82 KZ440 will not start, weak spark

So I got a 82 KZ from my uncle which sat for 15 years. I replaced the battery and spark plugs. I have an extra wire harness, ignitor, and coil from ebay because I thought it was not sparking. I figured out one day when working at it close to dusk that the plugs spark... (it looks like static electricity). The engine is getting air and fuel but will not start and I think the spark suppose to be a much brighter flash.
I am having an impossible time with this one. I did all the tests with a DMM that the service manual recommended and played around with switching original parts along with parts from ebay but it does not change anything. The only other electrical issues i noticed was turn signals dont work well and the headlight dims when i have a turn signal on (which I think is normal since the motorcycle isnt running).
Today after trying again I tried to trace the power to be sure the wire isnt damaged but everything looks okay. I am really hoping with help I can figure this out. Would love to get this bike on the road again.
Any ideas on where I should try... I am really disliking electrical issues. Any more information I can provide that would help. I read through other posts but could not find a solution to my problem.

Testing Kawasaki Ignition Coils For Input Voltage

When voltage testing Kawasaki Ignition Coils, the following needs to be done:

1. Remove the fuel/gas tank to access the coils.

2. Fully charge the battery.

3. Using a multimeter, set it up for VDC(Volts, Direct Current), range of 20.

4. Turn on the ignition switch and the run/stop switch to “Run”.

5. Put the multimeter’s RED probe on where the red or red/yellow wire goes on the ignition coil.

6. Put the multimeter’s BLACK probe on either the battery Negative(-) post/terminal or a good frame ground.

7. You should be able to see battery voltage at the ignition coil connection, but this depends on the current draw of other items in the same circuit.

8. If the tested voltage is down to 8-9 volts, you probably need to clean the many and various electrical connectors.


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. Or use any plastic safe electrical contact cleaner(NOT WD-40 !).

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.........

wow, I think you did, I will try it tomorrow and see how it goes.

Okay, finally got a chance to check this. So I am only getting 0.15 volts, my battery is reading 11.5, and if i plug positive terminal into the red/yellow cable i get 10.5

Now, am I missing something? maybe something is broken. I think this might be a step backwards.

Look at this website too for a wiring diagram:
www.armbell.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17...9244624&mforum=kz400

Fully charge the battery, and then have it load tested(a way of determining it's ability to produce cranking current & life). Most auto parts stores and motorcycle shops can do this for you.

Thanks, I actually got the service manual from kz400.com
I got the battery brand new from www.batteriesplus.com/product/32684-XT12...CC-1980-to-1983.aspx

Do you still think it is worth it to take it to the store for them to check? Also what should I be looking for in the wire diagram. I would really like to be able to figure out what the problem is. I always thought the coil gets power from the red/yellow wire and the ignitor tells the coil when to create the spark.

Thank you for your quick response.

In your bike,the electronic ignition igniter actually gives the coil it's ground, firing the sparkplugs. If the pick up coil is bad(it can be cecked with a multimeter set on "Ohms") The spark may be weak.

The pick up or pulsing coil should test between 360-540 ohms. any higher or lower may mean replacement.

Also if the pickup coil tests good, a forum member "Loudhvx" has made a replacent for the IC igniter by using off the shelf GM ignition modules.

A new ignition coil should improve the weak spark too, as they were marginal even when new from the factory, add years of baking in the engine heat under the tank, and now it/they can become intermittent when hot.

Okay I will test the coils I have, just need to get the service manual out. One thing I am curious about is it seems there are a lot of different opinions out there on the best ignition system. Some say stick with the stock set up is best while others talk about switching over to an dyna system.
I am in the process of restoring this bike and before getting anything else done I need to get this started -.-

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the pick ups are getting 412omhs which is within tolerance. the coils check out. I have been trying to get this bike started for about 6 months and am still stuck with trying to get the ignition going.

I can look into the Loudhvx IC igniter even though I have two ignitors. I dont know why it is so hard to figure out where the issue is -.- (thinking maybe should just spend the extra money on www.armbell.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12...tart=15&mforum=kz400 )

Oh does it make a difference which spark plug wire goes to which spark plug? I will see if trimming the spark wire helps.

I ordered some contact cleaners to try to clean up the electrical. I will try to check out my ground since it seems like everything is checking out with the components. Thank you guys for the help.