Electrical Short

Just bought a few new ignition coils for a 1979 KZ 650 that I haven't rode in about 6 months, I got them on but when I turn the key on, the main fuse shorts about 15 seconds after I have the key in on position. I don't know much about electrical systems and its been pretty frustrating.. But how can I find if its shorting out, and how do I find out where it is shorting, if thats the case? Thanks.

Ed.

Oh boy. I csn sympathise. Wish there was a simple process for finding a short. Maybe there is an I just dont know. Happened to me a few weeks back. Started blowing main fuses almost immeadiatley. Ended up pushing the beast nearly 2 miles. sweat sweat, pant pant :sick:
Anyway. I started at the battery and carefully followed every live wire. Took off the tank and carefully followed the harness to the coils. Nothing obvious. Opened the headlight shell and found a piece of unravelled electrical tape (blame previous owner) and a bare bullet connector which was likely touching the inside of the headlight shell and causing the short. Soldered up a new connection and used heat shrink and everything is now hunky dory. If you replaced the coils recently then you may want to look in that area.
I seem to remember a recent post where bill_wilcox mentioned a particular brand of coils and how one of the connectors came very close to a piece of metal and was prone to shorting out.
I'll be back if I can find it.

Ok ... found it

Click here
kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...w/catid,4/id,164506/

and scroll down

Post edited by: JR, at: 2007/10/02 20:52

Are you seeing signs of excessive heat on the fuse or fuse box? I had a problem with the main fuse blowing recently, and my attempts at cleaning the fuse clips, bending the fuse clips, applying dielectric grease, etc, still resulted in blown fuses, with obvious signs of excessive heat on the fuse and fuse box. The problem started with the fuse blowing instantly. I cleaned, bent, greased, etc, the fuse clips resulting in the fuse lasting longer, but it still blew, but this time the fuse and fuse box showed signs of heat damage. I replaced my fuse box with a blade type fuse box I got at Advance Auto for less than $5. I haven't had a blown fuse since. Also, the bike runs better, the lights are brighter, and the blinkers flash faster. Best $5 I've spent on the bike.

Ill try replacing the connectors on the main fuse, thanks.

dont know about the 79 model, but the 77 the wires run thru the bars, had a lot of issues until I took them out and fixed the bad wires, ran them on the outside also

Ok, not shorting anymore.. I guess I had the coils hooked up wrong, i disconnected 'em and now it doesnt short... What else could that be?? I left the book for the bike outside and it rained, so my wiring diagram is done for. I'm pretty confused, it looked like the the black cables coming off the coil goes to the points and condenser...? I figured they were a ground though. Can anyone explain what it should look like to connect the coils..? Also, is there anywhere to download wiring diagrams online? I just wanna ride . Any help is much appreciated, thanks all.
-Ed.

You don't say what model your '79 KZ650 is, but you can find the wiring diagram for all of them here (rain or shine).


diagrams.kz650.info/wiring/WiringDiagrams.htm

Awesome website. Thanks, one more question.. Is there a good way to find out exactly what model your bike is..? Theres D1s, 2s, F1s and twos, Es, all kinds. I tried puting the VIN on kawasaki.com and it says it doesn't exist. The side panels say SR 650, and it says '79 on the exhaust. The sticker on the forks is long gone, its my grandfathers bike and hes passed away. Thanks for all the help,

Ed