Innermitent cutting out?

So I get my Kz 700 runnin the new zr7 starter and gell battery works great thanks for the advice. Since I have put the starter on have done alot of riding. After all new parts I had my bike runnin real good no problems alittle miss here and there.
Fri on my way to work I hit a bump and my bike cut out, missed on one maybe two cylinders. Odd but my bike is 26 and I thought mabe one of my wires was bouncin and shortin out. I got to work took a look and everything looked ok. took off in the mornin and same thing all the way home from work cut out every bump. got home pulled the plugs and nothin out of the normal checked fuel screens and my fule flow all good. started pulling wires and checkin to see if it was shorted or freyed nada. Put the bike back together ride to work and it is steddley geting worse.

Here is my thought process

Started at high rpm when hitting bumps on the interstate at between 65 and 70
has got worse?
now it is hapening at all rpms
no coil mod :laugh:
mostley stock as far as ignition and coils
have fuel flow
have spark when turning over


I know not what to do thats why Im here HELP!! thanks in advance

Its most likely not engine issues, or fuel delivery, so I would focus (like you have) on the ignition mostly.

If they are old and havnt been replaced in a while, start with the plugs and work your way back.

Replace the plugs (gap correctly).
Replace plug boot/caps - or just clean and re-cut/crimp connections.
Wires should be replaced if not fairly new.
Check coils for cracks and with ohm meter for proper specs. Clean all wire connections.
Clean the conections to the points and condensors. make sure nothing is loose or incorrectly functioning like the advancer is springing back correctly.

Try Idling the bike and tapping on a coil or connector - or if elec ignition, tap on the ignighter box with a driver head or rubber mallet. See if you can replicate the issue on the center stand by rapping on your ignition components (not the points - but elec pickups ok).

Good luck.

If the coils are original, dump them. 26 year old bike coils are pure misery. Also replace all fuses, they go bad with age.


On mine, I had intermittent cutoff from a bad ignition switch. Obviously, coil wires and caps and harness connections must be checked.

Check connections at the battery and make sure they are tight.

here is what I found

the fuse holder in the box was not secure taped the ends for now to hold it on and the main power fuse was a loose conection.

I have the blade fuse box that has one power inlet and then an outlet to all 6 fuse slots so thats what has to be done time to start trimin the fat and update the fuse block.

Thanks for all the Ideas without this site sometimes I would be so lost lol thanks agen
:silly:

Cleaning Motorcycle Electrics

Get some of the De-Oxit electrical contact cleaner and figure on spending a good day going from the front of the bike to the back. It’s a plastic safe cleaner/preservative. www.deoxit.com is their website.

On the older Kawasaki's, a majority of electrical connectors are inside the headlight housing requiring removal of the headlight, then the fun begins.

Do one set of electrical connectors at a time to avoid mixing up what connects to where. Usually disconnecting, spraying with De-Oxit and reconnecting is about all you'll need.

However, when encountering the green crud of corrosion, a brass wire brush may be needed on the pins you can reach.Some 400-600 grit wet and dry sandpaper strips rolled into a tube should reach the male and female pins in the more difficult to clean connectors.

Smoker’s pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and wooden toothpicks work as cleaning aids.

Really small electrical connectors may require the use of a welders tip cleaning tool assortment.

Most pins in the connectors are coated with a thin plating of tin, and others may be nothing more than copper or brass.

If moisture is added, the resulting corrosion lowers the voltage/current being carried causing dim lights, slow engine cranking, slow turn signal responce and lower input voltage to the ignition coils resulting in weak spark.

The left and right handlebar switch pods will need attention too as they have circuit functions like turn, horn, run/stop, and start.

Usually a spritz or two with actuation of the switch is about all needed for these switches unless corrosion is detected and then careful disassembly is required.

The ignition switch may or may be not sealed to allow spraying the internal contacts. I urge caution if attempting to open this up as springs, and ball bearings may fly out never to be seen again!

If your bike has the older style glass tubed fuses, I suggest replacing them as vibration can cause internal failure. AGX is the type used, and most auto parts stores can get them for you.

Clean the fuse holder clips, looking for signs of overheating(discolored insulation, signs of melting).I use metal polish on a cotton swab, followed by spraying another clean swab with the De-Oxit and then rubbing the inside of the fuse clip.

All battery cables must be clean and tight for maximum current transfer. Check the cables going from the Negative(-) battery terminal/post to the engine mounting bolt

Also the one going from the Positive(+) terminal to the starter solenoid and from there to the starter motor.

If any battery cable feels ”Crunchy” when flexed, replace it as possible corrosion is inside the insulation.

Each "Bullet Connector" will have to be sprayed to ensure good connectivity, especially the ones going to the energizing coil of the starter solenoid.

The alternator output “Bullet Connectors” are usually behind the engine sprocket cover and will need inspecting and cleaning too.

The turn signal light sockets will benefit from a spritz from the contact cleaner along with the tail light/brake light socket.

Some brake light switches can be sprayed on the actuating rod, with the spray running down inside to the electrical contacts, others may be sealed requiring replacement if the switch is intermittent in operation.

Some people put the Di-Electric Grease on cleaned terminations/connectors, I don’t, as I’ve read/heard it can cause problems when it gets hot, actually insulating the connections, so the choice is yours to use or not.

I think I've covered about all of the electrical systems on the bike.........

Another place to look is inside the handlebar switch pods, as some of the older bikes have had the soldered connections crumble. The run/stop switch failure will stop the bike, so inspect it carefully for potential problems.

:sick:
so that didnt fix it as for the check list above I almost have that comited to memory lol.

So here is the issue, on my way to work lastnight and it was cuttin in and out bad then nothin reach forward to tuch the pipe and it was cold well not as hot as the other 2 so here is what I am led to believe.

now when hitting bumps the light does not fliker and the bike is cutting out over the entire rpm only on piston 1 and 3

So time for new Coils I have the 84 kz 700 a1 I do beleve it is the IC ignition I dont know how many variations there are of the kawasaki ignition but my bike does not have points. It is my understanding that my stock coils should run 2.0 or close to that so I would want the grey coils is there anything other than a new set of plugs and wires that I would need or need to inspect.

Thanks agen

Called up Z1 today orderd my new coils





not a bad price and think they will be a big inprovement..

also orderd wires





everything sent today and cant wait to put this stough to work!!!!

any sugestions welcome thanks

The as supplied Kawasaki ignition coils had 1/4" push on primary side electrical connections. The new Dyna ignition coils will need new terminations for them to work.

When I changed to the Dyna coils, I fabricated new primary wiring using male and female "WeatherPack" connectors. Now when checkng the valve clearances, I unplug the coils without having to unscrew the primary terminals and lift them out of the way after removing the coils mounting hardware.

#10 RED ring terminals will the primary side of the coils, be careful in not loosing the supplied screws as anything longer will bottom out before it gets tight.

When your wiring is completed, check for possible electrical shorting as the spacers and mounting hardware come close to the primary terminals.

Wire Termination Insulation & Sizes

Terminal Insulation Color Wire Sizes
RED

---

22-18 gauge wire
BLUE

---

16-14 gauge wire
YELLOW

---

12-10 gauge wire

The ring terminal holes comes in many sizes, from #4 up to 1/2" in most cases, it's a matter of finding the tightest fitting hole to fit the fastener for the termination.

American Wire Gauge(AWG) is backwards to what many people think; that is 22 gauge is many times smaller than 10 gauge even though the number is bigger.

www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination
(The Good, Bad, & Ugly Wire Crimpers)