81 kz550 no start

hi guys. bought this bike for 150 bucks the other day. the p/o said he wasnt getting spark and he checked stuff all the way back and he thought it was igniter. so i bought a battery and got it charged up and hooked up to check for myself. the plugwires are ngk and look knew but the two on right side just pulled off in my hand from the coil, and i'm getting a weak spark from the outside one on the left. the plugs dont look all that great, but i've seen worse. so i'm gonna pick up some new plugs/wires, but i guess my first question is that if i'm getting a spark, even though it is a crappy one, then does that automatically rule out a bad igniter/pickup coils? should i concenttrate on wiring and coils if i still get weak spark with new plugs/wires? thanks

Ohm Checking Pickup(Pulsing) Coils

The pickup coils on the Kawasaki’s with the factory supplied electronic ignition can sometimes fail or become intermittent due to heat and vibration.

1.Trace back from where the pick up coils are mounted,(under a right side CD sized cover) locate and disconnect a small 4 pin connector. Using a multi-meter set on OHMS and range of 2K, check between the BLUE and BLACK wires(#1 and #4 sparkplug wires) for between 360- 540 OHMS.

2.For #2 and #3 sparkplugs the wire colors will be YELLOW and RED, again 360-540 OHMS.

3.If the pickup coils are suspect of failing due to heat, they can be stressed using a hair dryer without the need of the engine running.

4.A replacement set of pickup coils might be obtained from a dealer who serviced the police Kawasaki’s.

5. If replacement pickup coils are not available, your next choice would be to order a Dyna “S” electronic ignition system from www.z1enterprises.com It replaces the IC igniter with a smaller module located where the mechanical ignition advancer was mounted.

6. Checking with Kawasaki.com website has determined that the Pick up(pulsing) coils are available . The pulsing coil # is 59026-1133 and replaces the older # 1002, 1012 which were used from the MKII motors until the 2005 P24.

7.Check the small 4 pin connector that the pickup coils connect to for corrosion/loose pins too.

If the pickup coils test good, a forum member "Loudhvx" has made a replacement using off the shelf GM electronic ignition modules. He's usued this in his GPz550 for a number of years.


The ignition coils(that's the ones under the tank) were weak when new from the factory, Dyna, and Accel make good replacements. Try www.z1enterprises.com first as they carry good replacements.

Would check voltage received at coil, which ideally should equal battery voltage.

Good Fortune!

MFolks wrote:

Ohm Checking Pickup(Pulsing) Coils

The pickup coils on the Kawasaki’s with the factory supplied electronic ignition can sometimes fail or become intermittent due to heat and vibration.

1.Trace back from where the pick up coils are mounted,(under a right side CD sized cover) locate and disconnect a small 4 pin connector. Using a multi-meter set on OHMS and range of 2K, check between the BLUE and BLACK wires(#1 and #4 sparkplug wires) for between 360- 540 OHMS.

2.For #2 and #3 sparkplugs the wire colors will be YELLOW and RED, again 360-540 OHMS.

3.If the pickup coils are suspect of failing due to heat, they can be stressed using a hair dryer without the need of the engine running.

4.A replacement set of pickup coils might be obtained from a dealer who serviced the police Kawasaki’s.

5. If replacement pickup coils are not available, your next choice would be to order a Dyna “S” electronic ignition system from www.z1enterprises.com It replaces the IC igniter with a smaller module located where the mechanical ignition advancer was mounted.

6. Checking with Kawasaki.com website has determined that the Pick up(pulsing) coils are available . The pulsing coil # is 59026-1133 and replaces the older # 1002, 1012 which were used from the MKII motors until the 2005 P24.

7.Check the small 4 pin connector that the pickup coils connect to for corrosion/loose pins too.

If the pickup coils test good, a forum member "Loudhvx" has made a replacement using off the shelf GM electronic ignition modules. He's usued this in his GPz550 for a number of years.


The ignition coils(that's the ones under the tank) were weak when new from the factory, Dyna, and Accel make good replacements. Try www.z1enterprises.com first as they carry good replacements.

k, i got 413 on each of those.....how do i test the igniter?

Patton wrote:

Would check voltage received at coil, which ideally should equal battery voltage.

Good Fortune!

i get same voltage as the battery on the yellow/red wires on the outside of the coils

If the pickup coils test good, go through the many and variouselectrical connectors related to the ignition system.

Check all the fuses too, as these oder glass tubed ones can look good but may have failed internally.


Did you check the coils for correct resistance? I'd imagine at least 3 ohms for the primary side(small wires) and secondary(sparkplug wire ports)side of the coil will read between 10.4K to 15.6K ohms.


Fuse And Fuse Holder Designations

1. The older Kawasaki’s use a glass tubed fuse with the designation of AGX 1” long. Most good auto parts stores can get them for you. They are ¼” in diameter.

2. The more common AGC is 1 ¼” long and may not fit the smaller fuse clips. Again, ¼” in diameter.

3. To clean and polish the fuse clips, I use a cotton swab(Q- Tip) and some Brasso metal cleaner or Turtle Wax Chrome Polish. I suppose any good metal polish would work.

4. These fuses can fail internally but look good, only by removing them from the clip and electrically continuity checking with either a self powered test light, or a multimeter set on OHMS can they be determined to be in good shape.

5. A physical inspection of the metal end caps for tightness will tell you if the fuse is serviceable.

6. Most modern motorcycles are now using the automobile “Blade” style fuse with the designation of ATC or ATO.

7. The reduced sized “Mini” Blade style fuse holder uses the ATM size of fuses.

8. If the fuse and fuse holder overheat, it could soften or anneal the grip of the clip, it might require squeezing the clip to restore the tightness.

9. A list of where to purchase “Blade” style fuses and holders:

www.waytekwire.com order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/...20%20%20%208%20FUSE/

www.rallylights.com www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=765

www.delcity.net www.delcity.net/cartviewitem?item=73805&search=y

10. A source for the glass tubed AGX fuses:
www.boatownerswarehouse.com/browse.cfm/2,4986.html

k, sorry for the stupid questions, but i ordered manual not here yet. when you say primary/secondary?? sittin on the seat i have left coil--outside=yellow/red stripe & inside=green, right coil--outside=yellow/red stripe &
inside=green.....and of course the two plug wire ends on each coil, so the dumb(no manual) question is where to stick the probes for the primary/ secondary wires u talk about, and, since igniter is between pickups and coils, shouldnt i check it too? thanks for info so far!!

Voltage to both coils matching battery voltage is good.

Would first proceed with replacing the plug wires (before worrying about the igniter or pickups).

If not already done, do assure integrity of the ground wire (black/yellow) connection from the igniter.

Good Fortune!

When doing an ohm check with a multimer, the other wires need to be disconnected to avoid affecting the readings.

The primary side is where the colored wires are going, the secondary side is where the sparkplug wires go.

Some Kawasaki models have sparkplug wires that unscrew from the coils(usually held in with ridged covers), others may be molded to the coils.

Another place to look will be the sparkplug caps(the angeled caps that snap onto the sparkplugs) as they can go bad from heat and vibration.

www.z1enterprises.com sells new sparkplug caps,wires and ignition coils.

ground wire check was ok.....got some new plugs but gotta order some plugwires....no where round here to get. what size wires do i need to get? had 8mm on it but looks like p/o had to strip outside plastic off to fit it in the whole??

thanks for coil info hadnt had chance to do it yet tho...maybe n the morning

bigbeardan wrote:

ground wire check was ok.....got some new plugs but gotta order some plugwires....no where round here to get. what size wires do i need to get? had 8mm on it but looks like p/o had to strip outside plastic off to fit it in the whole??

thanks for coil info hadnt had chance to do it yet tho...maybe n the morning

Click > www.z1enterprises.com/SearchResult.aspx?...spark%20plug%20wires

Would opt for solid core.

Good Fortune!

oh yeah....a lil walk around vid i did before i done anything to bike....ima try to embed lol, lets c if it works....nope, we try link then