Solenoid Madness!

I have been trying to find a new solenoid for my 1979 KZ750 for over a month now. The old one gave out. I bought 2 off Amazon from different stores think it would leave me with a backup just in case. These were like $12.00 each so I should have known better.

One did not work at all and just clicked. The other would kinda work until it just clicked as well. I then took apart my old one and cleaned it out and that worked for about 2 days.

For the life of me I can not seem to locate a new (not used) quality solenoid for this bike.
I don't mind paying good money for one as long as it works.

Does anyone know a good place to purchase one from?

I would love to hear from anyone who has replaced on on a kz750 with success.

Thanks!
Larry

Thinking this might work...
www.denniskirk.com/ricks-motorsport-elec...10784.prd/210784.sku

Thoughts?

As close as your local Hardware store in the lawnmower dept around $15.
Although it sounds strange that so many solenoids are giving trouble, maybe there is another issue at play here.
Check your earth straps/cables, a bad earth would give the symptoms you describe, undo them, check for corrosion and clean up properly.
Normally the battery is earthed to the frame and the starter is earthed to the motor, there should be a good earth between the motor and the frame, check it out.
Also check your battery cables, corrosion under the terminals will cause grief.

Short the two big terminals of the solenoid with a screwdriver, the starter should spin, if not, it is not your solenoid, your starter needs a rebuild.
Hope this helps.

Yeah I can start it just fine doing to old screwdriver trick of touching the 2 posts. The started fires right up and starts the bike. The battery is brand new and I am showing a full charge.

What else could make a solenoid just click like that?

Your solenoid is actuated by a small mechanical set of points. When you press the starter button, the points close and current is allowed to run from the battery post to the starter post. The points eventually burn up (as all points do) and you find yourself in your situation.
Mine failed a few years ago on my GPz. It now has a garden tractor solenoid which works just fine.
When you buy one, examine it. It should have 2 posts and one spade connector. The spade connector goes to the starter button, the posts go to the starter and the battery. It does not matter which post goes to which.
Be sure and run a ground wire from a solenoid mounting bolt to the frame bolt or the engine bolt as flyboy suggests.

Sounds good. I think I am going to give this one a try.
www.denniskirk.com/ricks-motorsport-elec...10784.prd/210784.sku

Looks like good quality.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationAccording to Kawasaki.com it is part number 21164-005 (see diagram). There are a couple New Old Stock ones available on eBay. Ed

I'll try one more time.
A starter solenoid is nothing more than a high current relay. Any will do. A garden tractor solenoid is $15 at your local hardware store and works just fine. I have one on my GPz.
And the Dennis Kirk one is the wrong one. They come with either one or two input wires. You need a solenoid with one input wire. That one has two.
It's your money, do as you wish.

koolaid_kid wrote: I'll try one more time.
A starter solenoid is nothing more than a high current relay. Any will do. A garden tractor solenoid is $15 at your local hardware store and works just fine. I have one on my GPz.
And the Dennis Kirk one is the wrong one. They come with either one or two input wires. You need a solenoid with one input wire. That one has two.
It's your money, do as you wish.

I agree it is nothing more than a relay and any that is rated for the current being drawn by the starter should work. But, I thought they all have 2 wires to activate the switch (1 black and 1 yellow/red)? Every wiring diagram I have seen shows them that way and that's how the NOS Kawasaki switch is shown in the eBay listing. How would one wire up a relay with a single input wire? Ed

Sure, let me explain that wiring diagram to you, hopefully it will help.
First, you see the battery 12+ going to one of the posts, and the starter going to the other post.
The red/yellow wire goes to the starter button.
The black wire goes to ground.
On a solenoid with just one input wire, that wire goes to the starter button and the case itself is the ground. So you just run a wire from one of the solenoid mounting bolts to a ground spot on either the frame or the engine. The engine itself has a ground wire running from an engine mounting bolt to a frame grounding bolt. I would use the frame grounding bolt. Easy peasy. And a lot cheaper than NOS or aftermarket.
Hope this makes it a bit clearer.

I get it but remember I have tried the cheaper way twice off Ebay and they have been junk.
If any will do then this one from Kirk should work then. It is a 2 wire which is what my old one was. I know you are just trying to help but like I said, I have tried going the cheaper way with no success.

Well I got the one from Denniskirk which is designed for a kz1000 and it not only works perfectly but also looks just like the OEM. Same size and all! All the cheap ones I had purchased failed.

So if anyone else needs a Solenoid for a kz750 and want one just like the OEM see the link below.
www.denniskirk.com/ricks-motorsport-elec...10784.prd/210784.sku