1977 KZ750 Twin AGAIN!

Yep, that's pretty much their standard response according to what others have reported (I'm to cheap to buy one). A number of people have reported recieving new kits and being told to keep the old ones, customer service like that is hard to find anymore.

Check the ground for the Newtronic system.


PS: I did my janatorial duties and cleaned up the double posts

You get the spark when you switch the ignition off due to reasons mentioned above. I don't think it's a CDI then, but a transistorized Kettering. I don't think a CDI would give the spark at key-off. A Kettering can give you a spark at key-off.

Either way, it does sound like the electronic ignition has shorted it's output transistor.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2005/12/23 23:16

i had this exact problem..i had my coil wires crossed.(the power inlet wires)it would pop reallly loud but not start. uncrossed the coil wires and she ran fine. i hope this helps.

Yep, Shaun at Newtronic is a real stand-up guy. I wish all support people could be like him.

I didn't realize when you began to post this that it was a Newtronic system. Your "stuttering" symptoms are exactly like mine. See this link:
kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...atid,2/id,3882/#3882

I had all kinds of problems when I set it correctly, but when I set it a little "off" (see the picture in the thread above) it runs like a bat out of hell. Finding exactly how far "off" was trial-and-error....

***BTW, have you done the " WG Coil Mod "? I have found that the Newtronic ignition WILL BEHAVE ERRATICLY if it does not get proper power. I noticed a big difference after the coil mod on my twin....

Post edited by: biquetoast, at: 2005/12/24 12:22

Post edited by: biquetoast, at: 2005/12/25 18:35

What in the hell is going on? I went out today and did a "once over" to check everything. I took the spark plugs out and grounded them on the engine while I started it. There was very nice spark on both plugs. I did notice that I was still getting a spark when I turned the key off. Hmmmm...
I reinstalled them, and checked the carb. i noticed the left side had a decent size air bubble in the line so I fixed that. Then, I turned on the gas and waited a few minutes. Sprayed two 1 second squirts of starter fluid on each filter and BAM!! It fired right up and idled like new. What the hell? I can't imagine the air bubble would've been the problem because I would think that the engine should've ran at least for a few seconds with the staring fluid. I wonder if this "potential" electrical problem is something that comes and goes and I just accidentally caught it when it was temporarily working properly. Any thoughts?
Anyway, if this is some how fixed then i'd be an ass to keep the new ignition thats being delivered. I'm assuming I should send it back unless Newtronic isn't pressed about it. I guess I should test the bike for another week or two and then e-mail Shaun about returning it...IF the bike is working properly.

I'm sold on Newtronic and Shaun. Probably one of the best customer serviceman I've EVER dealt with.

Post edited by: shawntmartin, at: 2005/12/24 21:10

Post edited by: shawntmartin, at: 2005/12/24 21:11

If there's a big backfire when you kill the switch, it had to be getting fuel.

Check the power to the Newtronic module. It absolutely must be full battery voltage. Newtronics are very finicky on this issue, but at least it's not fried! You probably want to do a charging system check. Make sure you battery voltage hits a solid 14 volts when revving. Then make sure the Newtronic is getting that 14 volts.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2005/12/25 02:14

I "still" think it's a bad (intermittant) ground somewhere

Steell,
Yep, I'll check for a faulty ground. And by the way.. Where did you get your Accel coil... Z1 doesn't have it listed for my bike on their website.

Biquetoast,
Thanks for the coil mod link. I'll check that out. Eventually, I think I might just buy a new Accel since mine is almost 30 years old.

Thanks to everyone else too for their help.

Merry Christmas to you all too...

Post edited by: shawntmartin, at: 2005/12/25 10:14

Jeff does not carry Accel parts, he can get them but not being a dealer for them they cost a little more.

www.mawonline.com/default.htm

And

www.schnitzracing.com/

Both places carry them at reasonable prices, and others sell them as well. I bought mine at Dennis Kirk.

Alright...
The last time I fooled with the bike and I said it started up and ran like new...it did. But obviously that was only because the plugs where brand new. I checked the plugs today and they are disgusting black. 2 day old plugs. So the problem is not solved. Yes I'm unfamiliar with this ignition because I didn't install it and I don't have the box or installation guide anymore. So here it goes... I'm getting spark but I can't find any voltage that should be coming from the ignition box while I'm turning the engine over??..And I also want to see if there is 14 volts going into the box but I don't know which wires are supposed to be delivering this voltage. Help? I see that the box only has 4 wires. There is a thick black wire going to the engine (where the points were), a blue wire going to ground, and a yellow and white wire that should go to the coil. ((PICTURE 1)) shows the yellow and white coming from the Newtronic box and connecting to a blue and yellow that will lead up to the coil. As you can see in the pic, the only way this connection clicks into place is with the blue wire connected to the (right)yellow and the (left) yellow connecting to the white. I measured the voltage at this connection while I was starting the bike and I got 0 voltage from the yellow and white. ...by the way..the other blue wire in the right of the picture is tightly grounded to a nut/bolt on the fuse box.

Post edited by: shawntmartin, at: 2005/12/28 19:46

Picture 2 shows the continuation of the yellow and blue wire from the yellow and white connection back at the box and now you can see that the yellow and blue are connecting to the black and red of the coil. There is another yellow wire coming from somewhere behind the key/gauge cluster that joins up with the ignition boxes yellow and these two connect to the black ground of the coil. I measured voltage here and got 5 volts. I'm assuming there is some voltage coming from this other yellow wire. ??? I guess?

Ok...I'm stuck.. why is the bike running but I read no voltage on these wires?

Post edited by: shawntmartin, at: 2005/12/28 19:48

I am not familiar with the Newtronic system, but they all work the same way. 12 volts to one side of the coil, the wire from the other side of the coil goes to the ignitor (ignition box), the ignitor grounds the wire coming from the coil until it receives a signal from the ignition pickup at which time it opens (disconnect from ground) the wire coming from the coil, and the coil fires. With the key on and the motor not running, you should have ~12 volts on one side of the coil, and pretty much 0 on the other side. If you have less than 12 volts on the power side, then you have a bad connection somewhere, if you have voltage on the wire going from the coil to the ignitor, then you have a bad ground or bad ignitor.

I'm pretty sure Lou will tell you the same thing, but if he says differently then believe him, he's better than me at this stuff (I'm good but he's better)