Clutch/kickstand switch?

[haydes55]

My bike ('05 Z1000 Kawasaki) just developed an issue. Wondering if anyone has any insight.

Turn key on, wait for it to be ready, starts up easily. The bike revs fine. As soon as I pull the clutch in, with the kick stand up, it kills the engine. If I pull the clutch in then kick up the kick stand it dies. If I kick up the kickstand, it idles fine, then dies as soon as the clutch is pulled in.

The dash also now lights up both indicators, high beam light and N light when idling in neutral. No headlight on and indicators don't work. Oil light and FI light are off.

I checked all fuses, had a look over all wiring and the switches at clutch and kick stand look fine. I can hear them clicking when they activate.

Any ideas?

[neels]

Things not working like they should and random disco lights quite often points to missing an earth somewhere...

[haydes55]

Things not working like they should and random disco lights quite often points to missing an earth somewhere...

I haven't checked earths yet, I'll get the tank off and have a look now. Thanks.

[unstuck]

Bad earths or Gremlins. Good luck.:niceone:

[haydes55]

I downloaded the manual, looked over every earth I could find. All look fine and pass the wiggle test and the visual test. I'm going to have to leave this til tomorrow and buy myself a multimeter to chase these little gremlin bastards. Doesn't help that Kawasaki use the same coloured wires for several different things.

[awayatc]

Have a good look around headlight / fairing / dashboard area, thats where there are a few connectors/ connections. Sounds like one or two may have come undone ..?

[haydes55]

Chocolate fish to the 3 of you. Especially Mr.. Awayatc.

I had unplugged the dash, when plugged back in, the bike was back to normal. Definitely sounded like a wire being loose or uninsulated. So off with the front.

I found a couple dodgy looking connections, undid all the insulation tape and cable ties. I found about 5 wires leading into the dash were worn through the insulation, obviously one of these earthed on the metal bracket behind the headlight.

Insulation tape around each individual wire, then insulation taped together, then routed to not rub as bad. The bike works great now, survived a blat up the road and it survived a good wiggle of all the wires.

[neels]

Chocolate fish to the 3 of you. Especially Mr.. Awayatc.

I had unplugged the dash, when plugged back in, the bike was back to normal. Definitely sounded like a wire being loose or uninsulated. So off with the front.

I found a couple dodgy looking connections, undid all the insulation tape and cable ties. I found about 5 wires leading into the dash were worn through the insulation, obviously one of these earthed on the metal bracket behind the headlight.

Insulation tape around each individual wire, then insulation taped together, then routed to not rub as bad. The bike works great now, survived a blat up the road and it survived a good wiggle of all the wires.
Good spotting.

I had a similar thing once on an old XL250, had rubbed through where the loom went through the front fork, and just happened to be earthing the kill switch wire. Took me pulling the bike almost completely to bits to find it.

[haydes55]

Good spotting.

I had a similar thing once on an old XL250, had rubbed through where the loom went through the front fork, and just happened to be earthing the kill switch wire. Took me pulling the bike almost completely to bits to find it.

The hardest part of the job was walking down to the shops, because the bike didn't go and my work van is locked away over new years.

the paint looks pretty fucked on the lower triple trees, that will be the next project, vinyl wrap probably the best to cover it tidily and protect what's remaining. You can see it in the picture, and you can see the dodgy looking wiring :facepalm:

The rest of the wiring looks good, I gave everything a going over, lubed all cables, cleaned and CRC'd the kickstand and most electrical plugs.