responce and lower input voltage to the ignition coils resulting in weak spark.

9. The left and right handlebar switch pods will need attention too as they have circuit functions like turn, horn, run/stop, and start. The older Kawasaki’s have reports of the soldered connections crumbling, if your bike has this problem, just ask, as I’ve got a repair procedure for this.

10. Usually a spritz or two with actuation of the switch is about all needed for these switches unless corrosion is detected and then careful disassembly is required.

11. The ignition switch may or may be not sealed to allow spraying the internal contacts. I urge caution if attempting to open this up as springs, and ball bearings may fly out never to be seen again!

12. If your bike has the older style glass tubed fuses, I suggest replacing them as vibration can cause internal failure. AGX is the type used, and most auto parts stores can get them for you.

13. Clean the fuse holder clips, looking for signs of overheating(discolored insulation, signs of melting). I use metal polish on a cotton swab, followed by spraying another clean swab with the De-Oxit and then rubbing the inside of the fuse clip.

14. All battery cables must be clean and tight for maximum current transfer. Check the cables going from the Negative(-) battery terminal/post to the engine mounting bolt

15. Also the one going from the Positive(+) terminal to the starter solenoid and from there to the starter motor.

16. If any battery cable feels ”Crunchy” when flexed, replace it as possible corrosion is inside the insulation.

17. Each "Bullet Connector" will have to be sprayed to ensure good connectivity, especially the ones going to the energizing coil of the starter solenoid.

18. The alternator output “Bullet Connectors” are usually behind the engine sprocket cover and will need inspecting and cleaning too.

20. The turn signal light sockets will benefit from a spritz from the contact cleaner along with the tail light/brake light socket.

21. Some brake light switches can be sprayed on the actuating rod, with the spray running down inside to the electrical contacts, others may be sealed requiring replacement if the switch is intermittent in operation.

22. Some people put the Di-Electric Grease on cleaned terminations/connectors, I don’t, as I’ve read/heard it can cause problems when it gets hot, actually insulating the connections, so the choice is yours to use or not.

I think I've covered about all of the electrical systems on the bike.........

“I spent a weekend going through every electrical connection and switch on the bike with a little scotchbrite pad and DeOxit - what a difference! Everything was brighter, gauge backlights, indicator lights, turn signals, I was getting a nicer spark, it fired up quicker, etc. Well worth my time. WELL worth it! “

From a forum member at www.kzrider.com

Read this for a primer on hand soldering: technologyinterface.nmsu.edu/fall97/electronics/solder.html

Repairing Motorcycle Soldered Connections on the older bikes.

When repairing soldered wires on motorcycle switches or light bulbs sockets, have the following on hand:

1. A 25 Watt soldering iron or one that the wattage can be adjusted.

2. Rosin core solder of 60/40 type. SN60 or SN63 is preferred.

3. Rosin flux or soldering paste (Never use solder or soldering paste designed for plumbing work, as it contains an acid that will corrode the electrical joint, ruining it).

4. 91% rubbing Alcohol, or 70%. The lower percentage will clean up flux residue, but not as good as the higher percentage stuff.

5. A cut down ½” paint brush, or acid brush for scrubbing the repaired solder joint.

6. Clean rags or paper towels

7. A damp sponge to keep the soldering iron tip clean.

8. Some “Solder Wick” a braided bare copper wire designed to collect heated excess solder, aiding in joint preperation, available at electronic supply stores.

9. Some wooden toothpicks.

10. Small Hemostats or clip on heatsinks.

A. Before soldering, “Tin” the soldering iron tip by plugging it in or turning the iron on, allowing it to get to operating temperature(2-3 minutes).

B. Unroll about 3” of solder from the roll of rosin core solder & then using a clean rag or paper towel moistened with Alcohol, wipe the unrolled solder, removing the finger print oils that will create a poor solder joint.

C. Apply a small amount of solder to the now heated soldering iron tip, wiping the excess off with the wet sponge, keeping a thin layer on the soldering iron.

D. The soldering iron is now ready for use, but before applying the heated tip to a wire, wipe the tip on the damp sponge, this removes any oxidized solder and makes for a much better connection.

E. If the joint to be repaired is grey in color or appears “Crumbled”, apply some rosin soldering paste or flux to the joint with a small toothpick or screwdriver, and then apply the soldering iron tip for a few seconds.

G. The fluxed joint should clean up, allowing for a better connection. If no luck, use the solder wick to remove all traces of the old solder by apply in it between the soldering iron tip and the bad joint.

H. Hemostats and clip on heatsinks will be used to prevent the wire insulation from burning, overheating & pulling away from the connection.

I. Apply a small amount of flux to the joint to be repaired & then a very short duration of heated soldering iron tip & solder(like a few seconds or so).


J. Clean off the repaired joint with the brush & rubbing Alcohol, the newly repaired joint should appear clean and bright, almost as if it were polished, with no voids or holes.

K. When repairing the bad or "Cold Solder Joints" (as the Electronics industry calls them), it takes really no special skills, just patience, and a place to work(along with the mentioned tools. You've got to be sober, and not stoned, as the soldering tool can be at 700 F, possibly giving the impaired bike owner severe burns.

L. If you have fine muscle control problems, have a friend do the soldering for you. Moving a wire before the electrical joint has properly set up, can create "Cold Joints" too. If possible, practice on the bench top with some scrap wires before attempting repairs on the bike.

M. This information comes from years of missile test cable and equipment assembly, when I worked at General Dynamics/Convair Division in San Diego California, on the BGM-109 Tomahawk and later on the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile. This was from 1983-1993. The company had a week long soldering school, where you learned to solder meeting “Mil-Spec” standards.

Cool, thanks guys. A little more background:

The previous guy had replaced all the lights with some crappy LED assemblies, after which it apparently ran fine, until is had some sort of electrical issue... his solution was to start cutting wires. Seriously, the wiring harness up toward the front end is shredded.

I was originally thinking I could just replace the wiring harness, but a) it's my understanding that most of the bike has to come apart to do that, and b) I really want to get rid of all the aftermarket stuff he put on and get back to the original lights.

I want to do it right, but I also want to do it simply... the good news is that I'm not in any rush, and I've already got some experience with electronics (this is my company: www.toadworksusa.com )... and obviously I can read a schematic, and I'm pretty good a troubleshooting...

The part I'm going to need help with is identifying the essential components... just looking at the wiring diagram in the manual, there seems to be some extraneous networks.

You'd have to find a specific model wiring diagram as Kawasaki had several bikes with slight differences, like Fuel Injection on the 1981,1982,1983, GPz's(maybe more years, not certain)

There were LTD's,Kz's, CSR's and as mentioned, GPz's.

MFolks wrote: You'd have to find a specific model wiring diagram as Kawasaki had several bikes with slight differences, like Fuel Injection on the 1981,1982,1983, GPz's(maybe more years, not certain)

There were LTD's,Kz's, CSR's and as mentioned, GPz's.

Yeah, I figured that... I was afraid the diagram in the manual was a little generic.... well, it's a 1982 KZ1000J2 - is that specific enough to find the right diagram?

BTW, here's the bike: pnwriders.com/motorcycle-talk/94872-1982...z1000j2-project.html

That thread was started by the previous owner... unfortunately he doesn't have any of the old parts. I bought it cuz I really liked the look.... but it needs a paint job real bad

Anyway, the wiring is my only issue... if anyone knows where to find that specific diagram, please let me know...

According to my old shop manual, the Kz1000 J2 has a frame number beginning with JKAKZCJ1 or CA007901 The frame # should be on the steering head next to where the tank fits. Engine # should be close to the oil filler cap.

These websites might be able to help:

Kawasaki VIN/Engine Number Websites
www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/List_of_Kawasaki_motorcycles#Fen
zedder.com/msg1.htm
www.geocities.jp/snqbc989/RECO/5090.html
www.z1enterprises.com/reference/z1-numbers-guide.aspx