help help help, wierd spark problem

ok so i have a 77 kz1000. dont know much about it. traded i guy a 390ci for it and the bike wasn't running. cleaned the carbs and it fired up. came out to the shop a week later and it will backfire rarely but wont start. carbs are fine but the plugs have a continuous spark. Not turning the motor over and just laying the plug on the motor or frame so it grounds and it starts sparking like the 4th of july. it does have the dyna ignition and dyna coils. my bud and i are confused and about the rewire the whole thing if we cant figure it out.

Never seen that before, but the only way that could happen is something interrupting either power or ground at a rapid rate. Probably the Dyna, not likely to be anything else.

If it were me, I'd contact Dyna, and ask their thoughts about the problem:
www.dynaonline.com/skins/Default.aspx

pull the fuse or unhook the battery ...take timing cover off and turn the motor over by hand...or kick start iot a few times with the battery unhooked...hook it back up see wtf

thx for the info. got ahold of dyna and they said its a failsafe built into their system. when its on a batter charger it wll throw out any extra voltage or charge out the plugs. so since i had a bad batter that was 11 years old and sat that long.... it was just going straight threw.

TaborCT wrote: continuous spark. Not turning the motor over

see if the points are stuck would be my best try.

What points.... :blink:

TaborCT wrote: thx for the info. got ahold of dyna and they said its a failsafe built into their system. when its on a batter charger it wll throw out any extra voltage or charge out the plugs. so since i had a bad batter that was 11 years old and sat that long.... it was just going straight threw.

A handy tool to have is a digital multimeter. VC97 = good, inexpensive.
The bike needs a good battery to run right. Don't assume a new or well maintained battery is good.

A test I do regularly, once or twice a month:
Charge the battery, then disconnect the charger. Check the voltage: it should be at least 12.6 VDC, but a good battery will be higher: ~13.1 VDC or so. Turn on the headlight high beam (engine off): the voltage will drop. A good battery will drop to ~12.2 volts but ~11.85 is okay. If it drops to ~11 VDC, the battery may need replacing. If it drops to ~10 VDC the battery is shot. The high beam test removes the surface charge & gives a better indication of the deep charge or something like that. The voltage numbers are what I use; there may be a more accurate chart on the internet.

TaborCT wrote: thx for the info. got ahold of dyna and they said its a failsafe built into their system. when its on a batter charger it wll throw out any extra voltage or charge out the plugs. so since i had a bad batter that was 11 years old and sat that long.... it was just going straight threw.

Dyna sells ignition systems. You may want to ask them how the bike's ignition system can protect the bike's charging system? I believe that is impossible. Ed