Electrical problem on non-running 750 Twin

Hello folks! My name is Mark, in Hamilton, Ohio. Been reading through the Forums for a while but this is my first post.

I recently got a really nice 1977 KZ750B that does not start or run. Put a new battery in it. I've got working turn signals, brake lights and dash lights, but no horn, no headlight, and no electric starter. The fuse box was converted some time in the past to 3 blade-type fuses. None of these are blown. Is there somewhere obvious that I need to look. Been trying to start it with the kicker but no joy there either.

All help gratefully accepted.

Remove the gas tank and check the input voltage at the ignition coil. Put the RED probe of the multimeter(set on D.C. volts 50 volt range) on the RED wire.Put the BLACK probe on a good frame ground or the Negative(-) battery post.

If no voltage is read, start checking back at the run/stop switch on the right handlebar and the ignition switch.

It's not uncommon for ignition switches to get dirty/wear out.

Thanks! I will not be able to work on it for a few days but I will let you how it goes.

Mark

Does your bike have points or electronic ignition? I'm not sure when Kawasaki started using electronic ignition in the bikes in the place of points.

If electronic ignition, you might have what is called an IC Igniter(it actually gives the coil it's ground to fire the sparkplugs). The member "Loudhvx" has designed and is using a replacement for the ic igniter using off the shelf GM electronic modules. Look here:
home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/Ignition/GPZgmHEImod.html

You'll have to look to find it, but he also designed a circuit for the twin engined Kawasaki's using one GM module.

I did get a few hours to work on the KZ.

MFolks, your advice was right on about the switchgear. There was so much crap in the right one that I pulled it off the bike and disassembled it so I could run an emery cloth and contact cleaner over everything. The internals of the kill switch were broken into pieces, which by itself could have led to the bike not starting, even with the kicker.

What are the chances of finding another kill switch?

Can I reassemble the switchgear without the kill switch to keep the work going? Would I just jumper across those 2 wires to eliminate the kill switch temporarily so I can try to start the bike?

Also, my bike has points.

Thanks again!

Mark

www.redlinecycle.com and maybe www.sudco.com might have the switch assemblies.

www.johnnysvintagemotorcycle.com/ might have some parts too.

Another source is www.reproductiondecals.com

I fixed my switches!! (Found on the www.kzrider.com website)
This is a sort-of "How-To" for those who might be interested.

On my '80 KZ550c that I have been working on, one of the problems was that the left side switch pod on the handle bars was shot. The horn button did not work and the blinker switch was frozen. Not wanting to have to promise my first born to Kawasaki for a new one, I decided to go to ebay. I found one off of a 1982 KZ550 and figured that would b a direct replacement. Wrong. The 82 apparently had different switches as the wirng harness plugs were different and there was even an extra switch on the pod that the '80 did not have. After realizing my defeat, I decided to look at the old switch and see if there was anything I could do (what the heck, it was dead anyway. What’s the worse that I could do?)

Opening up the pod, it was obvious that there was rust and bugs' nests that were clogging up the works. The bug stuff was easy to clean out, it was the rust that concerned me. I carefully pulled the blinker switch out of the housing and looked it over. It appeared to just be rusted in place. I carefully pried the side open and removed the switch slider and the front contact plate. Then it was dremel time. With a small wire brush attachment, carefully cleaned up all the electrical contacts and the back housing the best I could. I then cleaned the whole thing off with contact cleaner and put a small amount of grease on the back of the slider. I carefully put it all back together and put al the screws and level back in place and WA-LA!!! It worked like it was a brand new switch!

The horn button was a little different since there was a rivet holding that together rather then just being pressed together like the blinker switch. But, it was the same basic process. I carefully pulled everything apart and cleaned it all up with the wire brush on the dremel and then put it all back together again and I have a horn once again as well. I realize now that I should have taken pictures of the process, but alas, I did not.

Well, I hope this was helpful to at least someone. Incidently, if anyones looking for a set of handlebar control switched of an '82 KZ550, I have them for sale on ebay:

According to the wiring diagram, you just need to jumper the solid brown wire (not brown/white) to the yellow/green wire. That will bypass the kill switch and allow you to use the starter buton and light switch. You will use the ignition key switch to kill the bike.

Thanks for the info. on sources for parts. I have a manual for it now, although the wiring diagram included is pretty shabby. Aside from the bug-infested, corroded switches, the rest of the wiring looks amazingly intact. I will tackle the left side switches tomorrow and hopefully take another whack at getting it to start.