79 KZ650 Loss of Power, Engine Quits
- PGS
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Current Stable:
My Bike: 2012 K1600GTL
Wife's Bike: 1979 KZ650
Teaching Bike: 1980 Honda CM200T
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- martin_csr
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Another possibility is the battery. Use a good battery charger & make sure the battery holds a charge. After charging it should have at least 12.6 volts. I use a Ctek US 0.8 charger & test the battery w a VC97 digital multimeter.
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- PGS
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martin_csr wrote: A simple test for the coils is to ride the bike at highway speeds, then stop & feel them to see if they are getting hot to the touch.
I would happily try that if I could get the bike to run that long!
The battery is new this season - I'll check the voltage though.
Thanks Martin.
Current Stable:
My Bike: 2012 K1600GTL
Wife's Bike: 1979 KZ650
Teaching Bike: 1980 Honda CM200T
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- Patton
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Good Fortune!
1973 Z1
KZ900 LTD
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- PGS
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Current Stable:
My Bike: 2012 K1600GTL
Wife's Bike: 1979 KZ650
Teaching Bike: 1980 Honda CM200T
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- Patton
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With fuel tank cap closed, does fuel drain freely and continuously from the petcock into a catch pan?
Does opening the cap make any difference in volume of flow through the petcock into the catch pan?
Good Fortune!
1973 Z1
KZ900 LTD
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- bountyhunter
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If it is the coil(s), they will bench test OK and you will keep chasing your tail. Bad coils start arcing down after the coil gets hot and so bench testing won't catch it. You also won't have a HIPOT tester that can put enough high voltage on the windings to see the breakdown point.PGS wrote: I have not tested the coils as suggested in that thread. I will do that the next time the tank is off but it seems like a long shot to me..
30 year old coils need to get punted.
1979 KZ-750 Twin
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- BigFreakD
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bountyhunter wrote:
If it is the coil(s), they will bench test OK and you will keep chasing your tail. Bad coils start arcing down after the coil gets hot and so bench testing won't catch it. You also won't have a HIPOT tester that can put enough high voltage on the windings to see the breakdown point.PGS wrote: I have not tested the coils as suggested in that thread. I will do that the next time the tank is off but it seems like a long shot to me..
30 year old coils need to get punted.
Treat people with respect, until they prove they shouldn't be.
2013 Yamaha FZ6R (Wife's current bike)
1981 KZ750 (Finishing up Cafe Racer)
1979 KZ1000J (Waiting on restore)
1982 KZ1000J (Being restored to sell)
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- Z1Driver
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It never hurts to check the carb bowls for gunk. If there was gunk in the tank, I bet there is gunk in the bowls.
Regards, Z1 driver.....
Blue 1975 Z1B
Red 2009 Concours 14
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- PGS
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Regarding the fuel filter, these symptoms appeared before I replaced the filter & lines - that was the reason I started replacing things.
It looks like I am down to replacing the ignition coils and cleaning the carbs.
Thanks to all for the continued help with this.
Current Stable:
My Bike: 2012 K1600GTL
Wife's Bike: 1979 KZ650
Teaching Bike: 1980 Honda CM200T
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- PGS
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Current Stable:
My Bike: 2012 K1600GTL
Wife's Bike: 1979 KZ650
Teaching Bike: 1980 Honda CM200T
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- BigFreakD
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I think the engine is almost exactly the same on the C3 so these coils should work for whatever 79 KZ650 you have.
PGS wrote: Can anyone tell me where I might get ignition coils for this bike? I have looked at a few web sites and I see "out-of-stock", "obsolete", and such.
Treat people with respect, until they prove they shouldn't be.
2013 Yamaha FZ6R (Wife's current bike)
1981 KZ750 (Finishing up Cafe Racer)
1979 KZ1000J (Waiting on restore)
1982 KZ1000J (Being restored to sell)
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