1979 KZ1000 Dyna Coil wiring

The guy i got this bike from has spliced and messed up this harness, im a cheap ass so im trying to fix his screw ups. I cant tell if theres supposed to be more wires cause they might have been pulled out, i dont know. Theres a gray and green wire wired to the left coil, and a red and blue on the right side coil. Ive had this bike for a year and yet to ride it, any help would be gretly appriciated, i just need to know how to wire them, ill include pictures, thanks for the help.

Ignition Coil Primary And Secondary Wiring

Ignition coils on the 80’s Kz1000,Kz1100’s and Gpz1100’s are wired the same, that is as you sit on the bike, the LEFT ignition coil primary(small wires) are two wires, RED and BLACK. The secondary (or sparkplug wires) go to #1 and #4 sparkplugs(your primary wiring may be different).

Read carefully, as the 550’s, 650’s, 700’s & 750’s are backwards to what is listed for the bigger 4’s.

The cylinders are numbered left to right as you sit on the seat; #1,#2,#3, and #4.

For the RIGHT ignition coil, the primary wires, again are two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary going to #2 and #3.

The RED wire gets it’s voltage from the run/stop switch on the right handlebar switch pod. Your primary wiring may have a different color.

The BLACK and GREEN wires connect to the IC Igniter(if the bike has the Kawasaki supplied electronic ignition) it actually gives the coils their grounds to fire the sparkplugs. The RED wire is common to both ignition coils.

Primary(small wires) side of the coils will read between 1.8 to 3.0 ohms.

Secondary(sparkplug wire ports)side of the coil will read between 10.4K to 15.6K ohms. These ports are wired together, so it makes no difference which is used, as long as the correct coil to sparkplug configuration is followed.

The sparkplug caps should read 5K OHMS(5000), any higher, or a reading of infinity means new caps should be ordered. When re-installing the old or new sparkplug caps, cut about ¼” off the sparkplug wires for a new un-corroded connection.

Never run supression sparkplug wires with sparkplug caps containing the 5000 ohm resistor, as now there will be two (2) resistances in the ignition coil’s secondary circuit, causing weak and intermittent spark.


To stress the ignition coils, take a hair dryer, heat the coils and see if the ohm readings change from cold to hot . If they do, it’s time to buy new coils.

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Keep in mind, the wiring is reversed for the 550’s, 650‘s,700’s, and 750‘s, that is the RIGHT coil primary will be two wires, RED and BLACK with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #1 and #4.

The LEFT coils primary wiring would be again two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #2 and #3.

An indication of black and sooty sparkplugs may not mean a carb or carbs are in need of cleaning, but may mean the input voltage is low.

When checking the input voltage to the ignition coils, first have a fully charged battery, and the using a multimeter, set it up to measure VDC(Volts, Direct Current), range of 20.

Put the RED probe from the multimeter on the same terminal that either a RED wire or ones that’s RED with YELLOW stripe, and the BLACK probe on either a good frame/Earth ground or the battery Negative(-) terminal/post.

Depending on the motorcycles current draw( lighting, and other high amp needs) the reading might be 10 volts or more, but if the reading is down around 8 volts or less, this indicates a corrosion or wiring problem needs correcting to improve input voltage to the coils.

These engines have what is known as a “Wasted Spark” that is, a sparkplug will fire during an exhaust stroke. It does no damage and many other motorcycle engines have this design.

That says 1980 and up. Mines a 79. its has a gray and green coming out the left side, and a red and blue coming out the right. that post had different colored wires? does it matter?

Ignition Coils And Sparkplug Wire Choices:

What came with the bike were ignition coils that even when new were marginal, add years of cooking under the tank in stop and go traffic, and the coils will fail when hot.

Replacement coils can be bought at www.z1enterprises.com . I believe "Emgo" is the brand. They also carry the popular Dyna 2.2 and 3 ohm coils along with replacement sparkplug wires.

Now, you have a choice on sparkplug wires:
1. Copper plug wires with no supression caps(the best choice, will produce greater spark, but will produce audio noise on Radio's & T.V.'s)

2. Copper plug wires with supression caps(a built in 5000 ohm resistor, that can some times fail, like what came with the bike).

3. Copper plug wires with no supression caps, but using resistor plugs(the "R" in the plug number, like B8RES).

4. Supression plug wires with no supression caps.

NEVER use resistor plugs and supression caps or supression plug wires, as now there will be two (2) sources of resistance in the secondary winding of the ignition coils, greatly reducing the spark energy.

Another choice is the Accel 3 ohm coils, with a similar primary(small wire) electrical connection using ring terminals as the Dyna ignition coils. Whatever brand of coil you go with, make sure the primary wires will clear the mounting hardware, as the spacers will come really close, possibly causing an electrical short, blowing fuses. Some riders have replaced the metal spacers with Nylon or Plastic non conductive ones, reducing the chance of an electrical problem.

7mm sparkplug wires will fit the stock ignition coils(if they have replaceable wires, indicated by screw off caps on the coils with ridges). The sparkplug wire fit into a port with a brass “Stinger” that goes into the sparkplug wire or lead(The Brits, Canadians and other countries call the sparkplug wires “High Tension Leads”).

Do you have a wiring diagram? It will greatly help in figuring out what you've got from what the previous owner did.

Manuals(Some of these websites sell used manuals, just ask)
www.repairmanual.com
www.manualsnmore.com
www.midwestmanuals.com/
www.books4cars.com/
www.repairmanualclub.com/motomanuals/
moto-manuals.com/
www.e-classicbike.com/

69.46.28.106/filebase/cat_view/98-1979

Holly crap, WTH...

Maybe this will help, can't get any simpler than this...

The battery positive voltage should be supplied to the coils ONLY when the ignition switch is ON.

Good Fortune!

Did you guys splice into the same red and yellow wire that supplies power to the coils to power the Dyna S? I was thinking of crimping and soldering the Dyna S's red power supply line to a new male bullet connector used to supply one of the coils to avoid making a splice.

And thank you OMR for your tutorials. I have referenced them several times in my KZ900's restoration - they are most helpful.

Thanks gearhead for the colored wiring diagram ill give this a try, and thank you to everyone else. Im horrible with wiring, but if someone can help me get this wred i have spare parts galore that i dont need, i just really want to get this bike runnning. Any help is greatly appriciated!!!

There is also a blue wire and a brown wire that come from the wire harness right where the coils are. Can someone look one there bike possibly and help me wire them up? Help is greatly appriciated like i said i have spare parts!

I almost posted the Dyna S diagram until I reread the post. You didn't actually say you had a Dyna S. Good Luck!!!