Electrical Newbie

Just finished the reassembly of my engine, carbs, etc and put the new battery and wiring harness in. I turned the key to the on position, put the kill switch in the run position and pushed the start button.......what happened??

- The instrument lights that were once on were lit not longer.

- Bike did not start, click, or turnover.

What I tried?

- Replaced the fuse and could not restore lights or get bike to turn over.
- put a jumper on the solenoid to test starter "Worked"
- Tested for voltage at the solder on the back of ignition switch = 12+ volts....

Any ideas on which wires exactly I should go after? I am very new at troubleshooting electrical???

try checking your solenoid and you starter button.

without sounding like a jerk.... could you be specific on your suggestion of the check methods?

You can find a wiring diagram in the KZ Information Filebas here, and that should do it.

Trace every line and make sure that you have connected everything to where its supposed to be.

Dont forget to pull in clutch (some models have a lockout switch).

Good luck.

calvin17d wrote:

without sounding like a jerk.... could you be specific on your suggestion of the check methods?

What a jerk... :laugh: Just kididng.

You can check with a voltmeter. Connect the negative lead to - terminal on battery and just touch the + lead to connections where you want to see if power is flowing.

Make sure you have connected your grounds properly to engine and frame - EXACTLY the way you see in the diagram.

honestly, I'd start by wiggling the starter button! unplug the little wires to the solenoid and run 12volts to it to see if you can activate the solenoid directly?

Frankn9 wrote:

honestly, I'd start by wiggling the starter button! unplug the little wires to the solenoid and run 12volts to it to see if you can activate the solenoid directly?

He already said he did this, no?

its late, and I'm still trying to figure out that sec.gear insurance post??? sorry

Frankn9 wrote:

its late, and I'm still trying to figure out that sec.gear insurance post??? sorry

:laugh:

he said he jumped across the solenoid I'm saying activate the solenoid it's self. not just touch the two posts together.

With a volt meter set for resistance measurements.
Insure both frame and engine is properly grounded

* Black meter probe on battery ground.
* Red probe on engine/bare metal frame.

With a volt meter set for Vdc measurements.
NOTE: AS you go through your cable harness, connections, measurements, you may want to turn your ignition switch on and off until ready to measure so as to not drain the battery.

* Measure battery voltage, if charged, should be ~ 12-12.5Vdc. (I'll just use +12Vdc for discussion)...
* From Battery (+) terminal follow conductor to fuse, measure for ~ +12Vdc (Battery voltage) on both sides of fuse holder.
* Follow conductor all the way through to ignition switch, for +12Vdc.
* Turn ignition switch to on position.
* Measure for 12Vdc on Brown conductor. If missing, or under -1Vdc off battery voltage then faulty ignition switch. You can try cleaning contacts but for $20, get a new one @ Z1.
* Follow brown conductor through the harness connection... Good spot for oxidized connector pins, clean pins with Emory cloth...

* With the emergency stop switch in the on position, you should now have 12Vdc on the orange conductor that feed your coils and starter button.

* The starter button switch, press and switch 12Vdc to the starter solenoid...

I think you get how this works... good luck...

OMR

Frankn9 wrote:

he said he jumped across the solenoid I'm saying activate the solenoid it's self. not just touch the two posts together.

This was an excellent idea that I will remember as a means for troubleshooting, thanks! The problem was within my right switchblock. The circuit board for the starter button was not sitting in the correct position.

I gave it a quick tap to verify that it was working after correctly positioning it and "Vroom!!" she made half a crank then I decided it may be wise to get the proper fuses and maybe some fuel in the carbs before continuing to crank!!!!