I have a 1980 KZ1300 ... I was going to have a friend redo my carbs cuz it has not been run for a couple years ... Well, I put a charger on it the night before and got lights etc and left it charge over night and in the morning it turned over etc but would not start .... My friend came over with a trailer, we loaded it on, he hauled it to his place where it was easier to work on ... When he got it there, he tried to turn it over and poof electrical system shut down ... He could not get even a neutral light to come on, nothing ... tried jumping the battery and nothing ... he tried to jump the starter and it turned over, slow, but did ... but as far as anything else, no lights, not even a neutral light .... He checked all the fuses that could be found and they all tested good ... anyone ever have a problem like this? Or know what could be wrong? .... Now he said he went from the battery to 3 different fuses or something and there was power or complete circuit but a couple others were like they were dead, no current going to them ... not sure exactly what that was , just what he said ... are there maybe some fuses or breaker hidden somewhere? where they may not be visible at first look? Thanks for any help you can give me

 

One more question... anyone know where I can find a schematic for the electrical system that I could print out? I tried searching google but no luck ... Thanks again

 

On a bike that old, I would carefully look over ALL electrical connections. Make sure there are no loose or corroded connections. The battery cables may be the worst offenders of corrosion. Even if you don't see any corrosion on the battery terminals, it can still be under the wire insulation. I don't know if, or where any fusible links or a main fuses would be on your bike. I would recommend buying a Clymer manual, a factory service manual for the wiring schematic. It would also be nice to have for any other issues down the road.

 

If it was a ground problem, would the starter still turn over some when you jump across it with a screwdriver? ... With the whole electrical system shut down, seems that would not work either, or am I wrong? Not sure ... Thanks again

 

I would recommend getting a new battery to start with.

 

OK, I found what the problem was, I foun a schematic for it and it showed 2 power switches ... on for the ignition and another that is on the switch where you pop the seat ... if you pop the seat and do not turn the key back sideways and leave it verticle and take the key out, it shutsdown the whole electrical system .... I have never seen another bike like that, which actually is an excellent idea and should be on all bikes ... so you can turn the stitch verticle, pull out the key and your bike can not be hotwired or anything else without ripping the seat up and removing the hole switch assembly .... makes it nearly imposible for anyone to steal it without picking it up and carrying it away ... lol and still a major operation to even think about trying to get any power to the bike at all ... I am going to make another post about why my bike idles but no more to catch someones eye on that problem now

 

wow, that is interesting about the seat switch.

 

Yes it is and without that schematic and the owners manual. probably would have never found it without taking it in for 90 bucks an hour to have them find it ... lol ... so I am hoping that maybe this helps some others who may ever have that problem or want to know about the shut down switch