Electrical Questions...

Thanks, Wireman. I shoulda been more specific with my question: anybody know if the Radio Shack connectors will fit the KZ connectors, or if they'll fit in the KZ400's connector holder?

Thanks,
-Kit

can you salvage the kawasaki connector and solder wires back together ?:whistle:

Your resent findings conflict with this earlier post:
KitNYC wrote:

Bt: Thanks for the tip. I'll keep them in mind if I ever have $ again.

Lou: Hey, I was hoping to hear from you on this! Getting .4-.5 VDC when 14 was the threshold seemed pretty fishy to me as well.

I was tearing my place apart trying to find the multimeter I usually keep in my backpack. I finally found it at the bottom of a box of unrelated stuff, put it down somewhere, picked it up from the table next to the couch, then went outside to do the tests. Sat on the bike, & realized that I had 1 multimeter in my hand & 1 in my back pocket. At this point, I don't remember if I double-checked the resistance readings off the stator with both or not, but I know I read voltage off the white wire with both meters & they agreed. The black rectifier that was on there when I got it was around .44 VDC & the grey one I swapped in was around .5 VDC.

For the tests, I basically followed the Clymer. The Clymer mentions some stuff under the left cover that's not there, but there's stuff under the right cover that fits the description.

First test, I disconnected the 6-pin connector under the right side cover & the 9-pin connector in the headlight, then disconnected the white wire from the rectifier where it plugs into the battery +. I then pulled green & brown wires from the regulator & stuck a thin piece of metal between the connectors on both wires & started the engine. I connected the + lead from the multimeter to the white wire coming off the rectifier & touched the - lead of the multimeter to about 73 different parts of the frame, assuming that the extremely low reading was due to a bad ground. Bad ground gave a reading very near zero, good ground gave a reading between .4-.5 volts. Lacking access to 1-ohm, 200-watt variable resistor, I skipped the rest of that test & proceeded to check resistance between the yellow wires coming from the alternator.

Did I just do the test wrong?

Any idea whether the '74 stator would work?

I'd hate to see me spend any unnecessary $$$$$$ either.

Thanks,
-Kit

What did you do differently this time? Is it just that you only tried to use the frame as ground instead of the battery on the first test?

Is it possible you were measuring AC volts this time?

If your rectifier is putting out 39 volts DC at idle (which is pretty damn good), the next step is to put a load on that white wire.

Connect a load (50 to 100 watt bulb as described earlier) from the white wire to battery ground. If it lights up a 50 or 100 watt (12v) bulb brightly then you know the alternator and rectifier are good to an extent (about 5 to 10 amps). Put a voltmeter on the load while the bike is running. If you are using a 50 watt bulb, you should be able to get 15 volts DC easily. If it goes over 15 volts, don't rev any higher.

This means your stator and rectifier are functional. That doesn't necessarily mean it's 100%, as you have 3 phases. One bad phase in the rectifier or stator may still produce a positive result on this test.

The next step is to load test it on the bike. Connect the white wire to the battery and run the engine. This time be VERY careful to monitor the battery voltage. DO NOT let it go above 15 volts. If it goes above 15 volts at idle, shut if off immediately. If not, rev the engine. It should climb to 15 volts in a few seconds of revving at 3000 to 4000 RPM. If the battery was close to dead, it may take close to a minute, but more like 30 seconds.

If you get 15 volts, the next step would be to check the regulator.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/04/08 09:48

loudhvx wrote:

Your resent findings conflict with this earlier post:
<...>
What did you do differently this time? Is it just that you only tried to use the frame as ground instead of the battery on the first test?

Is it possible you were measuring AC volts this time?
<...>

You are correct, the results are contradictory. The differences are that in the first test, I used the frame as ground & I had disconnected the 6-pin connector under the reg & rect & the 9-pin connector in the headlight shell.

I was sure I was measuring DC & not AC 'til I saw your question. I'll double-check & run the other tests on Sunday.

Thanks,
-Kit

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out why the clymer wanted those connectors pulled apart for those tests. I assumed it was to protect the small bulbs in the bike from blowing up in case the voltage went too high, but I'm not sure why it would have given you that earlier result, unless you pulled the 6p connector (with only 3 wires in it) between the stator and rectifier. On my diagram, it shows 3 different 6p connectors. They probably wanted you to pull apart one for the lights and not the rectifier/stator one. The 9p was for the gauges.

BTW, just to make sure, we are talking about the D3 model ? That's the one with electric start and larger battery. (Dual exhaust and front disk brake also.)

Or is it the S2 (no estart, single muffler, and drum-only)?

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/04/08 10:08

Huh. I never realized the S model had a factory 2->1. But yes, mine is a 1976 KZ400 D3 with electric start, front disk, MB12A-A battery, & Mac 2->1 that desperately needs a repaint.

There are 2 connectors directly beneath the regulator & rectifier on this bike. One is a 6-pin with 4 wires, the other is a 4-pin with the 3 stator wires in it. I only puled the stator/rectifier connector to check stator resistance & voltage, not for the other tests.

No testing today, I'm not a big fan of working on electrical stuff in the rain...

-Kit

Aaaargh!

Went out to do more work today, but didn't accomplish much due to the battery being run down. It's back on the charger, hopefully tomorrow...

-Kit

Sorry for abandoning this thread, but other problems took on a greater urgency & I think my electrical problem has been revealed. Since I have nothing else preventing me from cleaning my aparment, I thought I would put some closure to this thread...

Lou, that weird test light is a 99-cent outlet tester from the hardware store.

As far as my charging problems, they seem to be gone for the moment. My working theory is this: riding the bike a mile or two on local streets doesn't generate enough power to charge the battery back up after starting it a few times. Feel free to let me know if this isn't plausible, but I think the bottom line is that I just haven't been riding it enough to keep it charged.

Cheers,
-Kit

So when everything is hooked up and running, can you get close to 14 volts on the battery while it's revving?

If so, then I agree with your assumption about stop and go traffic. That is how it is with my friend's KZ 400 also. He doesn't really care since his bike is kickstart-only anyway. His battery's been close to dead for a year, but the bike runs and starts just fine.

Kit,
My KZ900 won't charge the battery if I ride with the head lite on. If you using the electric start and riding a mile or six you're headed in the downward direction. NYC+Headlite use+ minimal distance trips= dead battery.

How about bringing the bike up into your apt?

Next choice, Battery tender.

Best luck

Bill

Lou: As the bike is revved, voltage at the battery tops out around 15VDC before heading back to ~13.8.

Bill: The bike smokes a bit from the exhaust, so I don't think my neighbors would be happy if I brought it inside. Plus, the stairs would be a bit of a pain...

Cheers,
-Kit

KitNYC wrote:

Lou: As the bike is revved, voltage at the battery tops out around 15VDC before heading back to ~13.8.

That sounds normal for that bike. The reg/rec swap maybe did the trick.

My friend's bike kick starts with the battery so dead that none of lights are even visible, but we went over his carbs with a magnifying glass. You should be able to kick start with a weak battery, but the carbs tune has to be very good because the spark will be very weak.

A new battery will hold a charge much longer than a weak one, so a new battery would be a good idea if you don't already have one.

Good luck!

Has your girlfriend seen your avatar?