TOPIC:

I have a 1979 KZ400 that I just bought last month. It has 15k miles on it and seems to be in pretty good condition, although I am a big novice with motorcycles so maybe I'm not the best judge.

I guess I have some kind of electrical problem with the bike but I'm not really sure what it is. I'll describe it in detail and if anyone knows where to start please help me out.

As of Saturday (5 days ago), the bike would not start, but there were no electrical problems as far as I can tell. The bike had been running fine but then was accidentally tipped over for a few seconds when I was moving it many weeks ago. I believed the carb to be flooded so I went to drain this (last night) and was successful. Then when I turned the ignition on, none of the indicator lights (neutral light, oil light, etc) came on at all. The indicator lights have always come on in the past, even after the bike fell over, and were working fine the last time I turned the ignition on on Saturday.

The only thing I think I might have done is maybe screwed something up when I read the voltage on the battery because I did this between yesterday Saturday. Other than that, literally NO work has been done to the bike and it has just sat underneath a tarp so I cannot figure out what went wrong.

To test the voltage, I was using this multimeter that I purchased a few days ago: www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90899

I had it set to the "20V" setting and the battery read .55. Does this mean .55 x 20 = 11 Volts? I don't understand how to convert the .55 into a voltage. Also, even if the voltage is low, the indicator lights should still come on when the ignition switch is turned, correct?

Any help is greatly appreciated. This bike was working fine and I fear I really screwed it up somehow, which is disappointing because I believe I got a great price on it. If I haven't been clear with something or you have another question please post and I'll respond ASAP. Thanks very much!

-JR

when the bike tipped over you likely spilled all the juice out of the battery. rinse it off the bike and put in a new battery.

make sure you're using the meter properly.

20V scale should read in the 12V to 14V range on a good battery

note, there are AC and DC scales. make sure you are on the correct one. the AC scale will probably havd a ~ while the DC will have a solid and a dashed line, one over the other.

You can test your meter with a good flashlight or AA battery. Should read 1.5V or so.

Don't use the 'Amps' connector for anything. At least not until you've had some basic electricity study.

-Duck

Thanks for the tip, you are completely right, I removed the battery and there was corrosion over a lot of the parts in the middle. I wiped it all with a clean wet cloth. Is there anything else I need to do to make sure the parts don't corrode further? They all look OK to me, just a little rust.

Do I have to get a brand new battery or can I go and get the current one charged? According to the level of fluid indicator in the battery it is still almost completely full and I know for a fact the battery is only a few months old. Thanks again.

oh also, you were right as well on the charge of the battery. when you first read it it reads .55 then quickly drops to .36 then to .01 every time, so i assume it has no charge.

i checked with a battery and it did measure 1.5V so i have the correct setting

Just a thought, you might need to neutralize the battery acid somehow, I wonder if wiping a rag would really get it all? I might mix some water and baking soda until it's dissolved, and wash the bike with it. Rinse with water .

Fill the battery to the top line and charge it up, it could surprise you and still work.

rinse bike with a hose
get all the acid flushed off

Battery may have shorted against something when it tipped over.

Check all the cells, if you didn't lose much acid from any of them, it may take a charge. From the voltage reading, I doubt it but it's worth a try. MC battery from the autoparts store usually comes with a 3 month 'exchange' warranty.