So, Here's The Problem, Any Thoughts/Experiences?

yeah replaced the R/R and thought i was good the voltage did not go up as high as i thought it should, went out for a ride my buddy lost a tail light right in front of me we stopped to search to no avail and then i had to popstart the SOB and turn for home immediatley, obviously the problem is not resolved so frustrated the bike is so amazing when it is running cant wait to get some more fundage to probably replace the stator next. i do have a new alternator gasket and gromet but kinda a dillema because if i go investigating the stator and find a bad connection inside the case that would be sweet but if not i need to buy another gasket and save up for the stator and do it all over again, good news is before this i had no idea how all the components of the charging system worked and now i think i will be well versed in the area but cant i just ride.

The engine sprocket cover has no gasket, so inspect the wiring from the alternator stator for insulation damage and corrosion on the three bullet connectors.

While you've got the cover off, clean and re-lube the clutch throw out mechanism and use some solvent to clean the clutch rod(I like using paint thinner)as it accumulates chain lube.

Some high temperature grease will work for the clutch mechanism.

hocbj23 wrote:

so did u replace the r/r and fix the problem? Or is bike still acting weird?bj

I'm getting a new Reg/Rect unit tomorrow.
Will let you all know the results.

thanks man if the rain is halted i am deffinatley going to do that as soon as i get home just wondering though since i did get what i thought was an acceptable reading from all three yellow wires at the plug in to the RR it seems if i had a bad connection or a short than the readings would have not been acceptable,someone also told me that the problem could lie in my starter button switch, there seems to be no problem with this mechanism, if there is enough juice she fires right up usually with the slightest turn of the starter

Alternator Testing For the Older 4’s(Z1’s,Kz 900’s, Kz1000’s,Kz1100’s and GPz1100’s).

To check to see if the alternator is working you need to follow these simple steps:

1. Fully charge the battery as this will be the power source during this test.

2. Disconnect the Regulator/Rectifier at the plug that has the six wires in it.

3. Start the engine and let it warm to operating temperature.

4. If you're worried about overheating, position a large fan for cooling the engine.

5. After the engine has reached operating temperature, have a helper assist you, and using a multi-meter, read the output at the three yellow wires (or the alternator output wires)at the disconnected connector.

6. Raise the engine speed to 4000 rpm, and see what the three YELLOW wire combinations(or any alternator output wires) are(1-3,2-3 & 1-2). The output will be around 50 Volts A.C.(Alternating Current). BE CAREFUL, AS THERE IS A SHOCK HAZARD HERE!!

7. If any of the combinations are low or non-existent, the stator(wire windings) are bad and must be replaced.
Some of the older Z1’s and KZ900’s were phase sensitive, so check the wire colors carefully.

8. Using an OHMETER, Check the three wire combinations again, looking for a reading of 0.36 - 0.54 OHMS. If the readings are above or below, the stator may be bad and need replacement

9. Before ordering a new stator, check the connections from the stator as there are electrical "Bullet" connectors that may be damaged or dirty.
Inspect the wiring for signs of shorting or overheating too. www.z1enterprises.com sells replacement rubber grommets for the alternator output wiring, they get hard and could leak oil after a while.

10. Check the wiring coming out of the grommet as there have been situations where the wires were damaged causing a short(I.E. twisted together with insulation damage).

11. The sprocket cover will have to be removed to access the electrical connectors coming from the alternator, the left foot peg assembly and shifting lever will have to come off also.

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Alternator Stator Replacement On the Older 4’s
Source for replacement Stators
A. www.electrosport.com (They have a trouble shooting page)
B. www.customrewind.com
C. www.rmstator.com
D. www.ricksmotorsportselectrics.com
E. www.regulatorrectifier.com

1. If by testing either by checking the output voltage from the stator or by using and ohmmeter for resistance and the stator is determined to be bad, replacing the stator is not a difficult job.

2. The motorcycle owner should have on hand a replacement alternator gasket as it will tear on removal and leak if reused.

3. Put the bike on the center stand if possible and lean it to the right to minimize the oil volume that could come out when the alternator cover is removed.

4. Have selection of Metric wrenches and sockets along with Metric Allen keys to be able to accomplish this repair. ¼" and 3/8" ratchets and extensions may be needed along with Allen bits.

5. Remove the gear shift lever, the sprocket cover and possibly the left foot peg assembly.

6. A catch pan for what little oil will be lost should be positioned under the alternator on the left side. Newspapers will soak up any oil lost or some kitty litter will do as an absorbent.

7. Remove the alternator cover fasteners, some bikes use a socket head cap screw(Allen type) and others use the Phillips head type, the #3 screwdriver bit fits best for those. Use a small dish or can to collect the removed fasteners from the parts to prevent loss/damage.

8. The alternator stator is secured to the inside of the cover usually with three Allen headed bolts, Some bikes may have Torx style fasteners, Remove them and disconnect the three yellow wires that have bullet connectors on them from the bundled wires inside the sprocket cover.

9. If your bike has some color other than yellow for the alternator output wires, make note of what goes where as the older Kawasaki’s were phase sensitive in regard to the regulator/rectifiers.

10. When installing the replacement stator, clock or position the output wires and grommet so they fit into the small port under the alternator cover without being pinched or damaged.

11. Tighten the three Allen or Torx fasteners, securing the replacement stator to the cover. I like using the BLUE Loctite # 242 for hardware that can be removed with hand tools.

12. Remove the old gasket from the mating surfaces of the alternator cover and engine case by scraping with a piece of sharpened plastic like Lexan or Plexi-glass as these will not gouge the soft Aluminum
Cases. Avoid using a metal gasket scraper for this.

13. Position the alternator cover, checking for pinched wiring and install the fasteners with a little silver anti-seize on the threads, tightening to the correct torque.

14. Connect up the output wires to the mating female bullet connectors and while you’re in there, check the routing of the wire bundle that runs through there.

15. Inspect for signs of heat damage to the wire insulation and vibration damage too.

16. The side stand switch, neutral switch, and oil pressure switch wiring are all bundled with the alternator output wiring running above and behind the engine output sprocket. This bundle runs in a channel as it goes up toward the various electrical connections.

17. The regulator/rectifier plug on the 80’s bikes usually has six wires in it:

A. One (1)WHITE with RED stripe, this is the bikes main power wire usually 12 gauge in size.

B. One(1) smaller Brown wire, probably 18 gauge or so, the voltage sense wire for the regulator/rectifier, helps keeping it from overcharging the battery.

C. One(1) BLACK with YELLOW stripe wire, part of the ground circuits, maybe 16 gauge in size.

D. Three(3) YELLOW wires, maybe 14 gauge in size, the alternator output wires going to the regulator/rectifier which converts the Alternating Current(A.C.) to Direct Current(D.C.) using rectification, producing the power to run the motorcycle and charge the battery.

18. Reinstall the sprocket cover, again checking for pinched wires before tightening. Install the shifter on it’s splined shaft checking for proper location, and the left side foot peg assembly.

19. Except for the minor oil spill and reluctant fasteners, it’s not a very difficult job to do.If the fasteners are corroded/stuck, some PB Blaster or Kroil should loosen them up.

20.When re-assembling, some silver anti-seize on the first few threads will make this work much easier in the future.

Made the beautiful trek down to Z1 Enterprises today.
Got myself a shiney new Rect/Reg unit, going on bike tomorrow.

Jeff was most hospitable as usual. Plus I got a couple free goodies!

I love that place!

i went in the front sprocket case today, obviously this issue has been hampering this bike for a while, the guy who owned it before me (died thats how i got it) had been in the case and made some horrible connections where the original bullet connectors were, i was sure now i had the issue right in front of me and that i had wasted money on the new RR. fixed the connections to all three yellow wire one at a time to avoid crossing them. very happy with the new connections wrapped them up tight and rode the bike for a while using signals and horn to draw on the system and the signals were still strong at the end of the ride. I came home shut it off grabbed my father and the multimeter and tested it again thinking i was going to get that 13 to 14.5 reading, NO SUCH LUCK. . earlier today with the bad connections i drove the bike about 20 miles to get it inspected, only chance i had this week. so now after drawing the battery down probably at least 4-5 times i'm wondering if i did fix the problem and now the battery is shot. My father works at napa and i will have it tested under load tomorrow. if the battery is still good i am thinking that the only possibility is the stator, my father says that the starter could be drawing too much. Every time i think this is resolved i'm back to square one. The bike starts up with a touch of the start button and rides like a dream until the charge becomes to low, i actually did my first wheelie on a 500 lb. bike today . My question is is that if the battery test says its good is the only other possibility the stator, if anyone can tell me please help.

by the way i hear alot of you guys talking about going to Z1 enterprises instead of ordering online or over the phone. i too live only about 45 min away, is there a KZ club in the syracuse or central new york area? if so i would deffinately consider joining:)

now i'm down to the stator i want to test the three wires using a muli meter. you say to test them in combinations such as 1&3 2&3 and 1&2 call me dumb but for instance on the wires 1&3 test you are saying to put the possitive or red lead from the multimeter on the 1st yellow wire connector at the RR plug obviously on the engine side, and the negative on the wire number 3 connection.following the pattern given in the test (2&3,1&2) I am new to the electrical testing side of mechanics and am weary of putting both + and - on "hot" wires coming from the engine. if the stator is not the problem i dont want to make it a problem. Just looking on some conformation on this. When i tested the i put the positive side on the 1st yellow wire and the neg on a good ground contact, following this sequence the charge seemed to be in the .36 to .54 range as stated in the test for all three wires as you see i still have an issue replaced the RR and found what i thought was a bad connection and still same problem. The battery will be load tested again tomorrow since i have run it down several times in all of this(and riding since the charge was not too high and the bike runs great for about 80-120 miles depending on how many times i start it) since replacing the RR and recieving a conformation on the status of the battery if all else is good it seems i have two ways to rule that the stator is the problem

nedrowjoe, read the excellent post by MFolks at the top of this page for info on testing the stator.

When it comes to the meter your using, either wire is hot or not. Set meter to AC 100 Volts or higher.
Bike running.
Connect both meter leads to the stator output wires, in any combination. At 4000rpm, you should be getting around 50+ Volts AC, on all three wire combinations.

Bike off.
Set the meter to ohms.
Connect one meter lead to stator output wire, and other lead to ground. The meter should do nothing at all for all three stator wires to ground.
If it reads any number, including 0, the stator is bad.

MAKE SURE YOUR RECT/REG UNIT HAS AN EXCELLENT PATH TO GROUND.

GL.

thanks alot very helpful this clears up all the questions i have with the test. I know i'm a "newbie" but i am very interested in understanding every system that encompasses a motorcycle and hope to be able to work on any bike like i'm sure u guys can again much appreciated, it just so happens for me to run the bike with piece of mind i need to know that everything is in working order:cheer:

When testing your alternators output, there is no polarity as it is changing as the rotor(the magnetic part of the alternator) spins around the wire windings(the stator).

At 4000 rpm the output might be 50 volts and a possible shock hazard, so have a friend help, either by doing the reading with the multimeter or running the throttle.

Have the multimeter set on A.C., range of 100 or 200(some meters don't have a good low A.C. range)The range is the limit to be measured, so don't worry if it reads low.

Another thought, is again some digital multimeters are affected by magnetic fields(you have some spinning magnets on the rotor nearby, so if the meter acts up, get an analog multimeter, the kind with the pointer and different A.C. and D.C. scales as they are not prone to act like the digital ones do).