kill switch & clutch switch

Hey Guys,
I am having a problem with my electrics and need to know how to bypass the clutch switch and the kill switch?The starter worked fine for a little while and then just quit.I bypassed the starter relay and the starter worked,so i think its one of these switches also when i pull the clutch lever the headlight becomes brighter,what gives here?Any help would be great......
The bike is a 1975 z1 900....MIKE
1975 Z1 900
1980 KZ 750
1975 CB 360
1994 FXDL 1340

there is no clutch switch until the 80s. if it starts when you bypass the starter relay then you problem is not the kill switch. does the relay click when you push the start button?

Just a thought, have you recently replaced the clutch handle? I had a problem after replacing my clutch handle and my starter wouldn't work?!
After much checking I removed the clutch handle and the bike started fine.
Turns out the part of the handle that releases the clutch switch was a hair too thick. After filing off a slight bit I replaced the handle and the starter worked fine.
BTW...As far as I know, Kawasakis all had clutch switches from (at least) 1976 onward.
Good Luck!

btchalice wrote:

there is no clutch switch until the 80s.

Eh? Care to wager?

I know for a fact that the 76-80 KZ750 twins have a switch on the clutch and the starter won't engage unless the clutch lever is squeezed, and I know the 79 and 80 KZ650's are the same way, and the 77 KZ1000 that I owned also had one.

To bypass the clutch switch, follow the two wires from the switch to where they plug in, unplug them and install a jumper in their place. On the 750 twins they connect inside the headlight housing.

I don't know if the 75 KZ900 had a clutch switch though, I have never had one of those, and all the earlier Kawasaki's I have owned didn't have an electric starter.

Post edited by: steell, at: 2007/05/06 20:58

steell wrote:

btchalice wrote:

there is no clutch switch until the 80s.

Eh? Care to wager?

I know for a fact that the 76-80 KZ750 twins have a switch on the clutch and the starter won't engage unless the clutch lever is squeezed, and I know the 79 and 80 KZ650's are the same way, and the 77 KZ1000 that I owned also had one.

To bypass the clutch switch, follow the two wires from the switch to where they plug in, unplug them and install a jumper in their place. On the 750 twins they connect inside the headlight housing.

I don't know if the 75 KZ900 had a clutch switch though, I have never had one of those, and all the earlier Kawasaki's I have owned didn't have an electric starter.<br><br>Post edited by: steell, at: 2007/05/06 20:58

77-78 kz1000 had a clutch safety switch.i usually remove the wires and switch from bar and mount the wires to a toggle switch somewhere on bike as a kill switch that way you cant start bike if switch is turned off even with key;)

i have had 2 76 900s and 78 400 with no clutch switch everything else was newer than that. i dont remember my 82 csr 750 having one on it either.

btchalice wrote:

i have had 2 76 900s and 78 400 with no clutch switch everything else was newer than that. i dont remember my 82 csr 750 having one on it either.

You mean that you could start it in gear without squeezing the clutch lever?

46094-017 HOLDER,CLUTCH LEVER

The above part number is listed for the 76 KZ900, and is also used on the 76-79 KZ750 twins, and is also used on the 78 KZ400, according to the parts diagrams at kawasaski.com. I have at least 5 of those in the garage off 750 twins, and every one has a round hole cast into it for the clutch safety switch.

Maybe kawasaki.com is wrong again, I don't know, all I can say for certain is the 750 twins, the 77 KZ1000, and 79-80 KZ650's had a clutch safety switch, because those are the only pre 1981 Kawasaki's with electric start that I have had.

And I do know that the parts diagrams at kawasaki.com have been wrong before.

btchalice is correct. There is no clutch interlock on any Z1 or KZ900 model. I have a 78 KZ1000B and there is no clutch interlock. The first KZ1000 with a clutch interlock was probably a 79 (my ST has one) but I can't swear to all the models as I just can't remember...

The way the interlock works... wire comes off igntion switch via a connector in the headlight shell. It goes to the kill switch. Can't recall wire color. Comes out of the kill switch as a black and goes over to the left clutch perch and plugs into a switch. It comes out of the switch and back to the right switch gear and to the starter button. To bypass the switch, get a piece of 18 ga wire and put a male connector on one end and female on the other (the blue crimp on type) and just plug those ends into the ends of the black wires you disconnected) and this completes the circuit that the switch would complete if the contact is made in the switch from having the clutch lever pulled.

Since the Z1B has no switch, this info is just for info... to check the starter button, take a piece of wire and touch it to the POS battery terminal. Put the other end on the solenoid where the BLACK wire is soldered on the front. This is the wire from the starter button. If the starter turns over, the button or wiring leading to the button are hosed and if the starter doesn't turn over, then the solenoid or starter are bad. You can check the starter itself by bridging the MAIN lugs on the solenoid with a piece of very heavy wire or a screwdriver if your hands are steady. Use an insulated screwdriver hehe

Thanks Alot guys....
Wiredgeorge you are right,the is no clutch wire on the1975 z1b 900. I bypassed the wire in the kill switch and still no spark from plugs so i traced the wires back under the gas tank and there was the problem in the 4 prong connector the power wire was pulled out of its holder and was only jumping power every once and awhile,so that problem is fixed but when i pull the clutch lever the headlight gets brighter,could i have a bad ground?................THANKS AGAIN ........
1975 z1b900
1980 kz750
1975 cb360
1994 fxdl1340
mike

Mike, There really isn't an electrical reason for your headlight to get brighter by pulling in your clutch lever except that the rpms may be changing a bit.

If I owned your bike, I would do a couple things to check the charging system:

1. check battery - by a cheap hydrometer at the auto parts store... it looks like an eyedropper with colored balls in the clear part. Suck in some battery fluid from each cell. If some of the balls don't float, buy a new battery; the cell has sulfated (is dead or part dead). Once you have verified the battery charge it on a low-amp trickle charger
then...

2. verify reg and rec - start bike. Put multimeter leads on the batter POS to POS and NEG TO NEG with the meter in VDC scale. You should have ~14.5 VDC at 4K rpm and ~12.5 VDC at idle. If you have these voltages, your charging system is probably OK. If you have more, the regulator needs replaced. If you have less, you may have a problem with the regulator or it may also be the stator... Check the connection of the brown wire to the regulator and clean it and lube it with dielectic grease. You can get electrical contact cleaner and dielectic grease from an auto parts store. If the problem persists, check the stator.

3. stator check. Start your bike and remove the big BLUE plug from the junction panel. You have three wires on that plug coming from the stator. On some Z1 models, these are all yellow. On some, one is yellow, one is blue and the other pink. Anyway, these are carrying the 3 AC legs from the stator. Use a multimeter in AC and check the voltage. You need to test between the three contacts on the blue plug in each possible combo... Each combo SHOULD give you about 50 VAC or thereabouts (can't recall for sure but that will be close). If you get less between any pair, then the stator or magnet are shot... will generally be the windings on the stator rather than the magnets but we can check that when/if you get this far.

wiredgeorge wrote:

btchalice is correct. There is no clutch interlock on any Z1 or KZ900 model. I have a 78 KZ1000B and there is no clutch interlock. The first KZ1000 with a clutch interlock was probably a 79 (my ST has one) but I can't swear to all the models as I just can't remember...

The way the interlock works... wire comes off igntion switch via a connector in the headlight shell. It goes to the kill switch. Can't recall wire color. Comes out of the kill switch as a black and goes over to the left clutch perch and plugs into a switch. It comes out of the switch and back to the right switch gear and to the starter button. To bypass the switch, get a piece of 18 ga wire and put a male connector on one end and female on the other (the blue crimp on type) and just plug those ends into the ends of the black wires you disconnected) and this completes the circuit that the switch would complete if the contact is made in the switch from having the clutch lever pulled.

Since the Z1B has no switch, this info is just for info... to check the starter button, take a piece of wire and touch it to the POS battery terminal. Put the other end on the solenoid where the BLACK wire is soldered on the front. This is the wire from the starter button. If the starter turns over, the button or wiring leading to the button are hosed and if the starter doesn't turn over, then the solenoid or starter are bad. You can check the starter itself by bridging the MAIN lugs on the solenoid with a piece of very heavy wire or a screwdriver if your hands are steady. Use an insulated screwdriver hehe

starter lockout safety switch 1977-1978 kz1000 pge 121-122 shop manual #99924-1006-02:whistle: