[newpain01]

Been working on my 1985 ZN700 for the last few days, there is some electrical issue and the bike has no power (purchased it in a very bad condition and trying to restore it now). It looks like the junction box had a short and one of the contacts melted, so I disassembled it and fixed that by soldering a wire. (The black wire hanging out of the back of the junction box is connected to the 30A fuse)

Now I need some help to figure out where the white/red wire coming out of the battery goes and where the black/yellow wire goes? Looking at the diagram below, it goes from the battery to the junction box, but I have no clue where. Please help!

 

[WFO-KZ]

For greater detail on what wire goes where and what they do, you need the factory service manual.

In the meantime look at your photo #6 where you are holding the connector in your hand. Follow the white/red wire that I see near the LH side of the connector and tell us where it goes.

 

[newpain01]

@WFO-KZ Thanks so much for your reply, it's really hard to get some help around here.

I have the ZN700 wiring diagram shared by another member here and using that and the 1984 1984 ZN110 LTD junction box diagram I found online (attached below), I managed to figure out where those extra wires are supposed to go.

Someone messed with the junction box and I believe there was some kind of connector there, but I plugged the wires directly following the diagram and it came back to life. Still need to figure out how to make a connector for that (the circled area in the back of the junction box picture below), any idea? I don't like the wires hanging like that, the positive/negative terminals are dangerously close.

 

[WFO-KZ]

Well it looks like someone has essentially destroyed the connector by soldering the black wire directly to one of the prongs. You could continue the abuse with the rest of the wires, or you could unsolder the wire, if you think the prong can be salvaged. But first see if you can source a new connector.

Give Joe at CycleTerminal dot com a call or shoot him an email.

 

[newpain01]

or you could unsolder the wire, if you think the prong can be salvaged

Can't do that, the prong probably burned or broke, so someone soldered a wire directly to the copper rail (I actually just replaced and re-soldered that black wire because the old wire was thin and not soldered well), but I don't want to do the same for the other wires.
I would like to install a new connector there, but I don't think I can attach a new prong to that copper rail from the junction box, it's so messed up.

 

[WFO-KZ]

So if I understand correctly, you split the junction box so you had access to all the copper traces that are inside?

I hear you, but if you cannot get new prongs then what other choice do you have, other than soldering directly to the traces?

 

[newpain01]

Correct, I split the junction box completely and cleaned all the copper traces inside, then drilled the burned one, put a wire through it and soldered it, pictures attached.

I can get those prongs, but cannot attach it to the copper trace. I connected the other 3 wires individually to the prongs temporarily.

 

[WFO-KZ]

Ok that blowout looks pretty bad. Personally I would do a permanent solder job and live with it. Once the wires are in place I would put sealant into the connector cavity to prevent water from getting into the junction box.

But if you cannot live with it, have you tried searching for a used junction box?

I took my ZN1100 box apart and it looks a lot like yours. While apart, its a great time to reset the the fuse holder clips or any other clips that have lost their original friction fit.

 

[martin-csr]

I saw one junction box on EB listed for the ZN700. $25T. Looks to be in okay condition. There may be others. The cross-reference at Partzilla indicates that a few other models used the same part.

xhttps://www.partzilla.com/catalog/kawasaki/motorcycle/1984/ltd-shaft-zn700-a1/chassis-electrical-equipment. link disabled. delete the x, then copy/paste into the address bar. click the part number for the x-ref..

 

[jpd]

Can you set a new spade male connector into the board, epoxy in place, and solder a lead to the board trace on the back side. I had a similar over heat condition on my sons Vulcan 750. Mine was at a fuse holder.

 

[WFO-KZ]

With that many bikes using the same junction box, you should have no trouble finding one.
You can always ask the vendor for closeups of the board to check for damage.

 

[newpain01]

Yeah, sounds like my best bet is to get another junction box instead of patching this thing.
The problem is, someone cut the connector on those 4 wires and connected them individually, any idea if that is a standard connector or where I can find one? (don't even know how they call that type of connector circled below?)

 

[WFO-KZ]

Email those pictures to Joe at cycleterminal dot com. He can probably help you out.

 

[martin-csr]

CycleTerminal has connectors that are the same as stock. I've installed several. The one circled in the pic is going to be a 4-pin locking w large terminals (measure the pins), so you could look around the CT site or just go ahead & contact the guy. The other junction box connectors & wire harness EB pics can be useful.

ps: CT typically goes on vacation this time of year, so you might want to ask asap.

 

[newpain01]

Perfect, appreciate your help guys, will reach out to him immediately.

 

[Reverend Blamo]

Been working on my 1985 ZN700 for the last few days, there is some electrical issue and the bike has no power (purchased it in a very bad condition and trying to restore it now). It looks like the junction box had a short and one of the contacts melted, so I disassembled it and fixed that by soldering a wire. (The black wire hanging out of the back of the junction box is connected to the 30A fuse)

Now I need some help to figure out where the white/red wire coming out of the battery goes and where the black/yellow wire goes? Looking at the diagram below, it goes from the battery to the junction box, but I have no clue where. Please help!

View attachment 45061 View attachment 45062 View attachment 45063 View attachment 45064 View attachment 45065 View attachment 45066 View attachment 45067 View attachment 45068

There are some great suggestions out here but I really wish I could get my hands on this mess. My job is to wire/rewire stuff. I repaired and replaced wiring on cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats. Most were far worse than this. Clearly that white/red wire is not OEM. (nor done well) Get rid of it. Someone was taking power from the batt side of the starter relay. as a matter of safety I would (and did) replace the batt to relay wire with something better than OEM. I also upgraded the relay to starter wire and grounds.I have some schematic for this and some I made.I will look at them and see if anything needs to be. I have posts for charging or jump starting there. If you have the correct type you CAN solder a spade terminal (lug, or prong) to the copper circuit but I would do like someone else said, replace the box.
Feel free to ask questions, I can refer to my books, bike or notes.

 

[martin-csr]

Just an FYI. The Kawasaki service manual will have a couple of junction box diagrams so you should be able to figure out what wires go where. One of the diagrams numbers the terminals & shows the wire/terminal orientation in the electrical connectors. The other diagram lists the wire colors, so using the 2 diagrams should sort things out.

 

[newpain01]

There are some great suggestions out here but I really wish I could get my hands on this mess. My job is to wire/rewire stuff. I repaired and replaced wiring on cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats. Most were far worse than this. Clearly that white/red wire is not OEM. (nor done well) Get rid of it. Someone was taking power from the batt side of the starter relay. as a matter of safety I would (and did) replace the batt to relay wire with something better than OEM. I also upgraded the relay to starter wire and grounds.I have some schematic for this and some I made.I will look at them and see if anything needs to be. I have posts for charging or jump starting there. If you have the correct type you CAN solder a spade terminal (lug, or prong) to the copper circuit but I would do like someone else said, replace the box.
Feel free to ask questions, I can refer to my books, bike or notes.

Thanks for the advice!
I decided to replace the junction box and ordered a replacement, it's in the mail at the moment.
I also figured out which wire goes where.

The white/red wire is connected to the positive side on the battery and provides power to the junction box, if I get rid of it, how am I going to wire that? It's also in the wiring diagram, from the positive terminal to the number 1 on the junction box.

The only problem I have now is finding a connector with 4 pins for those wires. I contacted Joe @ CycleTerminal, but did not get a response. If anyone knows the name of that terminal or a place where I can find one, please let me know.

 

[WFO-KZ]

The white/red wire was correctly wired if it goes to pin1 on the junction box. Do not get rid of it. It should go directly to the positive battery terminal. Trust me, I have the exact same box on my ZN1100.

As pointed out, Joe may be on vacation. Google kawasaki vintage connectors and you should find other sources. You could try calling Joe first to see if his phone message says when he will be back in his store.

 

[Reverend Blamo]

If it is used for power, no, do not get rid of it. However, I would absolutely improve it. Bare wire is always bad.