Electrical Newbie

Old Man Rock wrote:

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

OMR!

I must say, that this is the kind of advice I hope to find when joining these technical forums. Very thoughtfully spelled out, with no assumptions made as to my knowledge of wiring. Very helpful on checking the ignition switch which my clymer does not cover. Does FSM have specifics such as this? Although the engine did turn over, i did see a drop across the brown solder joint on the ignition when switched to on?

Before you completely disassemble the electrical system try it again but pull in the clutch lever this time.

Yes a factory manual has the methods to check all your electrical items and the values they are supposed to have. Bob

Speaking of which...

OEM Service Manual for the Z1 (900) 98% the same as the 1976/77 KZ900...

Oh, did I mention... FREE!
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_docman&...d&gid=434&Itemid=108

As for the voltage drop, how much?
Now keep in mind, there can be a significant drop (1-2Vdc) with the engine not running due to load...

You'll also find this in the linked manual fro checking the Dynamo, rectifier and regulator circuits....

coil testing... Not a 100% test grant you but if dead shorted or open, yeah it works well enough....

this forum just keeps getting better. As stated, got the issue resolved. Here are a couple of videos of initial start up and one from the break-in.

picasaweb.google.com/cdedeker/20110304?feat=directlink

Right on man.

PS. OMR, tisk tisk - a batt that is resting at 12V is in need of charging
SOC (State of Charge) closely correlates to available current AMPS.



Batteries are considered to be fully charged when after resting a few hours - they are at 12.5VDC or better. Basically being able to delivery 90% max current or better.

HEADS UP! :laugh:

Peace.