Making a Headlight Switch Work

Ran into an issue today with the headlight switch I'm trying to install.

I figured to adapt one of the emgo kz900 switch blocks z1e sells. Still wanted to use the old one's outer shell, so I took the wiring out of the new one and got it to fit fine with some tinkering. Clipped off the connectors it came with and crimped on bullets to go into the harness. I used a wiring diagram to figure out where to plug everything into for the most part, except one thing is confusing me.



From what I understood, the two brown wires coming from the harness must go to the peach colored and red ones coming from the switch block (unplugged). The peach (originally brown) goes up to the headlight and kill switches, whereas the red meets up with a red/blue and goes up to just the headlight switch.

When I first hooked things up and turned on the bike, I blew the main fuse. Since I wasn't sure which brown wire went to the red or peach, I just swapped them and that seemed to solve the issue. Had everything connected, headlight switch working, no hot wires or blown fuses. Even took a voltage measurement at the coils with the headlight off to see if my coil voltage issue was fixed (saw improvement, but still losing half a volt).

I hadn't fully fit the switch block onto the bars yet, just to make sure everything worked properly first. When I went to put it on, I found I needed to tinker some more inside the block to make it fit right. So I Took it off, got things right, and proceeded to get everything together for good. Only this time, with everything together, I keep blowing fuses no matter which way I have the two browns going.

Can't figure out what changed. Everything seems to be right where it was. I even alternated between male and female bullets to make it easier to tell what went where. Now it's snowing and I'm just about out of fuses. Any thoughts much appreciated.

daless wrote: Only this time, with everything together, I keep blowing fuses no matter which way I have the two browns going.

Can't figure out what changed. Everything seems to be right where it was. I even alternated between male and female bullets to make it easier to tell what went where. Now it's snowing and I'm just about out of fuses. Any thoughts much appreciated.

Sounds like you are connecting a power line to ground. Maybe one of the brown wires is ground.

If you have a good Ohm meter: disconnect the battery and then Ohm out the brown wires with respect to ground. Maybe one is grounded.

Here's a link to the color wiring diagram in KZr FILEBASE.
The ignition switch connections are included.

www.kzrider.com/filebase/search/finish/1-general/246-z1000a1

The brown harness wires are switched battery positive.

Good Fortune!

I found this thread:

www.kzrider.com/forum/4-electrical/76076...w&limitstart=0#76650

In particular, this quote from wiredgeorge:

"79MKII - If you don't know if the switch will work, it will be a chore to make it work. Here is how it works... switched VDC comes from the ignition switch and goes to the kill switch. Out of the kill switch is is split and one leg goes to the ON/PO/OFF switch on the right switchgear where it comes off as this is not just a simple on/off switch. The PO position also has wires coming out. One of the wires that comes off the switch in the ON position is a BLUE wire which is hot when in the "on" position and it comes off the switch and down the wiring bundle where it splits off on its own and doesn't terminate in the multipin connector like the rest of the pins.

"OK... the way your headlight works is that there are two wires going to the headlight... a red/black and a red/yellow. One is to light the high beam and the other the low (can't recall which is which at the moment but I THINK the red/black is the low beam. You can tell by opening the right hand switch gear and looking at the switch and noting which wire corresponds to which switch position. Anyway, you will note a BLUE wire feeds the headlight wires. This wire comes OUT of the left switch gear and ON YOUR BIKE, joins into the MAIN wiring harness where it comes directly off the ignition switch. In other words, when you turn the key on, your headlight comes on.

"On the earlier models, the blue wire OUT of the left switch gear didn't go into the main harness but plugged into that blue wire coming off the right hand switch gear.

"Geesh, this sounds complicated but if you want to use an earlier right switch gear, you will have to pull the blue wire from the LEFT switchgear and hook it to the blue wire from the right switch gear. Keep in mind that the PO position on the switch won't work right as this is the parking light stuff and they can be turned on separately from the headlight and a similar mod would have to be done to them to get those lights to work. I am thinking they are on the brown sub-circuit and will skip the long explanation for that.

"Anyway, it MIGHT be simpler to leave your current switch gear in place and put a simple in-line switch that can be mounted somewhere (like on the handlebar). You would just cut into the blue wire going to the left hand switch gear to install the swtich."

Would this apply to me?

Never mind. just realized I already did that.

Can't seem to figure this out. I really tried to match things up to the diagram but still no success. I can't connect anything to the brown harness wires without blowing the fuse, even the brown coming from the switch that went to one before. When I touch the coil, headlight, and speedo/tach wires from the harness to them I get power to their respective functions, but the wires from the switch block only make sparks and blown fuses. What the hell is going on here?

somehow you created a conection from the power to ground in your switch block......check your internals and see where the power leads are touching something else.

Thanks a bunch, guys. All I had to do was switch the two wires on the kill switch around. On, off, and po all work awesome. Plus coil voltage is back up to where it ought to be with the headlight off. Feels good.

Edit:

Not quite the end of the story. Turns out metal on the starter button switch I modified was touching its little bracket, which touches the switch block housing and was therefore grounding out to the handlebar. Had to laugh at myself on that one.