TOPIC:

Hi, I have a 1983 kz 440.

The previous owner of this bike knew absolutely nothing about motorcycles. He had told me that the plugs tend to foul faster on this bike. When I took them out to clean them for the first time, it was obvious they were carbon fouled.

Everyday I clean the plugs with a brush, sandpaper, and carb cleaner. I dont have to everyday, but if I go a few days without doing it they will begin to foul out.

I used seafoam in my tank and oil case for about a month. It def worked, shooting black stuff all over my driveway as soon as i put it in.

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***QUESTION***

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How can I stop this from happening so often? I saw where seafoam actually can cause plugs to foul because it loosens carbon. But this happens with or without the seafoam. I have not opened the engine up, but from looking inside with a flashlight i can see carbon deposits on the piston head and some on the valves.

If anyone knows how I can try to clean carbon out without taking the engine apart, please let me know.

Is carbon fouling the pre-cursor to something more serious? what does it entail exactly?

Carbon fouling? Usually fouling is caused by too rich a mixture or weak spark, afaik. I think getting the right adjustments on the carbs, ensuring the proper amount of spark, maintaining proper valve adjustment, and possibly adding a fuel additive as Otakar suggests should prevent fouling. I would adjust the carbs to the FSM recommendations (specifically the idle air/fuel screw) and verify that you are getting proper voltage to the coils/test the coil resistances.

Just my opinion.

Fully charge the battery and then check the input voltage to the ignition coils. If it's down more than 2 volts, you have a corrosion/wiring problem.

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 responce 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.

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.........

Probably need to rebuild the top end. I had this problem on my KZ1000. How much oil consumption? I was about a quart every 500 miles on the KZ1000 and it would carbon foul plugs. Did a rebore and valve job and never fouled a plug again

put a fresh set of plugs in it and take it out on the highway and blow the trash out of it and see if it helps

Also, check the heat range of your plugs; maybe you need to go up one. Ed

Compression test results?

Good Fortune!

AndySlick wrote: Hi, I have a 1983 kz 440.


Everyday I clean the plugs with a brush, sandpaper, and carb cleaner. I dont have to everyday, but if I go a few days without doing it they will begin to foul out.

On my 750 twin, it would start fouling plugs all the time when the valve seals started letting oil seep down onto the plug. It can look like carbon because it is black and burned onto the tip of the plug. It got to where I had to carry a spare set of clean plugs and a plug wrench it fouled so much.

It would be a good idea to post up some pictures of the fouled spark plugs. Oily carbon= engine problems. Dry black sooty carbon= fuel not being burned, ignition or carbs.

wireman wrote: put a fresh set of plugs in it and take it out on the highway and blow the trash out of it and see if it helps

Make sure your engine is property warmed up before you do this. Run it for 15-20 minutes then change to the fresh plugs. Then "blow the trash out of it."

I've been told only to swap plugs when the head is cold? Isn't it easier to cross thread the spark plugs on a warm head?

DoubleDub wrote: I've been told only to swap plugs when the head is cold? Isn't it easier to cross thread the spark plugs on a warm head?

Yes it is, but not usually an issue if your careful and patient.