lost power

[dannyp58]

I have a 1996 Kawasaki 1100 ZXI my brother was riding it and came back in, about 5 min later one of the boys pushed it out for a ride but it had no electrical power nothing worked. Anyone got any idea what could have happened in 5 min? The battery still has 12.8 volts. After a couple hours the trim system would work but not the starter.

 

[frozenokie]

Re: lost power

Could be several things. I've had starters go out in a flash. Check your main operating fuse. Could be a shorted or broken wire anywhere. Maybe the start button lost contact or went bad itself. Solenoid could of fried on you too.

I had a similar experience with a starter once. Luckily I was in the back yard tuning it. Went back to start it up again and it just kind of "kicked" a little then nothing after that with a brand new battery. I checked the battery cables - clean and tight. So I pulled the starter - looked OK, but decided to tear it apart and look inside. Glad I did - the brushes were corroded to where they were stuck away from the armature and needed major cleaning. After I gave it the "ol one-two", she was up and running without a problem since. Of course I looked at other easier things to fix first - fuses, solenoid, wiring, turned the driveshaft by hand, looked at the impeller from underside, etc.

But start with the simple things to check and progress to the harder and more expensive things to fix

 

[Leedanger]

Re: lost power

I have a 1996 Kawasaki 1100 ZXI my brother was riding it and came back in, about 5 min later one of the boys pushed it out for a ride but it had no electrical power nothing worked. Anyone got any idea what could have happened in 5 min? The battery still has 12.8 volts. After a couple hours the trim system would work but not the starter.

My guess with yours is that you have a wire that is getting hot after a ride. The reason I say that is because after it cooled you gained back some electrical responses. I agree with frozenokie and would suggest looking through the wiring first and then dig deeper. have you tried it since you have been home? It would be interesting to find out if it starts now that everything is cold.

 

[dannyp58]

Re: lost power

Have not found the problem yet, going to look real hard at it again this weekend. If the problem is not found it is going to a Kawasaki repair shop.

 

[orangeman]

Re: lost power

I would check the battery voltage when you hit the start button. My polaris had 12.5V but as soon as I pushed start button it dropped to 5 volts didn't turn over or anything after sitting a few hours I could hear relay clicking but still no start. Do a search to find out how much of a voltage drop is acceptable. Next check wiring including the ground wire connected to the engine block. You should read voltage between the battery + and the engine block. Next check the starter relay. You can jump the terminals with a screw driver to see if the starter turns. next check starter.

 

[frozenokie]

Re: lost power

Exactly the right order of elimination for that orangeman

 

[dannyp58]

Re: lost power

starter solinoid switch was the problem got her fixed