Blowing fuses

Hello all,

i have a 77 650 and it has just started blowing fuses.....it has not done this until today, i recently replaced the mission cover and sprocket cover seals, since this it has stated blowing the main fuses and killing the power.
I am pretty sure i have not pinched any wires whilst doing this....the fuse gets extremely hot then blows.

has anyone experienced this or anything like it?
also, what ampage fuse should the 650 be running on.

i am not great at electrics so any help would be most appreciated.

Thanks all.

"Patton" a forum member wrote this up and it's a good procedure for electrical troubleshooting:

The Dreaded Shorting/Intermittent Electrical Problem!

Here is the most basic method I know(Taken from www.kzrider.com by member Patton)

1. Charge your battery and have it load tested if you can. The floating ball hydrometer can be used to check the specific gravity of the charged cells in the battery.

2. Disconnect the Black lead from the (-) Battery terminal... or Red from the (+) Battery terminal, it does not matter which one. Just 1, not both!

3. Connect one of the following test setups in series with the Battery terminal and lead:
3.1 A 12 V light bulb,
3.2 A 12 V test light,
3.3 A 12 V test buzzer or,
3.4 A 12 V horn... you get the idea.

4. With the Ignition Switch OFF, go through your harness and wiggle the wires while looking/listening for the test setup to go on/start buzzing.

5.With the Ignition Switch ON, repeat the test except this time the looking/listening for the test setup to go off/stop buzzing.

6. Be prepared to open the Ignition switch and check/test for solder joint failure and or circuit board micro breaks (don't ask how I know this ).

7. Be prepared to pull the wires out of the Head Light to test for failures at or near the grommet.

8. Be prepared to open the harness at or near the Steering Neck for failures. This is where wires tend to exhibit fatigue due to repetitive movement.

9. Be prepared to open the left and right switch gear to search for rust and or broken parts. CAUTION: watch out for flying springs, ball bearings and stuff. Do indoors on White sheet (again don't ask ).

10. Be prepared to follow the heavy gauge wire from the Starter Solenoid (Relay) to the starter for bare wire exposure. Especially near bends and grommets.

11. If you can reproduce the fault symptom your are pretty much home free. Be prepare to find and repair/replace any internal wire breaks, insulation break downs, exposed wires, rubber grommet failures, etc. Often, shrink tubing will solve the problem temporarily until something better can be done.

12. I use a very good electrical contact cleaner/preservative called De-oxit made by Caig Labs in San Diego Ca. Their website is www.deoxit.com It can be purchased at Radio Shack and any other electronic supply store. I use it on all of my motorcycle’s electrical connectors , in my home entertainment center’s stereo patch cords and cordless phones charging cradles.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

i will try it.

Matt

U might also consider converting to the automotive blade type fuses.It is a 30 minute easy process.bj

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/store/6!way-fuse-blocks/p_10822.a_1

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

If you find the clips in the fuse holder are corroded or not holding the fuses tight a really easy fix is to simply replace the holder with the same type. Z1E has them:

www.z1enterprises.com/Fuse-Assembly-Kawa...Z650-KZ900-2537.aspx

Starting off, get yourself a good $50 voltmeter (digital) don't get a cheap one, I've had 3 cheapo's and they are unreliable. Then find a friend who can show you a few things on how to use it to discover some of the problems you may have. Also, read electrical forums on here and absorb details about how to isolate problems. Once you get to that step, message me. I had to learn it all the hard way myself too. It's simple though, don't be intimidated.

Which fuses are you blowing? the 20 amp or the two 10 amps? I had a 20 amp fuse problem and w/o having to get the voltmeter I looked into the plastic screw fuse holder and found a bare (white) wire was exposed from years of screwing the caps together to close the 20 amp holder. It was that simple, 1st try. They say that never happens though.

Possibly these will help... FREE!!!

KZ 650 OEM Service manual:
KZ650 Manual

uncledirt wrote: Starting off, get yourself a good $50 voltmeter (digital) don't get a cheap one, I've had 3 cheapo's and they are unreliable. Then find a friend who can show you a few things on how to use it to discover some of the problems you may have. Also, read electrical forums on here and absorb details about how to isolate problems. Once you get to that step, message me. I had to learn it all the hard way myself too. It's simple though, don't be intimidated.

I have one exactly like this and it's great. Not only does voltage & resistance but does AC / DC current in mA and up to 20 amps. Really nice unit. Ed

cgi.ebay.com/24-Range-LCD-Digital-Multim...&hash=item588cb4d3c3

Rock, I went everywhere on that site (cool site) and I can't find that c1 wiring diagram. I can't save picture so I went there to get it myself and for the life of me, C1 model seems to be the only one not listed?

uncledirt wrote: Rock, I went everywhere on that site (cool site) and I can't find that c1 wiring diagram. I can't save picture so I went there to get it myself and for the life of me, C1 model seems to be the only one not listed?

Here's the KZ650-C1 wiring diagram:

diagrams.kz650.info/wiring/images/KZ650-C1.jpg