Do I have a charging issue??

I have been working on a 78 KZ650 on and off for a couple of years and so far so good. I am now dealing with a new battery and all the electrical connectors. I have done the wired george mod a while back for the coils and added a Dyna ignition to get rid of the points and condensor. Over the weekend I have taken apart every single connection and tightened and de oxed all the connectors and reconnected. I even got the blinkers to work that were for some reason wired wrong. I tested the regulator rectifier across the diodes and that test passed. The one issue I am having is testing current across the battery while bike is running. I went up to about 3,000 RPM and only getting a charge of about 13.0-13.5 volts with the headlights off. With lights on it drops down to about 12.5-13.00. Is this adequate to run the bike and charge the battery?? Am I mistaken for thinking I should get at least 14.5 or is this just the nature of this bike that old?? It is a brand new battery and tests 13.5 volts the minute I disconnect it from the battery tender. Starts up real nice now so I know the battery is good. Thanks.

The output should be around 14.5VDC and not higher, after full advance or around 3500rpm for your bike I believe.

The battery needs a continuos 13.2+ VDC to maintain its nominal charge level - anything less will eventually allow the battery to drain.

Check the output of your stator/coil. It should be greater than 50VDC when connected between any of the leads from the stator - with bike running at full advance.

Good luck.

From Kawasaki Service Manual: at 4000 rpm you should see 14 - 15 volts. Ed

I just tried it again. I am at 13.0 volts at 4000 RPM. I found another thread here that is helpful that talks about this issue. Don't know if the person ever figured it out. Also I disconnected the wire from the rectifier/regulator that is white with red stripe and measured the output. It was in the 30 volt range DC. Something is not right. I am assuming that is the voltage out of the regulator going to the battery.

Your rectifier/regulator may be failing/bad. Go to www.electrosport.com and use the troubleshooting page there.

Would consider,

Click > www.z1enterprises.com/Rectifier--Regulat...KZ650-KZ750-440.aspx

Good Fortune!

leorider wrote: I just tried it again. I am at 13.0 volts at 4000 RPM. I found another thread here that is helpful that talks about this issue. Don't know if the person ever figured it out. Also I disconnected the wire from the rectifier/regulator that is white with red stripe and measured the output. It was in the 30 volt range DC. Something is not right. I am assuming that is the voltage out of the regulator going to the battery.

I believe that when you un-hook the red/ white output wire, you are going to get full output. Go and recheck the connections, the ground and the positive from the R/R to the battery. This is where the other member you referred to had a problem. Be 100% sure of the wiring first before spending on parts. Try a fresh wire to by pass the circuit in question if needed. High resistance, poor connections, will cause low charging voltage. Also the WG coil mod, sounds like you are having wiring problems. Thats the reason for your low coil voltage.

If not already done, would assure integrity of the ground connection where the negative battery cable attaches to rear of the engine.

Good Fortune!

MFolks wrote: Your rectifier/regulator may be failing/bad. Go to www.electrosport.com and use the troubleshooting page there.

YES - good info... they have an excellent troubleshooting pdf doc that will help you alot.

www.electrosport.com/technical-resources.../fault-finding-guide

Good luck.

kawasaki.com diagram shows regulator 21066-029 and a separate rectifier 21061-031.

Wiring diagram in FILEBASE shows regulator but no rectifier.
If alternator is generating AC current, a rectifier is needed to convert to DC current (or so I thought).

Z1E listing lists combo unit equivalent to 21066-029.

:blink: What's the deal with KZ650 rectifier?


EDIT: 1977 KZ650 wiring diagram in FILEBASE shows both a rectifier and a regulator as separate units.

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Regardless, would assure integrity of regulator's ground connection,
and -- if applicable -- would also assure integrity of rectifier's ground connection.

Good Fortune!

Thanks for all the help guys.I read over the troubleshooting flow chart. Definitely will come in handy. Will post when I found out the deal with this chargeing system. I am definitely going to recheck all the connections and especially the ground. From what I understand Patton, the bike I have had a lot of mid-year changes done to it so you will see some with the combo unit and some with just a regulator and rectifier seperate. Possibly different type of charging system but I assure you I have the Reg/Rec combo unit on my bike.

1977 650 had separate reg and rec. It used a 3-phase excited field alternator.

The 1978 went to a 1-phase permanent magnet alternator with a reg/rec combo unit.

I've seen several cases where the Dyna S was installed and the charging system on the 1-phase KZ650's could not keep up with the extra power required by the Dyna.

If all of your tests show the charging system seems ok, then you may want to upgrade to a 3-phase stator and 3-phase combo reg/rec.