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hi there,up until today ive had fairly travel free miles with my z500 v reg 1979.today about half a mile from return journey home the bike statred to slowly dye out,i manage to almost get home then i pushed it the last few steps.dont know why but i lifted the seat,to my suprise i seen a few puffs of smoke comming from the black ignition box,the writting on it says piranha ignitions.i dont know how long this box has been on the bike.when i turn the key everything still works but when i pull the cluth in and push the starter button theres nothing at all.this is totaly new to me and havent much of a clue on wat im doing in this area.can i just replace the box with another one,or do i have a major problem on my hands here.i would really appreciate any help or advice on this,thanks very very much.

kevin
aberdeen scotland

Post edited by: morseman, at: 2007/07/15 19:31

When you hit the starter button, you mean the engine turns over, but just won't run, correct?

If the ignition box is dead, I don't think you can just replace the box. I don't think you can get a replacement Pirhana box anymore(I haven't even heard of them).

You could install a stock 550/650/750 electronic ignition from 1981 or some 1982 and 1983 models. Or you could install a Dyna S ignition from Z1enterprises.com. You would use the one compatible with KZ550 models.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2007/07/16 11:35

hi mate and many thanks for the reply.all the lights still come on but when i push the starter button the engine dosent turn over,i traced the fault to the igniter box and after taking it it and opening it its burned out a capacitor .i went to my local breakers today and they had an igniter box which has exactly the same plugs as mine and everything looks the same even the box is the same but instead of parahna ignitions it says newtronic systems ltd and its from a z650,i spoke to the mechanic and he told me it would be fine and should have no problems at all,with the igniter box i also got the rest of the bits ie,the round plate with the bits on it(shows u how much i know about ignition systems),ive never had to sort this kinda problem out before.i nearly traded in my z500 today for a xj600 ahhhhh i kinda glad i didnt,gona plug this new box in tommorow morning and see if everything runs fine,fingers crossed,thanks again bud.

kev

Kev, If the aftermarket ignition burned up, when you push the starter button, the starter should turn over the engine over but the plugs shouldn't fire. The starter circuit has NOTHING to do with the ignition directly. To turn the bike over, power is connected from your battery to the starter solenoid (relay) via a red cable connection from the battery to solenoid. The solenoid is connected to the starter by a heavy cable. The starter body contact to the frame provides ground for the circuit. A wire comes from your starter button so that when you push the starter button, it completes a circuit that provides switched DC voltage to the starter solenoid to trigger the solenoid (which is really just a relay) and the triggering shuts a gate in the solenoid that allows power across from the battery lug on the solenoid to the starter cable lug.

Frying the ignition module may have blown a fuse. Check them carefully because sometimes they look OK but are bad. You can use a multimeter in Ohms mode to check continuity... that is, touch the ends of the fuse with the probes and if the fused element is really burned, it will show no change in value.

The ignition module is powered by switched voltage that runs from your fuse box to your ignition switch over to your right hand switch gear and through the kill switch... or at least that is how it SHOULD be routed so that the kill switch would kill power to the ignition but whoever installed the unit may have powered it with a lead directly off the ignition switch. I don't know anything about your ignition but if you continue to have problems and the Newtronics company isn't there for support, you may want to consider a Dynatek ignition. I think they may make a Dyna S unit for your bike. The Dyna S doesn't have a "box"... the ignition is contained within what could be called the pickup coils. If you don't see your bike on their site www.dynaonline.com, you should contact them as I suspect one of their models will fit. Also, if you decide to buy one, www.z1enterprises.com carries the Dyna S at quite a bit less than the manufacturer sells them for and ships overseas.

thanks for the info mate,very helpfull.i installed the new igniter box today and pushed the starter button and nothing,the engine isnt even turning over.everything lights up as normal but no engine response at all not even turning over.i am totaly stuck and the shop were i bought the bike is picking it up on thursday and there going to get the mechanics onto it as they say that they will get it going again.i checked the fuses also with a meter and there fine but changed the main fuse anyway as i had a few of them.something else must have went wrong the same times as the igniter box.just hope they can get to the bottom of the fault.thanks again mate.

kevin
aberdeen scotland