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All lights out except centre LED

Gen 4: 2011-15 
7K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  10Arghh 
#1 ·
So this has happened twice to me now. All of a sudden, and usually on a pitch black night with no street lights, all lights except the central LED will go out without any warning.

I stop, turn off the ignition, then back on instantly, and I get my lights back. Literally, I turn off then on so no time for metals to start contracting as they cool.

Also the cluster stays lit and the indicators work.

It's fucking scary especially at speed and if anyone has had this problem and knows how to fix it, I'd like to hear from them.

Cheers.
 
#2 ·
are these stock lights? if so have you done any messing with wiring recently?
 
#3 ·
All completely stock.

Only thing electrical I've changed recently was the reg/rec as previous one had a fault and I've also changed the spark plugs. That's all. And the problem existed before that anyway.

It's really weird as they just go, but come right back if I power cycle the bike.

Has anyone else experienced this?
 
#5 ·
Please keep us posted when you find the answer to your problem. A lot of Kawis have wiring problems that are difficult to track down and the more information/solutions out there the better.

For instance, the Z1000 has a common problem where water affects the harness at the ECU. The solution is to seal that plug with dielectric grease.
 
#8 ·
If you state that the indicators continue to work, presumably your taillight and brake light also works (they're fed through the same fuse and power supply circuit) ... which means, really, the issue is the headlight. So is the real problem (and not that it's a minor one) only involving the headlight?

The headlight circuit contains a relay that's meant to keep the headlight off when the key is first switched on, through the period of you pressing the starting button, until you release the starting button and the engine is running, THEN the headlight is meant to come on.

I'd be investigating the various circuits involved in controlling that relay. Switching the bike off and on again resets it. Look for connectors not plugged in, switches not closing when they should, switches not opening when they should, "start" button being pressed accidentally (or jamming internally or having loose wiring internally with the same effect).

Taillights, brake lights, indicators, the small light inside the headlight are fed through a separate circuit which does not involve that relay.

Don't forget to check battery terminals and ground connections.
 
#9 ·
The headlight circuit contains a relay that's meant to keep the headlight off when the key is first switched on, through the period of you pressing the starting button, until you release the starting button and the engine is running, THEN the headlight is meant to come on.
Thanks for this information...Yes definitely not fuse related and all other lights function when headlight goes out.

I'll have to check that relay...Is it that big block on the left hand side attached to a rubber housing, under the tank plastic?

Could it be a relay fault?

Quite a few electrical faults with this bike.

I thought I bought Kawasaki, not Ducati :lol:
 
#10 ·
So did some testing on the relay last night following the service manual and the off battery resistance test, and the relay seemed to check out ok.



Since I'm running out of time to diagnose this fault due to a road trip planned that starts on Friday, I thought to just bypass the relay switching circuit as a temporary measure. I will replace the relay when I get back.

So I got the pin out from the manual....



Luckily Kawasaki used a non sealed relay so accessing the insides was just a case of removing 4 screws.





The pin numbers on the circuit board don't seem to match up with the numbers in the manual but I used my multimeter to be sure I was hitting the correct ones to close the circuit between 3 and 4 as pictured.




So after putting everything back together, my headlight now comes on when I turn the key on rather than after I hit the start button, effectively bypassing the relay.

If I get no further headlight issues, then I'll know for sure that it is the relay at fault.

It is an important box that can leave you stranded on the road if other things (fuel pump relay) fail inside it, so I'll just replace with a new one when I get back.

Wow...So far this has been the most unreliable Japanese bike I've owned concerning the electrics, and I've owned bikes from all the big 4. It seems I should have got a 2012 rather than 2011 so that the early bugs are worked out.

Ahh well

 
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