KZ 1000 electrical issues - dead...

Greetings....

Last season my 82 KZ1000 LTD ran fine, but I decided to put in a new battery as the old one was weak. During the install, something sparked and I think the battery cable touched the frame....I know, pretty dumb on my part. Actually, I am not sure that is what happened.


The probles is that the entire electrical system is dead...no lights, no horn, will not turn over....nothing. I checked the new battery in another bike and it is fine. I checked the fuses and wiring and cannot find the culprit.

Anyone have any idea as to what to look for??? Probably something expensive...ha

I'm sure MFolks will chime in, he's a great resource for electrical work.

But just one faulty ground wire can be the source of all the problems. If nothing is working you need to start at the source and work your way out. So from battery to fuses then to ignition then things get fun. Check for resistance to make sure everything is still connected. Did anyone else play around with your ride in the meantime?

V/R

Kev

Did you check fuses with a test light? Just looking at them can fool you. Ask me how I know.

I actually replaced three of the fuses to see if anything would turn on....all still dead...ugh

If it sparked it very well could be a bad ground as was mentioned earlier. A meter will be the go to tool. Start at the battery and work your way to the fusebox. A test light will help if you do not have a meter.

Try this method of troubleshooting:

The Dreaded Shorting/Intermittent Electrical Problem!


Here is the most basic method I know(Taken from www.kzrider.com by member Patton)

1. Charge your battery and have it load tested if you can. The floating ball hydrometer can be used to check the specific gravity of the charged cells in the battery.

2. Disconnect the Black lead from the (-) Battery terminal... or Red from the (+) Battery terminal, it does not matter which one. Just 1, not both!

3. Connect one of the following test setups in series with the Battery terminal and lead:
3.1 A 12 V light bulb,
3.2 A 12 V test light,
3.3 A 12 V test buzzer or,
3.4 A 12 V horn... you get the idea.

4. With the Ignition Switch OFF, go through your harness and wiggle the wires while looking/listening for the test setup to go on/start buzzing.

5.With the Ignition Switch ON, repeat the test except this time the looking/listening for the test setup to go off/stop buzzing.

6. Be prepared to open the Ignition switch and check/test for solder joint failure and or circuit board micro breaks (don't ask how I know this ).

7. Be prepared to pull the wires out of the Head Light to test for failures at or near the grommet.

8. Be prepared to open the harness at or near the Steering Neck for failures. This is where wires tend to exhibit fatigue due to repetitive movement.

9. Be prepared to open the left and right switch gear to search for rust and or broken parts. CAUTION: watch out for flying springs, ball bearings and stuff. Do indoors on White sheet (again don't ask ).

10. Be prepared to follow the heavy gauge wire from the Starter Solenoid (Relay) to the starter for bare wire exposure. Especially near bends and grommets.

11. If you can reproduce the fault symptom your are pretty much home free. Be prepare to find and repair/replace any internal wire breaks, insulation break downs, exposed wires, rubber grommet failures, etc. Often, shrink tubing will solve the problem temporarily until something better can be done.

12. I use a very good electrical contact cleaner/preservative called De-oxit made by Caig Labs in San Diego Ca. Their website is www.deoxit.com It can be purchased at Radio Shack and any other electronic supply store. I use it on all of my motorcycle’s electrical connectors , in my home entertainment center’s stereo patch cords and cordless phones charging cradles.

13.Have the battery load tested(even though it's new, they have been known to fail), and check the bike's wiring for signs of overheating/burning.

Doesn't these bikes have a master fuse not situated in the fues box?

Did the battery get shorted out?

Would check and assure integrity of the ground connection where the negative battery cable attaches to rear of the engine.

Good Fortune!

The later Kawasaki cruisers & maybe the street bikes, have a 30 amp main fuse close to the starter solenoid in a fuse box. The 80's street Kawasaki's did not have this fuse. The glass tubes fuses and fuse clips can fail over time, this is why you should upgrade to the type used in cars, the "Blade Style".


Fuse And Fuse Holder Designations

1. The older Kawasaki’s use a glass tubed fuse with the designation of AGX 1” long. Most good auto parts stores can get them for you. They are ¼” in diameter.

2. The more common AGC is 1 ¼” long and may not fit the smaller fuse clips. Again, ¼” in diameter.

3. To clean and polish the fuse clips, I use a cotton swab(Q- Tip) and some Brasso metal cleaner or Turtle Wax Chrome Polish. I suppose any good metal polish would work.

4. These fuses can fail internally but look good, only by using a multimeter to check for voltage going through the fuse, or when the fuse is removed for physical inspection for tight end caps & continuity checks,can it be determined if it’s serviceable.

5. Most modern motorcycles are now using the automobile “Blade” style fuse with the designation of ATC or ATO.

6. The reduced sized “Mini” Blade style fuse holder uses the ATM size of fuses.

7. If the fuse and fuse holder overheat, it could soften or anneal the grip of the clip, it might require squeezing the clip to restore the tightness.

8. A list of where to purchase “Blade” style fuses and holders:

www.waytekwire.com order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/...20%20%20%208%20FUSE/

www.rallylights.com www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=765

www.delcity.net/store/6!way-fuse-blocks/p_10822.a_1

www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Product...ers/fuseholders.html

www.autowiringsolutions.com/item.php?item_id=251&category_id=89 (ATO/ATC Fuse Holder)


9. A source for the glass tubed AGX fuses:
www.boatownerswarehouse.com/browse.cfm/2,4986.html

www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Result.aspx?N...&D=AGX&Dk=1&Dp=3&N=0