Ignition problems on a 1983 GPZ 1100

[kgb]

Hello from British Columbia Canada. Can anyone help me out with some hints or wiring instructions on this?

[Gosling1]

Mods - can you move this into the 'Classic' thread, I will walk old mate through his wiring issues..

[kgb]

Hello there,
Thank you so much for the reply. I am new to these web sites so am not sure what I am doing. I appreciate your help. When you say you will walk me through the wiring instructions how is that done. Do I just let you know what the problem is or do I go to a different section on this website?

[MadKaw]

Post the problem up here and I'm sure Gos (our resident early kwaka expert) will be able to point you in the right direction.

[kgb]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated. Okay, here goes. When I push the starter the bike fires but as soon as I let go of the starter button the bike dies. What I had tried doing was taking a right control from an 83 Honda Shadow 750 and installed on my 83 GPZ. I have from the Honda Shadow wires from on-off switch, one black & one black & white. Also have wires from starter button which are black & red, yellow & red, blue & white and a black. Then I have wires for front brake switch, one is white & green and the other is green & yellow. I am trying to hook up all of this to my GPZ which has a yellow & red, red, red & white, blue & red, brown & a black. Have tried switching wires every which way still cuts power when you release the starter button. Does this make sense to you and can you help? Thanks again!!

[Gosling1]

Mate - take that Honda Shadow switchblock, and flush it down the toilet.

Get a standard 1983 GPz switchblock, and just connect it with the standard wiring connectors. I can *guarantee* that your bike will then start and run properly. Its just a waste of time trying to use other parts from other manufacturers in this type of situation.

[kgb]

Hey there, Thanks again for the reply. I will go ahead and contact the Kawasaki dealer and purchase the swithchblock. My hope is that the wiring on the bike is still for the standard GPZ swithchblock as the guy I bought the GPZ from had switched over to a Honda Swithblock. Not sure why so hopefully it will connect to the wiring. Thanks for your advice and you take care. Cheers, Ken from B.C. Canada.

[Gosling1]

no worries mate - If you need a picture of the wiring diagram, just post it here - I can scan the page out of the manual. If the guy who switched the switchblock did the right thing, he should have left all the standard kawasaki wiring harness alone.

Where about in BC are you from ? Me and the missus had our honeymoon in BC - we stayed in Vancouver for a couple of weeks, straight across the road from BC Stadium, then spend a week over in Victoria - did some 'mooching' up in Port Campbell, went orca-watching in Telegraph Cove, and I also managed to squeek in a motorcycle meeting at Chilliwack !! The Chilliwack GP of 1996 - spent a whole day out there. We both loved BC, it was a really nice place to visit.

[kgb]

We would love a picture of the wiring diagram. That would be fantastic! I am Ken's wife and I'm the one that has been corresponding with you as Ken doesn't even know how to turn on the PC. LOL. I figured it would be easier to type as him but now I am coming clean. My name is Debbie. We live in Lake Country formerly called Winfield in the Okanagan. We are situated in between Kelowna and Vernon and are about a 4 hr drive to Vancouver. Glad to hear you liked your trip to Vancouver and Victoria. The Island is great. Love it out there as well. Where in Australia are you? We would love to visit Australia.

We hope that the standard wiring was left alone but are not entirely sure. We went to a Kawasaki dealer in Vernon B.C. on the weekend and they told us that the switchblock for an '83 wasn't in the book and we would not be able to purchase it. We are heading to Calgary for a wedding next weekend so we thought we might try some bike shops possibly but that doesn't seem to work well. The bike shops don't want anything to do with an '83. Really too bad as the bike is in great shape and my husband loves it and would like to get it running again. We are not sure what our options are on this. Would like to be able to get a new bike for him. I recieved a bonus at work and it gets me half way to a new bike so I'm working on it. It was my Honda Shadow that he took the swithblock from as the tranny was gone on it. We are in our 50's and would like to do another bike trip soon.

Do you know of a source where this switchblock could be purchased?

Good to hear from you and nice chatting with you. Way past my bedtime so will sign off now. Talk to you soon.

Cheers, Debbie

[mike-s]

Well glad to hear you mentioned your in Canada as there's a number of different models for different markets. The US one is usually different to that for Japan and the UK. If Gos has the manual, it should have all the models schematics in there.