Chasing voltage issues

While troubleshooting fuel/air mixture issues I discovered only about 10v getting to the coils. After cleaning up all the electrical contacts I could find, there was virtually no change. Previous owner has quite a bit of electrical tape and crimps throughout the wiring harness so I decided to start fresh with a new one.

While waiting for that to arrive I noticed the charging system wasn't working properly. Voltage between battery terminals doesn't get much above 12v at any RPMs from idle up to 4k. Unplugged regulator, no change. Ohm readings at the rectifier passed the test. Alternator did not. Barely any readings between the pins, same thing when attached to ground.

So I went ahead and switched out the stator, thinking it was at fault as Clymer suggested. Only I found no difference. Any advice on where to turn next?

Rectifier gets pretty warm, but not enough to melt wires or anything. Also, would not turning lights off affect the tests I did with the regulator/rectifier/alternator? It says to do so in the manual, however, a certain previous owner had done away with the on/off switch.

daless, while you are in there, check and clean up your earth straps, to both the motor and the frame, bad earths are a cause of more headaches than you care to know, make sure there is no corrosion under the terminals were the bolt to the motor and frame.
if you unplug your stator/alternator from the voltage regulator, you should have around 70 - 80 volts coming out of the stator/alternator, if not, it is probably bad or on its last legs.

The U.S. bikes had no light switch to turn off the lights, and it does put extra strain on the system when trying to start, the best is to incorporate a relay to turn off the light when you start the bike, to let the bulk of the voltage go to the starter and coils.

here is a simple diagram to fit the relay to turn the lights off when you engage the starter.

This is for my bike, your wiring colour coding may be different, but you get the idea, also you will see a descrepency between the top and botton diagram, with regards to pin 85 and 86 on the realy, as to which one goes to grond and which one to the starter, it does not matter, all you are doing is completing the circuit, it makes no difference.

Hope this helps a bit.

Thanks for the reply, Flyboy. Putting in the new harness did nothing for my coil voltage issue. I had cleaned up the engine ground, but forgot about the frame so I'll have to check that out.

As for the headlight thing I may end up putting in that relay, but first I think I'll try to get my hands on a right handlebar switch block with the on/off switch intact. Should be a simple replacement since the harness has wires for it. Or would it be possible to replace the plastic insert where the switch should stick out with a working switch?

Can anyone point me to where the frame ground is on a KZ1000-A1? I can't find it on the bike or wiring diagram. Is it a loop connector with a bolt like the engine ground?

Most are an engine mounting bolt, with a large(maybe 8 gauge) cable going to the Negative(-) battery terminal/post. Other grounds may be marked with a Yellow stripe on Black wires.

KZ750 twins had the light switch through the 78 model year, 79 had the wiring for it but a block off plate in the switch position. I thought the 650's and 1000's were the same.

Mine definitely has a block off plate and no paint on the words, but who knows what a PO might have done. I do have a switch block on the way with the proper innards for an actual light switch, and for some reason it feels good knowing I'll be able to turn the lights on and off at will.

But any other ideas as for my voltage/charging issue? I really hope these two situations are connected. Could it be the rotor? Magnet seems good since the stator latches right on as soon as it gets close.

My neighbor told me about having a proper gap between the stator and rotor, but I don't see how adjusting it would be possible, and I haven't come across anything about it. Thanks again to all.