New member - Fixing up a dejected kz440

Hello all, I'm from Wisconsin and I'm on my second year owning my '83 kz440d5 and now, after gaining some mechanical skills, I realized how screwed up it is. I replaced the primary chain, the sprocket, and the clutch because the chain was slapping against the right cover after only 16k miles (unless that's normal). There is a slight tick in the engine the upper left side which I will figure out later, and until recently it was running horribly which luckily just turned out to be from a sticky throttle cable and screwed up carbs. That was a whole mess but at least it runs well now. 

Currently my problem is that the last owner was not very kind to this beast and messed it up a lot. My turn signals don't blink when I activate them so went looking into the wiring and found a connector in the headlight area that is supposed to have a ground wire attached to it, but it is broken off.  

After seeing that I looked into the wiring diagram and found what wire is supposed to be connected.  

Right now, I'm curious where that wire grounds to so that I can connect it back. Hopefully that would resolve the blinker issue so there is one less thing that keeps me up at night. 

Sorry mods I read the rules now, but I am a little confused on when I can post on the technical forums. Do I need to post twice in the New Members Forum before I can advance?
Thank you all!!

Welcome from the UK, you need to post an introduction first (which you have now done) this and your next post will require approval, you are then good to go.
PS: do your blinkers light up but not flash or do they not work at all ?

Thanks! Yes, the blinkers light up properly and everything works for them (except the front isn't plugged into the running light circuit). I bought oem blinkers just in case because these aftermarket ones suck. Other than that missing wire, I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't flash.

bound wrote:

Thanks! Yes, the blinkers light up properly and everything works for them (except the front isn't plugged into the running light circuit). I bought oem blinkers just in case because these aftermarket ones suck. Other than that missing wire, I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't flash.

If they illuminate when operating the switch that would pretty much rule out a wiring issue and would point towards a faulty "flasher relay" if still stock this is a mechanical unit operated by the current draw from the lamps

That makes more sense. I have a new relay installed so it should work, unless it is faulty. It seems my next option is to look at the wiring for the relay to find any bad connections or cut wires. 

Later - I found that i have a blown 20A fuse and a blackened 10A fuse. Do they make these fuses anymore? They're the round type that clamp in; you probably know. Thanks!

bound wrote:

That makes more sense. I have a new relay installed so it should work, unless it is faulty. It seems my next option is to look at the wiring for the relay to find any bad connections or cut wires.  There should only be 2 wires to the relay - ignition live in and an output to the switch - since the lights are illuminating it would suggest both are OK (what relay have you fitted and what did you remove ?)

Later - I found that i have a blown 20A fuse and a blackened 10A fuse. Do they make these fuses anymore? They're the round type that clamp in; you probably know. Thanks! Those glass fuses are still available from automotive suppliers

There has definitely been some "goings on" in your electrics, to the best of my knowledge the 20amp is the "main fuse" so nothing should work ?????

You're right. The glass was so fogged up with white and black stains that i thought it was broken but it wasn't.  I replaced it anyways so I don't have anything to worry about. Not surprisingly, it still doesn't work. Is there a way to test a relay to see if it works? 

Is the relay you have 2 pin (it should be) with a brown wire (ign live in) and an orange wire (output to the switch) you know the wiring is ok because the lights illuminate when you operate the switch which means the ign live is passing through the relay

Yeah it is 2 pin. I know the relay works now because I checked for continuity with no power so there wasn't any connection. That tells me that the relay is not sticking and is activating when I use my turn signal. If there was continuity with no power, that would tell me that the relay is sticking in the ON position. Tell me if I'm wrong about this. 

I think it might be these aftermarket turn signals that I have. It's hard to tell if they are LED or not but I have OEM turn signals coming in the mail soon. I'll be happy about this because then I'll have running lights in the front. 

Right now I'm now concerned about that missing ground wire. It grounds something so that thing may not be working properly. I may be wrong but it really appears to be grounding the front turn signals and maybe  the headlight, but I am not very good at reading these diagrams 😅. Is there a rudimentary option to fix this or should I leave it be?

bound wrote:

Yeah it is 2 pin. I know the relay works now because I checked for continuity with no power so there wasn't any connection.(what does this statement mean please, what are you actually checking and how?)
That tells me that the relay is not sticking and is activating when I use my turn signal. If there was continuity with no power, that would tell me that the relay is sticking in the ON position. Tell me if I'm wrong about this. Do you understand how a mechanical flasher relay works ? (see explanation below if not)

I think it might be these aftermarket turn signals that I have. It's hard to tell if they are LED or not but I have OEM turn signals coming in the mail soon If they are LED that would definitely cause issues with a mechanical relay (my understanding from your original post was that you already had the replacement OEM items) LED's can work with a different type of flasher relay but with a mechanical unit will either flash "too fast" or "not at all" due the the lower current draw.
. I'll be happy about this because then I'll have running lights in the front. 

Right now I'm now concerned about that missing ground wire. It grounds something so that thing may not be working properly See the below diagram, there are multiple "spare" ground inputs built into the factory loom.
I may be wrong but it really appears to be grounding the front turn signals and maybe  the headlight the turn signals and the headlight (if it works) must be grounded or they wouldn't illuminate so yes, I think you are wrong, but I am not very good at reading these diagrams 😅. Is there a rudimentary option to fix this or should I leave it be? You appear to be falling into the trap of "overthinking" the issue which is quite simple (easily done if electrics aren't your bag)

You might benefit from reading my "elec fault finding guide" link is in my signature.
Mechanical flasher unit:
Inside the unit one contact is mounted on a bi-metal strip, when the turn signals are switched on current flows through the bi-metal strip and contacts to the turn signal switch
That current flow generates "heat" which causes the bi-metal strip to bend and open the contacts (flasher off)
As soon as the current flow is broken by the open contacts the bi-metal strip "cools" and bends back closing the contacts (flasher on)
This cycle repeats until the flasher switch is tuned off. The flash speed is determined by the current drawn by the lamps (flashers speed up when a bulb  has failed)
LED's don't draw enough current to activate the bi-metal strip correctly if at all.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion. Yeah I think these things get in my head and get twisted. My knowledge of mechanical relays are limited. I'm more familiar with the ones that use electromagnet. So I DO have "OEM" turn signals but they are for I belive the 1980 model, which would still work fine. These are the square ones that stick out. I bought the actual ones that are supposed to come with my model which are the circular ones that stick out. The ones that I have right now don't have the wire that grounds onto the turn signal housing. I could make these wires pretty simply but I don't want to mess with the wiring more than it already has been. The front turn signals also don't have running lights which I want 🙃. My whole idea right now is to get the thing as stock as I can so that everything works fine. So right now it's all up to the lights being led from what I'm understanding and replacing them with the originals will tell the truth. Thanks so much for your time and knowledge!!!

Wookie is correct, Brown from the Ignition Key Switch. The Orange, sometimes Yellow,  goes thru the main wiring harness to a connector block to the LH handlebar switch. That's where the L and R is determined. You'll see a Green and Grey? You need to open up the LH switchblock and have a lookie-see.