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Please help! Just purchased bike and died on the way home.

3K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  jeff711 
#1 ·
Hi all, I've just purchased my first zx12r. Was great until it started dieing on me on the way home. i ended up stranded on the side of the road luckily i managed to get some phone reception as i was in the middle of freakin nowhere, called up a tow truck and got it home $150 later. I don't know if this is the stator oil problem or what I think is simply the regulator rectifier. I think this would be an electrical failure, while riding I noticed the digital reader go blank then bike would lose power and stop. I'd try turn the key press start but wouldn't even budge (battery dead!) this happened multiple times on the way home.

How do I check the stator wiring for oil? Is it under the pillion seat? The pics in the sticky about electrical failures are too close I can't figure where it is...

Where abouts is the rectifier located on the bike?

I bought the bike for $6000 too. Australia

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Under the tail fairing on left side.
2 cylindrical plugs in a bit of foam holding them onto subframe.
One of mine had welded itself shut.
Do the mod on the stator wires whatever, but you may just need a battery.

Hope it works out.
 
#3 ·
If the stator fried, you will smell it before you even see it.

Its a burned electrical with burned oil smell which is unmistakeable.

Also, you would have smelled it happening if you were on the bike. I have personally been behind a bike when it happened and there is no missing it unless you have a nose plug on.
 
#5 ·
If you know its a new battery then I would say is wasn't charging and you was riding on the battery ?
charge the battery up
see if you will start.
then check the Volts from the Stator . or going to the battery to see if your getting a charge.

first things first.

What year is it ?
 
#7 ·
Hey Jeff. There is a plug tucked up on the left hand side of the subframe under the pillion seat. About the size of a small trailer electric plug. Smell it and see if you can pull it apart. If it stinks and it's stuck that's probably the problem ( that kind of sounds weird...). The plug connections get contaminated, hot, melt to a degree giving all sorts of electrical shorts / problems. Wiring ain't my thing - paid my local guy $30 to cut the plug and hard wire them together. Problem sorted. Good luck
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks alot! I checked it and sure enough it was this freakin wire ur talkin about. Thinking back i do remember smelling something burnt before the bike died. under the pillion seat left side there has melted abit.
where can i get one of those connectors from as its melted pretty bad?
 
#10 ·
Just cut that plug outta there and wire the connections together with any method mentiond in various places on the site here...as there are several ideas for repairing this, as Kawasaki screwed the pooch with their fabulous "recall repair: of stripping the wire shielding, putting glue in the wire and shrink tubing...:angry:

Most folks just solder the wires direct from the stator to the rectifier...which is ok, considering you're not gonna be digging around in this connection very much after this repair is done...
 
#11 ·
As My12r says Jeff, the plug gets cut out and put in the bin. It's there to pull apart if you ever need to pull the rear of the bike off etc. Short of flipping the bike I couldn't see myself needing to do that.... Just need to solder the right wires together and the jobs done. Nothing else needs to be done after this - I didn't want to risk it so gave it to someone who knew what they were doing. Never had a problem with it since. Obviously though, get it fixed before you ride it again. It could do real damage if not fixed or even cause a fire. Good luck and let us know how it goes. And welcome to the club. Don't be put off by this problem. It's common, it's an easy fix and once sorted you'll be loving this bike like the rest of us :thumbup:
 
#12 · (Edited)
Hi, ok you say solder the right wires... im at work at the moment just bugging me a bit. Are the wires color coded. what happens if you get the wires crossed? also thanks for the welcome. good bunch of people here. very helpful... i cant ride it as it wont start due to wires being munted, so i guess there will be no further damage to my bike.

Do you reckon an electrician could fix this? i gotta a mate that wants to come out this week and fix it but im not sure as hes not an auto electric... im not gonna touch it ill break something
 
#14 ·
I've had to do this fix a few times (bugga) usually due to uncomplete soldering/crimping - if it's not done properly it'll still burn through again!

Also I don't believe the order of rewiring matters, from what I understand the wires from the stator are 3 phase AC, and it only matters for proper wiring matching from the reg/rec to the main wiring loom. The current from the stator is the same for each wire and doesn't matter which are wired up.

This has been my experience anyway, if someone else knows better please jump in so I don't stuff up someones work!!

Don.
 
#15 ·
The rectifier see's the 3 phases as well, and the circuit in there is setup to receive the power the way the plug is oriented (for "proper" operation). You theoretically can wire the 3 main wires any way you like, but be sure to get the 4th smaller wire in the right place.

I have a suspicion that folks who don't wire these wires the way they are on the plug are the ones who suffer continuous issues with stator/rectifier problems...as since i did mine, I have not so much have had a twitch of power issues. I did 1 wire at a time and used 3 different colored wires to color code mine to get the phases correct.

It "should" be the same AC voltage coming out of each phase, but they are phased for a reason. I prefer to err on the side of caution and trust that the engineers set it up a certain way for a reason myself.
 
#18 · (Edited)
In a three-phase system, three circuit conductors carry three alternating currents (of the same frequency) which reach their instantaneous peak values at one third of a cycle from each other. Taking one current as the reference, the other two currents are delayed in time by one third and two thirds of one cycle of the electric current. This delay between phases has the effect of giving constant power transfer over each cycle of the current and also makes it possible to produce a rotating magnetic field in an electric motor.

Three-phase systems may have a neutral wire. A neutral wire allows the three-phase system to use a higher voltage while still supporting lower-voltage single-phase loads. In high-voltage distribution situations, it is common not to have a neutral wire as the loads can simply be connected between phases (phase-phase connection).

Three-phase has properties that make it very desirable in electric power systems:

The phase currents tend to cancel out one another, summing to zero in the case of a linear balanced load. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the neutral conductor; all the phase conductors carry the same current and so can be the same size, for a balanced load.
Power transfer into a linear balanced load is constant, which helps to reduce generator and motor vibrations.
Three-phase systems can produce a magnetic field that rotates in a specified direction, which simplifies the design of electric motors.

Most household loads are single-phase. In North American single-family dwellings, three-phase power generally does not enter the home; multiple-unit apartment blocks may have three-phase power but three-phase power is not used for household appliances. Utilities that supply three-phase power for lower-load-density area homes typically distribute only one phase to individual loads. Some large European appliances may be powered by three-phase power, such as electric stoves and clothes dryers.

Wiring for the three phases is typically identified by color codes which vary by country. Connection of the phases in the right order is required to ensure correct rotation of three-phase motors. For example, pumps and fans may not work in reverse. Maintaining the identity of phases is required if there is any possibility two sources can be connected at the same time; a direct interconnection between two different phases is a short-circuit.
There is a reason the plug is oriented the way it is. The rectifier circuit is wired a certain way for he reason underlined and bold above. You can wire them any way, but like I said, I prefer to err on the side of the engineers did it that way for a reason.

Juss sayin...

:thumbup:
 
#19 ·
We feel you man! Hope This helps!

Please read through these:
I think this info i copied and pasted below from another website
seems to be the correct fix (not kawasaki's recall fix-that doesn't
fix it for good)....ok here it is below:

"No worries....Rog and I have fixed a bunch!

Here is what you will need..
1 bottle of liquid super glue
heat shrink tubing
soldering materials (iron, solder)propane torch
2 cans contact cleaner
1 quart lqr thinner
1 stator cover gasket


1. First remove the stator cover, then remove stator from cover.
2. Spray the shit out of the replacement stator and into the wick wire
connection (where wires attatch to stator)until the fluid comes out of
the other end by the 90 degree rubber.
3. while that is drying go to tail.
4. Remove the connectors from the foam holder and unplug, replace with
different rectifier.
5. Strip and splice the wires back about 2 inches to expose as much as
possible.
6. After the stator has dried push super glue into the wick connection
untill comes out other end.
7. Let tack up for a couple min and reinstall the stator into the
cover. This is VERY important because the wires need to be installed
in the holder bracket BEFORE THEY GET FULLY HARDENED!!
8.While the stator is curring go to tail and solder the wires direct,
after Be sure to get the heat shrink tubes long enough to cover all
exposed wires!!! This is repair (cutting and soldering) is needed to remove the connection because the resistance is WAY to high oem and
the connector makes it worse. I have seen them burnt so badly they HAD
to be cut out!!!
9. reinstall everything and wire tie the remaining connector or the 2
on the subframe.
10. After all done fire up and check with meter for charging voltage
and static voltage. All the ones we have done are holding great and
performing flawlessly. NO area to leak oil out of either.

You need to stop the oil at the source and SILICONE WONT HOLD LONG
under the heat and chemicals..."

http://kawasakiworld.com/zx-12r/413-attention-please-read-electrical-failure-oil.html

http://kawasakiworld.com/zx-12r/2592-oil-magneto-connector-recall-12-23-02-a.html

This 3rd one is similar but just read to be aware but I already did
this fix for the headlights...but as far as the part about the stator
and rectifier may be very useful for you...
http://kawasakiworld.com/zx-12r/28775-stator-connector-no-headligths-fix-new-pics.html

The 3rd person that posted on this forum also has a so called "solution"...
Leaking WIre Harness!!! @ ZX12R ZONE.com
 
#20 ·
Put it this way if its that important to maintain the correct connections don't you think Kawasaki would have chosen 3 seperate wire colours (colors) to make assembly fool proof ? I don't think you will find some Jap guy sat there trying to work out which wire is surposed to go into which plug connector. I'm not pulling you leg on this 1... check out the interweb you will all find loads of pictures about stators and they all show the same layout, some have a 4 wire for checking the DC voltage.

Technical Article: How a Motorcycle Charging System Works - ElectroSport
 
#21 ·
Hi guys, i had an auto electric guy kind of fix it. bit of a bodgy guy. i asked for a guy that knows about motorcycles turns out he knew nothing. i showed him the melted wires and he soldered the 3 wires. he questioned me, "which wire corresponds with the other?" i said mate youre supposed to know this... the wires are not colour coded which is crap to work with. started the bike and all seems ok for now. Nice to hear it purring again. anyways, i hope its not gonna be a money pit as that dodgy guy cost me $90...
 
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