Anyone have this happen?

Ohm Checking Pickup(Pulsing) Coils

The pickup coils on the Kawasaki’s with the factory supplied electronic ignition can sometimes fail or become intermittent due to heat and vibration.

1.Trace back from where the pick up coils are mounted,(under a right side CD sized cover) locate and disconnect a small 4 pin connector. Using a multi-meter set on OHMS and range of 2K, check between the BLUE and BLACK wires(#1 and #4 sparkplug wires) for between 360- 540 OHMS.

2.For #2 and #3 sparkplugs the wire colors will be YELLOW and RED, again 360-540 OHMS. The 550’s,650’s & 750’s may be backwards to the Z1’s,Kz900’s,Kz1000’s & Kz1100’s.

3.If the pickup coils are suspect of failing due to heat, they can be stressed using a hair dryer without the need of the engine running.

4.A replacement set of pickup coils might be obtained from a dealer who serviced the police Kawasaki’s.

5. If replacement pickup coils are not available, your next choice would be to order a Dyna “S” electronic ignition system from www.z1enterprises.com It replaces the IC igniter with a smaller module located where the mechanical ignition advancer was mounted.

6. Checking with Kawasaki.com website has determined that the Pick up(pulsing) coils are available . The pulsing coil # is 59026-1133 and replaces the older # 1002, 1012 which were used from the MKII motors until the 2005 P24.

7.Check the small 4 pin connector that the pickup coils connect to for corrosion/loose pins too.

I'd bet on the ignition amplifier "black box" being bad. You can put on a Dyna-S system pretty cheap and get rid of the entire factory system and since the coils are already replaced the entire system will be new. Before replacing anything though you may want to put the factory coils back on to make sure the new coils are not the problem. ST coils will always be cracked.

Dang. Your description of the problem with your bike sounds exactly like the problem I’ve had for three years with my 1981 LTD-1000. When it stopped charging the battery we tested the stator and found it was bad so we replaced the stator. But the intermittent loss of power persisted, except it was the number 3 and 4 cylinders on my bike.

Replaced the ignition coils, new solid core ignition wires, spark plugs and plug caps. We later installed a Dyna electronic ignition system.

I bought a spray can of electric contact cleaner and went through all the connectors.

But again, the problem kept coming back. Like you said, at first all would seem well as I went out for a days ride but then I would lose half my power. As fall came around I place my bike in storage.

This summer I took it out and found the battery was dry, (never had this happen before).
I installed a new battery and all was well for a couple of days but then the battery ran down and I had to put the charger on it every night.

My mechanic found that the voltages were not quite what they were supposed to be in the in certain circuits and we thought it was a bad regulator/rectifier and ordered a new one.
On the day I took it in, he installed it and found there was no change and the engine was still gagging and missing on two cylinders.

He replaced the original regulator and continued checking connections and wires with his test meter.
Finally, he replaced the connectors on the three-line harness that connects the stator to the bikes original wiring harness but still was not getting the voltage readings he was looking for.
He then removed the side cover from the engine, where the clutch cable feeds in, and followed the three-phase wire harness from the alternator and found a spot where the harness was pinched between the casings. He cut open the harness and found the pinch and did a repair.
Since then the bike has run all summer without so much as a hic-up. No gagging, no missing. It starts every day with no problem. A friend, who I often go riding with, says he used to look in his rear view mirror and see my headlight looking a dull orange but now it was bright white. And I noticed that various other electrical functions are working like they are supposed to, such as my turn signals. They not only flash a bit faster but they also turn off automatically, like they are supposed to. And my horn no longer sounds like a dying, anemic sheep but now lets out a loud BEEP!

It took three years to track down this gremlin but it finally seems to be cured. With the riding season almost over, up here in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire, I’ll soon be putting the machine in the garage for the winter. But I can hardly wait for next summer to pack up the bike with my new tent and sleeping bag and take off on some weekend camping trips.

MajDSaster,
If your Battery is/ has been going dry, it is probably overcharging. The 6 wire R/R combo on the 3 phase later setup has a Brown Colored Voltage Sense wire. If you measure across the battery terminals, then at the Brown wire where it goes in to the R/R, do you see nearly the same voltage or a drop? I had a drop of over 1v, lost a nearly new battery on one of my trips. Boiled it, instead of 14. something I got over 15v, battery didn't like it to much. Especially in the summer heat.
Wrote a thread on it and the 3 phase system.

Thanks MotorHead. Haven't had any problems since my mechanic went through the electrics and located the fault in the wiring harness.
Everything seems to be doing just what it's supposed to do, But I still keep an eye on the battery).

Well as Maxwell Smart said "I only missed it by THAT much!" Beautiful country - I like Radium to Jasper a lot.
Assuming your fuel is vacuum activated like it is on my bike have you checked the petcock and line into the carbs? Just seems like a lack of air or fuel to me!
Hope you have solved this by now.
Regards, Art

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had exact same problem wirh my 1981 kz1ooo ltd. replaced the pulsing coil per suggestion of M Folks and the problem dissappeared. the problem like yours was intermittent.

I had exactly the same on my '82 750 last month, and it turned out to be that the left-hand coil had a wire loose.
All of the symptoms suggested it was a fuel problem....(4cyls, then 3, chocking & stuttering etc)
It was also having trouble during idle.
All were intermittant, so was even more difficult to diagnose!

Wow! This is the exact problem I just posted on! I parked my bike all summer Over it. Maybe it is Alberta haah

Been a few months since I waved the "Help Flag" on my sparking issue.
Still not solved but for anyone who was curious or likes to share my head scratching here is update.

I have replaced the petcock with new one. (old one was leaking)
I finally found some DeOxit and have cleaned most of my wires/connectors on bike (Not behind headlight yet).
Still have more to do on this.

I put in bigger jets (mains and pilots). Mains from 110's to 115's. Pilots from 15's to 17.5's.

I bought a portable hanging gas tank for test work tuning in garage ( also removes the airlock gas tank possibility).

I put on Flashing Plug Caps that flash red to help me diagnose (plus they look really cool in the dark).

Put in new plugs.
Battery is charged and cells are full and fine.


AND IT STILL INTERMITTINGLY STOPS FIRING ON all CYLYNDERS!!!

Took for a quick spin today and sure as shit after it was warmed up and i was climbing a hill I cranked it a bit and it HAPPENED AGAIN!
This time I had the flashing caps so I looked down and sure enough my #1 and #4 Cylinders were not flashing. # 2 and #3 were flashing fine.
I turned around and went back to garage.
Took off tank and checked all wires. All good.
So I swapped my left Dyna coil with my right to see if it was a bad coil.
Fired it up (with my hanging plastic porta-tank)and it was STILL the #1 and #4 coil not firing.
Looked all over and all connections seemed fine, no arcing or anything.
Judging by all the great tips you guys posted earlier on this string there are a couple other things I can test like my pickup ignition, and igniter (which I haven't checked yet).

I had ordered a new Dyna-S Electronic Ignition DS2-1 www.z1enterprises.com/DynaS-Electronic-I...Z900-KZ1000-200.aspx
from Z1 this winter and haven't installed it yet. Anyone think this is my savior?
I have never put one on and am just trying to do all my research before I attempt it.
Assuming I will need to use a timing light as well once I install? Looking at the wires on it, they don't match up the same as the old ignition so I really have to do my homework to do this right. Anyone have tips on this or know of a site or post that shows the steps?

Ok, that's where I am at in this head-scratcher...stay tuned. As always, advice welcomed !!

steve

Might be an internal fray in the power wire (red or red/yellow) causing intermittent loss of voltage to the ignition coil.

While test running the engine with the fuel tank removed, could manipulate and wiggle the suspect wire to see whether the misfiring can be reproduced.

Good Fortune!