New harness?

Hi all, been a while since I've posted here. But that's just because my bike has been running perfectly, until now.
Last night she quit on me when I hit a bump. But she started right back up. Then she quit again. Lights still worked, but obviously I had a primary ignition wire problem. Took the tank off, started her up and started fiddling with the coil wires. When I moved one of them, she quit again. So, I've figured out where my open is. Just gotta fix it now.
But it occurs to me, that this can't be the only wire that is degrading.
Does anybody make an entire replacement harness for the KZ1000LTD?

I'm thinking that Americanclassix.com carries repro harnesses for the KZ1000A1/A2 and the KZ1000D1/D3... those should be awful close to what you have.

Thanks Mcdroid, I'll check 'em out.

Mcdroid wrote:

I'm thinking that Americanclassix.com carries repro harnesses for the KZ1000A1/A2 and the KZ1000D1/D3... those should be awful close to what you have.

I think the D1/D3 harness is closer to what you need, as far as the 7 pin ignition switch connector.

The A1/A2 will work, but will have to change to the 6 pin ignition switch, which is what I did. I modified the indicator and other electrical components slight, but the results were good.

Good luck

Con't say where to get a harness, but I can confirm, there will be other bad spots in the harness. I've disassmbled a couple dozen harness, and some are so bad under the wrapping it's amazing the bikes still ran.

They usually are the worst near the head tube and headlight, and any other areas where the wires move or come into contact with moving parts.

Wow, 350 bucks is kinda hard to take, but since this is my sweetheart, I think shes worth it.
OTOH, maybe if I scored a used harness off of ebay, then bought all new wires and connectors, maybe I can make a brand new one copying the one I bought. Don't particularly want to remove my existing harness to copy it. Too much down time.
But if I build one, it'll be a good one.
Anybody know how many different colors and wire gauges I need? Guess I should also invest in a wiring diagram too.

Go to filebase under the KZ information tab, and compare both 1978 KZ 1000a to the 1980 KZ1000a. Very similar.

riverroad wrote:

Anybody know how many different colors and wire gauges I need? Guess I should also invest in a wiring diagram too.

The colossal problem is that the B1/2/3/4 wiring diagrams were all originally printed in B&W by Kawasaki and are difficult to read. I have tried to post pdfs on this site for the LTD's but my scanner is apparently too crappy to give a high resolution pdf.

As for wire gauges I'd use 12 gauge for most of the high current supply lines(like the WHITE with RED stripe ones).

14 gauge for the alternator output wiring lines, and 16 gauge for most of the rest.If you have a low current need, maybe dropping down to 18 gauge would work.

The higher current cables/wires on the battery to starter solenoid should be a minimum of 8 gauge with 6 gauge being my choice. Don't forget the cable/wire going to the starter motor as it should be the same size as the one from the battery to the solenoid.

Some wiring supply websites:

www.mcmelectronics.com
Tena Auto Ranging Multimeter
72-7750

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PART # WIRE GAUGE COLOR PACK QTY PRICE
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NSPA-KS5-16 18-20 AWG RED 50 $13.49
NSPA-KS5-14 14-16 AWG BLUE 50 $13.82
NSPA-KS5-10 10-12 AWG YELLOW 50 $16.48
NSPA-KS5-08 8 AWG PINK 50 $43.52

More electrical supply places to look:

www.easternbeaver.com
www.vintageconnections.com
www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu
www.electricalconnection.com
www.electricalconnection.com/electrical-components/hitachi.htm
www.terminalsupplyco.com
www.terminaltown.com
www.electerm.com
www.wiringproducts.com
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk
www.painlessperformance.com

12 is a little overkill in my opinion. It's so hard to work with and I don't think I've come across a place where I use that much current. 14 covers most heavy current for me, except for the starter circuit. I use 3 16's on the output from the stator, then 14 for the rest of the charging system to the battery.

I'm not saying not to use 12, obviously, since heavier is better, but over the years, wiring many bikes from scratch, I've moved away from the 12... too much frustration and not enough benefit.

Wow! Thanks for all that MFolks.
So do you guys even bother with color coded wiring? Or do you just go by whats connected to what.

Been a long time since I studied up on voltage drops, DC circuits and E= I X R's. But I do know to use the heaviest wiring I can get away with on any given circuit.
I also have access to lots of aircraft type shrink tubing and self adhesive wrap.

Anyway, got home this afternoon and took the tank off again to try to find the open in the wire. Turns out it wasn't open at all. I was pulling on one wire last night in the dark, and when that killed my motor, I assumed that was the wire. Well today I discovered that the wire I was pulling on goes to my lights or signals (L/H control), and when I'd pull on it, it was in turn pulling on another (yellow) wire, which turned out to have a loose connector. All I had to do was plug the damned thing back in.

So, for now I'm holding off on building another harness. Could be a great winter project though.

Thanks a lot guys!

I generally use my own color codes, but mine are loosely based on Kawasaki's. Generally, I only find red, black, white, blue, green, yellow, and purple sometimes orange and sometimes gray. I can usually make do with those colors, but some colors have double duty (as they do in the Kawasaki color scheme too.)