1982 Kawasaki kz550 LTD no response in cluster

I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong here Ed, I just followed the instructions he gave me to test the white wire.

OK, here's a different suggestion that might be helpful. When running the tests for short circuits using the ohms scale I would disconnect the battery cables. That way you can use the ohms scale from anything to anything and not worry about blowing the meter. Ed

Alright I appreciate the help! My dad helped me find out that the ignition was dead so I have ordered a new one, the new problem is the throttle being stuck and I think I found that the far left side carb float is stuck down in the bowl, all of the other floats seem to move when i try to move the throttle except the far left one just sits still. Would it be safe to put a little bit of seafoam down from the top to try and loosen up whatever may be keeping the float stuck down there?

The Main Fuse was pulled for the OHM tests, so no worry about "Blowing the Meter"
I hope you guys found the issue, so you got power up to the switch connector? You ordered a new switch so hopefully you got power going to it. The switch is easy enough to test, if you haven't. Depending on which of the measurement you want to make. Voltage is best as it shows the actual connection under load. So with Meter set back to DC volts. Everything hooked back up, fuse in place, voltage on the white wire coming into the switch. Meter black lead on Batt Neg, use the Red to Back probe the wires at the connector. White going in, Battery power, then Brown coming out Key On, battery power etc. The connections are shown on the diagram, the box at the bottom of the diagram has the connections of the switch in each position. Brown is the Main Ignition power for the bike. It powers most of the engine electrical.
As for you Carbs, if it has been sitting, the fuel would have gone sour. the fuel these days turns back to corn sugar and gums up, plugs up stuff. I would pull the carbs, disassemble the bowls and jets, needle valves etc. Clean with carb cleaner and compressed air. Either get rebuild kits, or at least replace the O-rings/ bowl gaskets etc.
Good luck.

Yeah I ordered the new ignition switch off of ebay, a neighbor of mine and my dad helped me test all the connections and found out i'm getting power to the harness but there is some sort of short going on in the ignition switch itself. Also ordered a manual off of clymer.com, neighbor said it will make things a ton easier. As for the carbs, do I need to remove the motor from the frame to get them off?

Courtesy of KZr Member loudhvx

General
home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/index.html#home

Service manuals
home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/Mnls/Mnls.html

Good Fortune!

No, the motor stays put. Clymer manual, cancel it if you can. Download the one that both I and Patton linked from Lou's web site.
It will show you how to remove the carbs, the biggest pain can be the old rubber on the Boots that run to the Airbox. You may well be better off buying new of these 4 boots. z1enterprises.com will have all 4 boots and most any other thing you might need for your 550.
Short in the switch? It would have to have the Internal contact plate bent or something. I hope you guys are right on that part.
That bike will be so much fun for you once you get it going, they are real good bikes. Any pictures of the Bike you can Post up?

Alright I was able to cancel! I really appreciate it, saves me some money for other parts and yeah I just took a few, the bike doesnt have the gas tank or seat on it, but both are in perfect condition, I can post pictures of those too if you'd like to see them. Here is a front/side/rear of it!

Bkirk24 wrote: ...the new problem is the throttle being stuck and I think I found that the far left side carb float is stuck down in the bowl, all of the other floats seem to move when i try to move the throttle except the far left one just sits still. Would it be safe to put a little bit of seafoam down from the top to try and loosen up whatever may be keeping the float stuck down there?

The throttle does not move the floats. The throttle move the slides. You need to take a look in the manual to see the carb configuration before going too far. Trying to work on these bikes without a manual will lead to frustration and additional problems. Ed

Well when trying to use the throttle it can go the opposite way, and doesnt really move anything on the carbs at all. on every other carb you can see movement when you take the top off except the far left one seems to have some gunk holding it still or some other problem. Being pretty new to this, I'm nervous to start pulling parts of the engine off... A shop semi close to me charges $20 per carb for cleaning if it is not on the bike, would this be smart to remove them myself and take them to be cleaned and have new gaskets put in? Ben

You might want to take the bike in since you are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the process, but ask the mechanic if you can stand silently by and watch so you can learn. He may say no, but it's worth asking. Ed

Bkirk24 wrote: Well when trying to use the throttle it can go the opposite way, and doesnt really move anything on the carbs at all. on every other carb you can see movement when you take the top off except the far left one seems to have some gunk holding it still or some other problem. Being pretty new to this, I'm nervous to start pulling parts of the engine off... A shop semi close to me charges $20 per carb for cleaning if it is not on the bike, would this be smart to remove them myself and take them to be cleaned and have new gaskets put in? Ben

Besides the manual, Lou's website has a bunch of info, especially for the 550. But the service manual has alot also, and quite a bit of the info on lou's site is taken from service manuals. Also go to Kawasaki.com, and look at the parts diagram for different areas of your bike. Like the carbs, you will see not only the picture of the carb apart, but the name for all of the parts and pieces. This can be really helpful to figure out some of the basics.
www.kawasaki.com/DefaultFrame.aspx?strCo...82%26SHOWVEHTABS%3d1

Also looking at your pictures, those are probably some pretty old tires. These old bikes need quite a bit to get them on the road to be safe and reliable. Read the Maintenance section of the service manual. You'll need to go over and check through the entire bike. Make sure everything is good, serviced, adjusted, lubricated etc. Once done you'll be glad you did it. Gets you well acquainted with your machine.