replacement plug wires

Which meter do you have? Maybe I can help point you in the right direction to test 1 or 2 things before throwing parts at It?

www.google.com/imgres?q=gardner+bender+m...&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:20

it seems pretty cheap, if there is another one that would serve me better i will buy it, i dont own my own this is a friends. also, thanks a ton, electronic issues are the things i am most hesitant about

OK so i see the Meter, it'll work. Black lead on the clean bare chasis/ motor, thats ground and the red lead on the Red/ Yellow on the Coil. Turn the Meter Knob to the White 20 scale on the left side of the dial, about 8 o'clock/. Now turn your key to ON. It should measure what the coil Feed voltage is. Then measure across your battery terminals and post both readings. It should be very close to the same. Be sure your battery is charged.

RT side 10.67
Left 10.66

batt 12.35

Then check the Resistance of each coil. Put your meter to The 200 Ohm scale that is about 1 O'clock. Then put the red and black test leads across the small wire terminals of each coil, with the wires disconnected. You should see 1.8-2.8 on your meter. Then put the meter on the 20K Ohm scale which is down to the right, about 2:30 on the dial. You will take both the red and the black test leads and measure at each spark plug end, If your Caps are NGK they are probably 500 Ohm resistance so the reading may be higher. but you should get like, 10-15 on that scale which is X1000.


This is from the service manual.

so are these coils still servicable? is the 10 and 12 close enough to be good? i will do these other two tests tomorrow, i also downloaded the manual earlier this evening, this is EXTREMELY helpful, thanks

bearshawk wrote: RT side 10.67
Left 10.66

batt 12.35

So you are loosing 2 volts of power to the coils. Since the coil is a Multiplier, It takes that received voltage and increases it, you are loosing spark energy. While your spark will be weaker it will spark.
You will have to look where the voltage loss is. You start at the Battery and work across the fuses. Starting at the Main fuse. you check the voltage on each side of the fuse, it should nearly the same+ no loss. The old glass fuse will lose voltage, the clips will cause poor contact. The wire where it is soldered to the clips which hold the fuse will get heat damaged, causing resistance. That robs voltage. Once the connection at the Main fuse checks out, and the Voltage at the coils is still low, then the next place is the connector under the Tank, then on to the Ignition switch, also the On/Off handlebar switch. Also, as I found, someone could have wired a Fairing with the running lights hooked to the Ignition wire. that's wrong, there is a separate circuit for running lights.

VERY possible with the fairings... i dont think they are installed quite right. i will check everything tomorrow after class and report back, the connection under the tank, i have the tank off now, what am i looking for there? there are tons of connectors.

First check the coils the rest of the y way, what is the resistance on the two plug wires?
If you have 10v at the coils it will start and run. It will not keep it from firing. But it would run Much Better with the correct Voltage across the system.
Remember that each coil, at the spark plug wires is a Loop circuit. That means that the coil needs both plugs either installed, or against clean metal to work. If you have 1 bad plug or plug wire, then 2 spark plugs are effected.

this could be my issue, the stud that the number 2 wire screws into is broken off...and im sure messing with the spark for 2 AND 3 i ordered a new coil on ebay...should be here monday, ill work on cleaning everything else up and doing some more digging into the electronics, i would like to clean and replace anything that needs it by then, i did notice tonight one of the fuses in the box is longer than the rest, reading up on this someone just replaced it with the wrong type fuse, correct?

Yes it sounds like the AGC instead of the Correct AGX. Check the Amperage rating of the Fuse and the Voltage. Never use a Higher Amperage Fuse than Rated. Is this Fuse in the "Main Fuse" position? Is the Black plastic fuse panel partially melted? If you get a chance Post some Pictures, tomorrow is fine when you get back to it.

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.........