kz1000 K - no power

Just picked up a barn find.

Bike has been sitting.

Put a brand new and tested good battery - not getting any power - anywhere.

All fuses good.
kill switch good.

Key switch was broken - i took it apart and have it on the ON position - tested main fuse - gets 12V with switch ON, and 0V when switch off.

All wiring seems to be intact but i have no idea what i am looking for.

Any ideas?

Where is the main fuse on this bike?

Anything else i can test, check or find?

All help is welcome!

Thanks

The main fuse and other fuses should be in the fuse holders. According to Kawasaki.com (see diagram below) there are 2 fuse holders and a total of 10 fuses. Ed

OK - thanks for the diagram.

Checked all fuses in both boxes. All good, good contact. One of the fuses in the 5 fuse box is getting power from the key switch (12V).

Also - all accessory wires are getting power in the rear and front of the bike.

What do i check next?

You'll need to open up the right handlebar switch "Pod", and inspect the start and run/stop switches, as the older kawaski's are suffering crumbled solder connections and corrosion. If you have a local electronics store, get a can of "De-Oxit" contact cleaner/preservative.

Read this:

Cleaning the many and various 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.

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.

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.

I think I've covered about all of the electrical systems on the bike.........



Why WD-40 Should Not Be Used On Motorcycle Electrical Items.

For many years, I was proponent of the use of WD-40 on fuse clips, fuses, switches and connectors. After hearing of other peoples experience with intermittent and sporadic activity, I shrugged it off as maybe they did something wrong in the application of the product.

It wasn’t until the time I rode my 1982 GPz1100 B2 model to downtown San Diego that I encountered the problems others had gone through.

After concluding my business downtown, I walked to where my bike was parked, turned the key to unlock the forks, and prepared to start the engine. The key was in the "On" position, yet I had no lights in the dash panel, the fuel pump was not running(I have FI), and the horn and tail light were not working.


Stumped as to why nothing electrical was happening, I remember my earlier conversations about how WD-40 will over time become a non-conductor(more like an insulator). I had some pieces of 400 and 600 grit sandpaper in my tool kit and with them was able to scratch away the coating from the WD-40 on the fuses and clips.

After removing the insulating film, the bike started and ran like it should. Since that time, I’ve told people about the problem with WD-40. If you must use a contact cleaner, I recommend getting some "De-oxit" from Radio Shack Stores or any good electronic supply store.



Re: Cleaning the many and various Motorcycle electrics


I used the De-oxit D-5 spray on all the electrical connections of my 78 Kz1000 that had sat for twenty years .

When I parked the bike in 92 I was starting to have troubles with some of the electrical system,
but after pulling everything apart and giving it a spray , reconnecting the connectors and working them back and forth a few times, then gave them another shot of spray to wash them off before the final reconnection.

Everything still works perfectly and has for over 7000 miles this year.

I am extremely happy with the results , a lot of the connectors were green when I started and after the cleaning they looked new ( shiny gold )

I found the Deoxit D-series, D-5 spray in a 4 oz can at a big electronics store called Frys in Illinois,
don't get the small cans at Radio Shack , they are different and meant for computer type stuff.

store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.188/.f

Trust MFolks , the guy's a true rocket scientist and really knows what he's talking about

If you find failed or failing solder joints in the switch pods(check the left one too, as it has the turn signal controls), here's a repair procedure:


Repairing crumbled switch and light bulb socket soldering.


Some of the older Kawasaki's, and possibly the other brands of motorcycles may be experiancing crumbled or failed switch and light bulb factory soldering jobs.

When repairing soldered wires on motorcycle switches or light bulbs sockets, have the following on hand:

1. A 25 Watt soldering iron or one that the wattage can be adjusted.

2. Rosin core solder.

3. Rosin flux or soldering paste (Never use solder or soldering paste designed for plumbing work, as it contains an acid that will corrode the electrical joint, ruining it).

4. 91% rubbing Alcohol, or 70%. The lower percentage will clean up flux residue, but not as good as the higher percentage stuff.

5. A cut down ½” paint brush, or acid brush for scrubbing the repaired solder joint.

6. Clean rags or paper towels

7. A damp sponge to keep the soldering iron tip clean.

8. Some “Solder Wick” a braided bare copper wire designed to collect heated excess solder, aiding in joint preperation, available at electronic supply stores.

9. Some wooden toothpicks.

10. Small Hemostats or clip on heatsinks.

A. Before soldering, “Tin” the soldering iron tip by plugging it in or turning the iron on, allowing it to get to operating temperature(2-3 minutes).

B. Unroll about 3” of solder from the roll of rosin core solder & then using a clean rag or paper towel moistened with Alcohol, wipe the unrolled solder, removing the finger print oils that will create a poor solder joint.

C. Apply a small amount of solder to the now heated soldering iron tip, wiping the excess off with the wet sponge or rag, keeping a thin layer of solder on the soldering iron.

D. The soldering iron is now ready for use, but before applying the heated tip to a wire, wipe the tip on the damp sponge or rag, this removes any oxidized solder and makes for a much better connection.

E. If the joint to be repaired is grey in color or appears “Crumbled”, apply some rosin soldering paste or flux to the joint with a small toothpick of screwdriver, and then apply the soldering iron tip for a few seconds.

G. The fluxed joint should clean up, allowing for a better connection. If no luck, use the solder wick to remove all traces of the old solder by apply in it between the soldering iron tip and the bad joint.

H. Hemostats and clip on heatsinks will be used to prevent the wire insulation from burning, overheating & pulling away from the connection.

I. Apply a small amount of flux to the joint to be repaired & then a very short duration of heated soldering iron tip & solder(like a few seconds or so).

J. Clean off the repaired joint with the brush & rubbing Alcohol, the newly repaired joint should appear clean and bright, almost as if it were polished, with no voids or holes.



Re: Repairing crumbled switch and light bulb socket soldering.

This information comes from years of missile test cable and equipment assembly, when I worked at General Dynamics/Convair division in San Diego California, on the BGM-109 Tomahawk and later on the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile. This was from 1983-1993.

Have you got a wiring diagram? I was sent a service manual by one of the members here and it sure helped a lot having a blueprint, I dont know how to send you a copy of wiring blueprint as my computer skills are limited, but perhaps another member here does and will take the courtesy to send you the manual. Good luck and do what MFolk said.

I did take the right side pod apart, but did not see anything corroded, or oxidized.
The key switch inside, is clean with good contacts.

I had a hard time taking apart the kill switch/starter button, but i will try again tomorrow and see if it has a bad contact.

That said - would a bad kill switch contact prevent ANY and ALL power from reaching anything else in the bike? I have no power to the headlight plug, no power to any other component.

When bridging the starter solenoid i get sparks and starter motor turns, regardless of switch position. I guess that section gets power directly from the battery.

The run/stop or kill switch, controls the igntion coils "Hot Side", and usually has both ignition coils wired together. If the bike has ignition points, these control the collapse of the magnetic fields in the ignition cils, producing the spark. On electronic ignition Kawasaki's, the IC Igniter gives the ignition coils their grounds, again, producing the spark.

If it were me. I'd remove the headlight, and then look at the wiring inside the headlight housing, mice or other rodents may have chewed on the wiring.

www.kawiworld.com/index.php?option=com_c...icle&id=77&Itemid=99
www.kzrider.com/filebase/doc_download/260-z1000k1
Hopefully this will help.

The head light is off, and all wires look good.

Short of taking the entire harness off the bike, i am not sure what i can do with the diagram, as i have no power anywhere on the bike.

Any ideas?

No Power anywhere, Look at your main fuse. You need to test that power is making it across the fuse. That is where you start, power comes from the battery positive, into the main fuse, then out of the main fuse to the ignition switch. Got to have that circuit first before the ignition switch can send power to the rest of the bike.
Now you also must have the other side of the system, The Ground. This is the battery Negative cable at the battery, and at the engine block. On the K model it is on a bolt at the engine case, right side, back near the swing arm, faces straight out so easy to see and get a wrench on. One way to test this is to Bridge the two large terminals of the starter solenoid with a metal object like a socket extension. If your battery is charged, and the starter is good, then it should spin. This just verifies you have the battery cable connections. While this checks the cables, you still need to check the smaller cable for power to and out of the fuse box. It goes in as Red/ white, through a bullet connector, becomes white going into the main fuse, and white out of the main fuse to the ignition switch.
The wiring diagram clearly shows this. Also it shows what wires are connected by the ignition switch when the key is turned on. There is a Box at the bottom of the diagram for switch contacts.

FOUND IT!!!!!

Second fuse (i think main switch fuse) had a bad contact, and had the wrong fuse installed.

Swapped, and cleaned the contact, and all lights lit up - except for the the main head light - not sure why yet. All pods on both sides cleaned and good. Bulb good but no power. Am i missing something else?