I have nothing

dynastydudge wrote: I thought about the ignition going bad. So I cut it off and bypassed it. I took the battery out and hooked battery charger directly to the positive and negative. I got a clicking noise out of a connection like it was trying. I took the rubber boot off the starter cylanoid. And I had a headlight and brake light. It looked a lil rusty and I sprayed wd-40 on it. And then I had nothing again. Anybody think getting a new cylanoid is a good place to start?

Yikes!! I can't think of a quicker way to fry the bike's electrical system. If you need a battery , replace the battery. If you hook a charger or jumper cables from a running vehicle to the bike you are very likely to ruin the bike's electrical system. Ed

really? a co-worker told me to hook the charger up to it directly. his dad owns a motorcycle shop so i figured he knew what he was talking about. he said that is a good way to tell if your battery is no good.

dynastydudge wrote: really?

Yup... There are some specific cases where the correct battery charger might be able to light the lights, but in general a battery charger is nothing like a battery and can not be used as a substitute.

And a few more suggestions... WD-40 isn't a good tool for electrical debugging. Stop spraying things with it. Second, try to avoid cutting the wiring (you say you cut out the ignition switch). If you follow this method you'll end up with a heap of 1" pieces of wire and no idea what the original problem was. Third, the solenoid has nothing to do with the lights. If the lights are not working, the solenoid is not your first problem. The solenoid only controls the starter motor.

Here is what I recommend:
1) Take your battery to Autozone and ask them to hook it up to their battery tester. Or buy a new battery. Either way, make sure you have a good battery.

2) Buy a voltmeter. If you don't know which one to get, get this one for $24: Extech MN35 Digital Mini MultiMeter

3) With your new voltmeter, hook the negative meter lead up to the battery ground terminal. Now use the positive meter lead to follow the flow of electricity from the battery positive terminal to every other part of your electrical system. As you follow the path out from the battery, you should be able to find exactly where it stops.

It's like this... If you put the meter lead on the positive battery terminal, you'll read something like 13V on the meter. Follow the wire from the battery to the fuse box?? Yo should read 13V at both sides of the fuse. Now follow the wire from the fuse to the ignition switch. You should read 13V at the ignition switch input wire. Now turn the switch on. You should read 13V at the output of the switch. One of these output wires should go to the headlight. Follow that wire and confirm that you measure 13V at the headlight terminal. Some other wire should go from the ignition switch to the coils. Confirm you have 13V at the coils. And on and on....

thanks for the suggestions guys i appreciate it. i have went thru a divorce and some hard times. i have two bikes and neither one of them are running. i have neglected them both for over a year and they both need to TLC and i wanna ride. so wish me luck i will keep ya posted and if i learn anything i will post it. the weather has went back to crap today so i probably wont get back in the garage today because its not heated.

dynastydudge wrote: really? a co-worker told me to hook the charger up to it directly. his dad owns a motorcycle shop so i figured he knew what he was talking about. he said that is a good way to tell if your battery is no good.

Sorry, but he didn't know what he was talking about at all, or maybe he was being malicious. If you want to determine the health of the battery do as dohc said and have it tested. He is also absolutely right about not using WD-40 on electrical connections and about cutting up the wiring, etc. If you need to clean electrical connectors use Deoxit. Your shop manual should instruct you on how to troubleshoot the electrical system. Ed

Cleaning Motorcycle Electrics

Get some of the De-Oxit DN5 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, and can be purchased at most electronic supply stores.

On the older Kawasaki's, and other makes, 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 DN5 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 response 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. If you discover the soldered connections at the switches are crumbling, I’ve got a repair procedure for this, just ask.

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 DN5 and then rubbing the inside of the fuse clip.

All battery cables must be clean and tight for maximum current transfer. Check the cables going from the Negative(-) battery terminal/post to the engine mounting bolt

Also the one going from the Positive(+) terminal to the starter solenoid and from there to the starter motor.

If any battery cable feels ”Crunchy” when flexed, replace it as possible corrosion is inside the insulation.

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.

Some people put the Di-Electric Grease on cleaned terminations/connectors, I don’t, as I’ve read/heard it can cause problems when it gets hot, actually insulating the connections, so the choice is yours to use or not.

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


“I spent a weekend going through every electrical connection and switch on the bike with a little scotchbrite pad and DeOxit - what a difference! Everything was brighter, gauge backlights, indicator lights, turn signals, I was getting a nicer spark, it fired up quicker, etc. Well worth my time. WELL worth it! “
From a forum member at www.kzrider.com


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.
JD

Use Deoxit DN5 on new or restored electrical contacts to condition them against future corrosion. Deoxit DN5 dissolves oxidation and corrosion on metal surfaces, fills in microscopic gaps and reseals surfaces for better electrical conductivity.

VOC and RoHS compliant
Nonflammable, quick-drying, non-dripping, and safe on plastics
Reduces arcing, RFI, wear and abrasion

Brand: Caig Laboratories
Model: DN5S-6N

Specifications: Net weight: 5.75 oz. (163g)

fastidiots wrote: Fairly common for the Ignitiong switch to go bad in the old hondas.. I have had to swap those out a couple times to fix strange electrical problems in a couple different hindas.

Ig switch went out in my KZ-750.

dynastydudge wrote: thanks for the suggestions guys i appreciate it. i have went thru a divorce and some hard times. i have two bikes and neither one of them are running. i have neglected them both for over a year and they both need to TLC and i wanna ride. so wish me luck i will keep ya posted and if i learn anything i will post it. the weather has went back to crap today so i probably wont get back in the garage today because its not heated.

Harbor Freight has cheap meters for about $5. Take the battery out and do some continuity checking along main power lines and ground lines. You may find a connector or fuse or wire that is open. Replace all fuses regardless of condition. Install a GOOD battery and do some voltage reading along the power feeds and grounds. You can find the open that way.

A meter like this is good enough.

www.harborfreight.com/7-function-multime...25.html#.UyDYIYXFkek

If you've never used a multimeter, watch this video:

The best multimeter tutorial