WHAT DID THAT WIRE DO?

Hi Fellow Sixers!

Once again, I appeal to the collective wisdom on the subject of the mysteries of the KZ. I'm replacing my suicidal '82 motor with a '79 motor and it's all good except that the '79 has three yellow wires coming out of the alternator whereas the '82 had an extra wire (black). I can't seem to find a wiring diagram that shows this black wire on any year. My best guess is that it's a ground wire but is it essential or does it ground something else in the wiring?
Worse case scenario, I can transfer the '82 alternator to the earlier motor but I'd still like to know what this is about.
Also, the manual says to set the valve clearances using the front case mating joint as a marker but the valves hit TDC at a mark on the backing plate for the rotor. I checked the valve clearances using this mark but the exhaust cam mark didn't line up as per the manual with the cam cover mating flange. Is there something about the '79 s that's different from the later models?
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated as I really don't want to blow up another motor.
Tim.

The timing marks when doing the valves are different between the 82 and 79 motors. I found this out the confusing way as well. Do you have the manual for the 79?

If the extra wire was a ground wire it would be black/yellow. Have you looked at the stator to see where it is connected? I have never come across this.

Hey Guys;
Thanks for the input regarding the "missing" wire.
Ok, I have to confess some stupidity here. The Mystery Wire turned out to be hiding in the wire wrapping and it's the oil pressure sensor wire. Duhh. As to the valve timing marks, I used the ones that lined up the valves correctly and ignored the manual, figuring that the manual was for a later motor. All good on the clearances.
Now I have a question about ignition systems. I gave the old girl some gas today and tried a start up. Nada. Checked the plugs and no joy so I checked the coils and they have power and ground. Normally I would suspect the coils except that they ran the old (82) motor just fine. Could it be that the 79 ignition system on the alternator does not work with the 82 wiring harness? Should I swap out the 79 alternator/ignition for the 82? The 82 had a ballast resistor set up and there is power at all terminals on it.
I'm not much of an electrician so any help in this area will be greatly appreciated.
My Thanks to everyone on this site.
Tim.

dogfight wrote: Now I have a question about ignition systems. I gave the old girl some gas today and tried a start up. Nada. Checked the plugs and no joy so I checked the coils and they have power and ground. Normally I would suspect the coils except that they ran the old (82) motor just fine. Could it be that the 79 ignition system on the alternator does not work with the 82 wiring harness? Should I swap out the 79 alternator/ignition for the 82? The 82 had a ballast resistor set up and there is power at all terminals on it.
I'm not much of an electrician so any help in this area will be greatly appreciated.
My Thanks to everyone on this site.
Tim.

For the sake of not getting anyone confused, the alternator consists of the stator and rotor. If I'm not mistaken the stator on the 79 and 82 models can/will have different dimensions, they can have different inner and outer diameters - Kawasaki beefed up the output on them during those years. I believe the ignition system changed on the 81 model and the following is straight out of the service manual(page 322): -

IGNITION SYSTEM
Introduction:
The 1981 model employs a newly-developed transistor ignition system. The new ignition system differs from the previous one in the following points:
First, the ignition timing is advanced by an electric circuit in the IC igniter (electric advance system).
Secondly, the Hall - effect element is used in the pickup system .
Finally, the internal circuitry of the IC igniter cannot be separated into three independent parts. Since there are no moving mechanical parts to wear out, no periodic maintenance for the 1981 model ignition system is required.
The working electrical part of the ignition system consists of a battery, three Hall-IC pickups, an IC igniter, a resistor, and three ignition coils.

Hope that helps ;o)

Dear Sirs;

Ok guys, at the risk of sounding like a complete newby, it turns out that the problem was caused by a power wire to the pickups having worn through it's insulation and grounding on the inside of the cover. A quick test fix with some insulating silly seal and she fired up no problem. I will do a complete rewire on the igniters as the wires are about 20 gauge and brittle as twigs from exposure to heat and oil all these years.
My bad for believing the manual when they said to let the cover hang by the wires while doing the valve clearances. Maybe that was Ok 45 years ago but not so much now! I also found some insulation breaks further in along the wires so if you're having some ignition gremlins, this might be worth a look.
Apart from this little snafu she should be ready to fire up.
I've got too much front lever and rear lever travel on the brakes despite having bled them thoroughly. I'll rebuild the calipers and see if that helps. might need a rebuild in the master cylinders as well. I'll let you know how that goes.
As always, y0ur valuable input would be most welcome.

Dogfight.

PS Thanks again to all you guys. I owe you all a beer. At least. BTW where is the Ontario rally this year?