Starting and Run Switch Issue

Hello KZR members,

I have a 78' KZ650 which I purchased a couple of years ago; it had been sitting in a barn for the past 12 years. The seller told me that it hadn't run due to some electrical issues, and that's why he stopped riding it. I got it home and after changing the fluids, plugs and tires it stated right up! I've been happily riding it since. It wasn't until late June that I got it out to ride this season. It started up as usual, but has since got to the point of not starting at all. I've done the normal things like check connections and look for damaged shielding. I don't know much about the electrical system, so I don't know where to start, if it's a component that needs replaced.

Here are two scenarios that may shed some light on the problem. I'll start by saying that the bike has an electronic ignition installed. First, I was trying to start it last week with the starter and by kick starting it, when I switch the Run Switch from on to off - there was a huge backfire. I was able to reproduce this again. Secondly, I removed a plug to see if I was getting a spark. No spark while starting with starter or kicking. Again, when I switched the Run Switch from on to off - I saw a spark jump. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time,
Jeff

I'm not really familiar with the 650 so hopefully others who are will jump in.
I am thinking that your coils are getting power and when you switch from Run to Off the coil electrical field collapse and you get spark. In order for the bike to run then this should be happening when the electronic ignition pickup coils operate normally.

As a first step I would suggest checking the manual for the proper testing procedure for the ignition pickup coils.

Good luck

Ohm Checking Pickup(Pulsing) Coils

The pickup coils on the Kawasaki’s with the factory supplied electronic ignition can sometimes fail or become intermittent due to heat and vibration.

1.Trace back from where the pick up coils are mounted,(under a right side CD sized cover) locate and disconnect a small 4 pin connector. Using a multi-meter set on OHMS and range of X 100 check between the BLUE and BLACK wires(#1 and #4 sparkplug wires) for between 360- 540 OHMS.

2.For #2 and #3 sparkplugs the wire colors will be YELLOW and RED, again 360-540 OHMS.

3.If the pickup coils are suspect of failing due to heat, they can be stressed using a hair dryer without the need of the engine running.

4.A replacement set of pickup coils might be obtained from a dealer who serviced the police Kawasaki’s.

5. If replacement pickup coils are not available, your next choice would be to order a Dyna “S” electronic ignition system from www.z1enterprises.com It replaces the IC igniter with a smaller module located where the mechanical ignition advancer was mounted.

6.Checking with Kawasaki.com website has determined that the Pick up(pulsing) coils are available . The pulsing coil # is 59026-1133 and replaces the older # 1002, 1012 which were used from the MKII motors until the 2005 P24.

Cleaning 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 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.

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.

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


Great stuff
The scroll ball on my apple mouse decided not to work after two years of service. Used all kinds of cleaners to free it up. Nothing worked. Then remembered my can of DeoxIT. Sprayed a small amount on it, scrolled it a few times and all kinds of crud came off of it. It works perfectly now. Thanks DeoxIT !!!!


Excellent contact cleaner from audio to ac power contacts
I've been an A/V Tech-Roadie for over 30 years and have used Deoxit since it was first introduced. I've cleaned /rejuvenated volume controls,switches and audio connections on everything from guitar amps to full blown recording consoles. It not only cleans mild to excessive corrosion but the lubricant keeps the part in good working order months afterwards. Much easier than replacing a hard to replace part. I also spray it on all the audio connectors periodically to insure good connectivity. Along with my A.C. power plugs and quad boxes that are used outside for live shows to prevent corrosion from the elements.
Good stuff. Obviously highly recommended.


Great Stuff
I used this stuff on my 35 year old Kenwood KA-7300 amp which had not been used in more than 10 years and it was fantastic. When I first tried to use the amp, all of the switches only worked sometimes and the static and inconsisyent sound was unbearable. I thought that my left channel was not working because it had such a low output compared tothe right channel no matter where the balance was set. After cleaning all the input/ and output jacks and the switches alog with vacuuming out the inside of the amp, the amp works great and sounds like it did back in the day! I was more than pleasantly surprised!!

Testing Kawasaki and other brands of Motorcycle Ignition Coils For Input Voltage:

When voltage testing Kawasaki and other brands of Ignition Coils, the following needs to be done:

1. Remove the fuel/gas tank to access the coils.

2. Fully charge the battery.

3. Using a multimeter, set it up for VDC(Volts, Direct Current), range of 20.

4. Turn on the ignition switch and the run/stop switch to “Run”.

5. Put the multimeter’s RED probe on where the red or red/yellow wire goes on the ignition coil.

6. Put the multimeter’s BLACK probe on either the battery Negative(-) post/terminal or a good frame ground.

7. You should be able to see battery voltage at the ignition coil connection, but this depends on the current draw of other items in the same circuit.

8. If the tested voltage is down to 8-9 volts, you probably need to clean the many and various electrical connectors.

9. To check the spark output at the sparkplugs, use Ignition Spark Testers. Instead of grounding the sparkplug with the sparkplug wire attached, looking for a spark. This method puts the IC Igniter and ignition coils at risk of failure due to high currents, and possible internal shorting.

These bikes have a 5000 ohm, non-replaceable resistor in the sparkplug caps. They go bad from heat, vibration and age. New ones are available at most Japanese motorcycle stores, or through Z1 Enterprises, Inc. - Specializing in Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Parts, including New Old Stock & aftermarket parts. www.z1enterprises.com is their website.

Sounds like the switch needs cleaning. Simple, but time consuming. Disco the wires, pull the control and carefully disassemble. Clean the switch with isopropyl alcohol and reassemble. See if this fixes any of your electrical issues. CAUTION: small parts involved. A clean kitchen table will make a good place to do this.

Since the bike had been sitting, I can only suspect that some of the electrical bits/contacts may have oxidised. A good cleaning is the only way I know to fix this... well, other than spending money and buying a replacement control unit, condition unknown.

JR wrote: ... am thinking that your coils are getting power and when you switch from Run to Off the coil electrical field collapse and you get spark. In order for the bike to run then this should be happening when the electronic ignition pickup coils operate normally....

+1

Normally, the ignition coil becomes "charged" as battery voltage passes through its primary winding while grounded through the Dyna-S pickup modules (or closed points or whatever). In such charged condition, there's a magnetic field created inside the coil.

Disruption of the ground is the event that "collapses the magnetic field" which causes the coil to "fire" through its secondary loop (which includes the spark plug wires).

With Dyna-S -- the ground is broken when the embedded rotor magnet passes by the pick-up module.

With points -- the ground is broken when the contacts open.

As suggested by JR, interruption of the voltage passing through a charged coil serves to collapse the magnetic field, which causes the coil to "fire."

In the case at hand, would suspect failure (for whatever reason) of the coil primary wiring being ungrounded through the ignition.

Good Fortune!

Thank you, and everyone else for the responses. As soon as I have time I'll perform many of your suggestions. In the meantime, I have one question regarding the electronic ignition. The bike has a Dyna III installed, which has long since been discontinued. While inspecting the ignition, I noticed that the contact breakers are completely warn out. Are these still used with the Dyna electronic ignition? Is so, could this be part of the problem? If not, is there any reason they should remain installed?

Edit: I've since discovered that mechanism I'm talking about is the ignition advancer. The contact breakers which are warn out are connected to it. Is the ignition advancer needed when there's an electronic ignition installed?

Thanks,

When you say "contact breakers" my thinking and I believe most people's would be the old style points. A Dyna electronic ignition would replace the points and the plate they are fixed to.
Can you post a photograph of the "contact breakers" ? Make sure photo is sized to less than about 2000 pixels wide otherwise it won't load. Use something like MS Paint

If indeed you have the old style points then worn points could be your problem. A photo though will help us avoid confusion.

OK
Just saw your edit above. Post a photo of the advance mechanism. I have an advancer with my stock electronic ignition but I don't know about Dynas or 650s