[cafebobber]

Hi,
I have a 74 KZ400. While riding the other day the bike just shut off. Electrical and engine at the same time. Just stopped working. I charged the battery and that did nothing. When i turn the ignition key nothing happens, no lights, no start, nothin. Where should i start looking to fix the problem?

 

[jbranson]

Check for a main fuse first, see if that's ok.

Then check the battery cables...they might look good at a glance but still be bad. Pull the cables off the battery and clean up the terminals too.

Typically if you have a good battery and have no power to anything at all... it's a cable.

JohnnyB

 

[joe c]

or, and i dont remember how the kwakers are, but i know the stupid switch on my 550 is a big plastic piece of crap and ive heard from other people and read accounts online of the thing failing and nothing working. there is a big plastic part that goes onto the bottom of it that contains the wiring harness and the key actuates the mechanism to make various things work. if that part of the switch goes, or if the connection is broken, youd be dead in the water. so, you could also look there. definitely check the fuse though. with everything going dead, it should be something pretty easy to find.

jc

 

[Geeto67]

Kinda reiterating what has been said here but:

1) pull main fuse check it - Fuses can blow and not look like they have blown, so pull it out and replace with a brand new one to test

2) Battery cable, can be shorting out or not making contact. Disconnect batery check that the positive is making good contact (you do have a volt meter don't you). Check ground and make sure it is not frayed or pulled off.

3) check battery itself - Using volt meter see if it has a charge

4) check kill switch - they corrode and short and kill the bike, usually blowing a fuse in the process. Take apart and check contacts, clean if necessary.

5) Check ignition switch, follow the leads and look for breaks. The kz400 has a pretty good electrical system

6) Check wiring inside headlight. Look for borken leads or corroded connections. Everything in the front passes through here so it is important.

7) Kick bike, Cuss, curse the gods for smiting your trusty steed

8) post the question here (forum for kawasaki parallel twins):

http://www.armbell.com/forum/index.php?mforum=kz400

9) buy my 76 kz400 so you can pirate parts off of it to get yours back to running. (ok the last one is just wishful thinking).

 

[jbranson]

Yea...make sure you look for those "borken" leads....if they are borken then spray them with some cold water or hit them with a rolled up newspaper. Cause if they are busy borken then they ain't doing their jobs. Hehehe...sorry I couldn't resist

JohnnyB

 

[cafebobber]

Thanks for the suggestions, when it stops raining ill go over the bike again. The nine steps above will help, except for step 7. Ive executed step 7 many times already and nothing happens, the bike just kinda whimpers and calls me a "bad man".
Thanks