TOPIC:

Hmm. We're far out of my knowledge of how a coil works!

But I'm sitting here thinking you should be checking and re-checking your ground wires just to be sure. ESPECIALLY the one/two that connect to the battery, this one is prone to corrosion and failure, causing weird symptoms like you're having....

The battery on the bike is dead. I'm using jumper cables to an auto battery. Ground is on the case, positive is on the battery lead.

Should be fine, the headlight is nice and bright.

So I now understand how a coil works.

The R/Y lead is +12, and the blue lead is the ground for that winding. That is the primary coil.

The spark plug wires and case ground make up the other winding. That's the secondary coil.

Should I have current drop across the primary winding when grounded or is that a sign of a bad coil?

Put your light tester on the coil's negative lead. (That's the blue wire, right?) and get the bulb to light dimly as you did before (it's normal for it to be dim there). As you turn the engine over, that light should blink on and off. If it does, then the problem is most likely the condenser. If it doesn't, then it's the points are not closing or the blue wire is broke.
Of course, make sure the points are clean. (The light should go out as the points close.)

Since the points and condenser are cheap, just replace them both at the same time.

The light does blink.

I found the value for the kz400 condenser, it's 0.20uF.

Anybody know of a site that will let you cross-reference condensers? Locally I can only find one for about 30-40 bucks.

I would think any auto condenser of the same value would work (or is at least worth a try for 4 or 5 bucks).

Found the value from this eBay auction here:

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KAWASAKI-KZ400-T...dZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

The light should be dim then possibly flash a tad brighter just before it goes out.

I replied in the condenser thread you have going.

But yes, you should be able to use any cheap condenser from a similar type setup... even old car condensers might work, but your better off getting one from some other KZ with points. $30 is pretty damn steep. You should be able to substitute a cheaper one.

I thought Kit said that Z1 sells the points and condenser for $12. That's more than a good deal.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/04/21 13:15

Have you tried replacing the spark plugs?