99libertad06
Parking Attendant
Posts: 10
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posted May 19, 2007 06:34 AM
stator wire is melting my plug
i would like to say sorry right off the bat if this topic is on here some place already.
i have a 2000 zx12 (very used)with a powercomander3 (old ver) full muzzy and those illumiglo gauges.
my f1 light has always been on since i got the bike. i had it for one season and my bike died out and saw that the stator wire plug that connects to the regulator was melted and oily. took it in and the place put a new plug on. well my new plug it melting again and i the wire before the plug gets hot. i talked to someone else and he said something about a recall on the stator that the oil gets pushed thru the wire and i have to replace it and i have to get different type of connections not oem.
well is this true , what part should i be looking for then, is there a recall and can i get this fixed for free
what a time for this to go right during some prime ridding time
____________
i painted it and yes i was going for a bee look
  
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ridgeracer
Pro
Posts: 1309
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posted May 19, 2007 07:20 AM
From the archives by RedElk:
quote:
Below is the "official method" for the "fix". If you do this yourself, PLEASE notify your dealer so they can send in the proper paperwork showing that the service has been done. Unlike a "in house" recall, this one is a federally mandated recall from the NHTSA. There is required paperwork KMC has to submit to the NHTSA.
Kawasaki and it's representitives (the dealers) have to prove that bikes (that are still operating on public roads) falling under this recall have been serviced. It's also why step #16 has to be performed. No 12R can be resold by a dealer unless they perform the repair or there is a "Repair Verification" mark on frame. To do so would be a federal offense as well as open the dealer, KMC and KHI up to all sorts of legal problems.
This is what I posted this on a previous post about this recall.
I just made a copy of my dealer's SIX PAGE "instruction" sheet (Bulletin MC 02-11) that came with the "Official KHI Recall Repair Kit". What a hoot! There are SIXTEEN pictures and FOUR diagrams.
They are instructed to "Replace the harness clamp if the harness clamp is soaked with engine oil" (PN 92171-1255). They are also instructed to make a small punch mark on the frame directly above the top rivet holding the ID plate, indicating that the recall service has been done.
The kit consists of a large bottle of "crazy glue" (supposedly enough to do 20 bikes), a roll of electrical tape (more than enough fro 20 bikes) and a small flat blade jeweler's screwdriver (to get the wires out of the plug). Oops! Sorry, it's called a "Terminal Removing Tool".
In a nutshell, here's what is supposed to be done...
1. Remove rear seat, front seat and side panel.
2. Disconnect the alternator lead connector.
3. Remove the vinyl (black) tape from the harness, approximatly 100mm from the connector.
4. Remove the plastic lead tube (so THAT's what they call that plastic wire cover!)
5. Remove vinyl tape that covers intermediate connection (where the two wires go into one before the plug)
6. Remove terminals from the plug.
7. Clean terminals with contact cleaner (SEVEN steps and must be repeated THREE times!)
8. Apply "quick curing adhesive" where the wire is crimped to the terminal to seal the wire (FIVE steps!).
9. Apply adhesive to the top and bottom of the intermediate connection (Three steps!)
10. Insert terminals into plug (the same position they were in).
11. Wind 4 to 5 turns of tape around the intermediate connnection.
12. Put plastic tube over wires.
13. Wind tape 2 to 3 times around the end of the tube (by the plug) and continue to wrap the tube until you overlap the original tape wrap (approx. 100 mm).
14. Clean the regulator connector and the area around the connector with contact cleaner.
15. Reinstall the removed parts in reverse order.
16. Make "Repair Verification" mark on frame.
17. Fill out "Warranty Claim" documentation (REQUIRED by Federal Law - NHTSA Law 49 U.S.C. Section 30210(i) or they will keep sending the customers notices).
Repair time: 0.5 hour.
Other Recalls and/or Bulletins
I think I got this right in the right order, this time. As far as I know this is the complete list of all official Service/Technical Bulletins and Recall Notices that has issued by KHI/KMC for the ZX-12R.
NOTE: some bulletins and recalls do not apply to all models.
MC 00-02 (A1) - Rear seat cover adjustment (service bulletin/A&P sheet addendum)
MC 00-04 (ALL) - Proper spacing of front wheel (service bulletin/A&P sheet and service manual addendum)
MC 00-06 (ALL) - Break-in mileage change (service bulletin/owner's and service manual addendum)
MC 00-07 (A1) - Cracked winglets (service bulletin)
MC 00-08 (ALL) - Proper clutch release lubrication procedures (service bulletin/service manual addendum)
MC 00-09 (A1,A2) - High altitude ECU replacement (service bulletin)
MC 00-13 (A1,A2) - Fuel tank leak and fuel gauge (NHTSA recall)
MC 01-07 (A1, A2, B1) - Wheel valve stem locking nut (NHTSA recall)
MC 02-11 (ALL) - Oil seepage from alterator lead connector (NHTSA recall)
NHTSA - National Highway & Transportation Safety Administration
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99libertad06
Parking Attendant
Posts: 10
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posted May 19, 2007 08:56 AM
wow !!
ok i think that might have been done. the stator wire was cut at about foot from the stator and a new plug and wire setup was put in to connect to the regulator. the plug looks like the wires where sealed but it's hard to tell now that the plug is half melted. any how the wire from the stator to the plug (foot away) gets really hot. i was ridding for about two months with this setup and it just started to smoke. ok back to the problem say all that was done and it is still melting what then ? the place that did the rewire also said they couldn't start the bike with the power comander on it so they said it was bad and unpluged it. i pluged it back in and the lights came on but i couldn't get the bike started, i thought i might need to load the map back in, but wanted to fix this wire first.
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted May 19, 2007 12:27 PM
For some reason, the ZX12's never were fixed in a way that resulted in anyone saying "I have 100% faith that my stator will never leak again! AT one time I used to clean my bike and spray Brake cleaner in the connector as Maintence! Kawasaki sent me a new stator at the end of my warranty and extended the warranty to cover this.
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99libertad06
Parking Attendant
Posts: 10
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posted May 19, 2007 11:03 PM
well i had to ride tonight nor hell or high water was going to stop me !!!
i unplugged the one wire that was hot and melting the plastic of the plug.
everything worked !!! i thought the battery might die out, but nope i was ridding for about six hours and the only thing i had to do was plug in that wire when i started up the bike so my lights would go on. now that i think of it , kinda odd !
well anyhow i think i can take it to someone i trust and he is going to use a multimeter to see what's up..... i think something is not grounded, but i'm no mechanic.
so what do you guys think ridding that long my stator must be working right
____________
i painted it and yes i was going for a bee look
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ridgeracer
Pro
Posts: 1309
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posted May 21, 2007 08:10 AM
 Edited By: ridgeracer on 21 May 2007 09:14
Several issues here.
The headlight: To give the starter motor the most power possible the bike is wired so the headlights are off until the bike starts up. There is a headlight relay that only energizes when the starter button is released and the alternator is making power. Once energized the relay is wired to latch on until the key is turned off.
The alternator will still generate power with just two wires connected to the rectifier but only about 1/3 the normal current. With one wire disconnected your alternator is getting power from only one of three field coils. That is not enough to run the bike and charge the battery. If you do mainly highway driving it may take a while longer than stop and go traffic will but you are going to eventually drain down your battery.
And remember these ECU bikes don't just crank slower and slower as the battery wears down. They actually measure your battery voltage and when it reaches a certain level the ECU will just refuse to start the bike. In other words you won't get any warning. You may hop on it and it will start just fine, drive it down to the corner for some smokes, come out and find it won't start anymore.
Lastly the alternator recall is because the wires are not sealed in a way that prevents positive crank case pressure from blowing oil down them. Since the wires are permanently attached to the stator you have to replace the whole thing to fix the wire seal. In other words there is nothing electrically wrong with your alternator, it just leaks.
BTW my fix for this problem, short of just getting a new stator, would be to just solder the damn wires together. I mean unless your drag racing the bike and your like dropping the engine every other weekend why do you need a quick disconnect to the alternator? And when you tape it up just leave a gap so the oil will blow out of the wire harness and not up to the rectifier/regulator
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Megabyte
Pro
Posts: 1047
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posted May 21, 2007 11:58 AM
My 2k 12 is nearing 25k miles, and I've never had a problem with this. If this prob is due to pos crank case pressure Could it be that my crankcase vent mod has saved my bacon?
____________
We First make our habits and then our habits make us.
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blitzkrieg
Needs a job
Road kill = Free lunch.
Posts: 2044
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posted May 22, 2007 02:57 PM
quote:
My 2k 12 is nearing 25k miles, and I've never had a problem with this. If this prob is due to pos crank case pressure Could it be that my crankcase vent mod has saved my bacon?
It's iffy.
My A1 has 14K miles and it's never leaked (knock on wood).
I've known numerous people that have replaced > 1 stator and a few that have replaced >2 stators AND fried headlight harness'.
I was personally riding with a friend whose A1 fried in The Middle of No Where Wyoming.
We got the bike back to camp under it's own power (about 40 miles) but it was an interesting ride none the less and that bike stunk like electrical shit burning the whole way and the headlight went out maybe 1/4 of the way back.
Kawasaki's response when this problem became evident was fucking bullshit and denial.
Then they half heartedly agreed to the bullshit NHTSA repair mentioned above because their lawyers said that they have to and it's the cheapest way out.
It is ludicrous to me that a company would take the risk of people dying from the back wheel being oiled (yes, I've seen it with my own eyes) and accept that risk rather than fix their mistake right (complete recall and replace the obviously defective part with a correctly engineered part) but that is exactly what they did.
Kawasaki lost beaucoup credo with me over that. 
____________
"BTW....You need to get a girlfriend who's last name isn't .jpg"
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lou_zx12r
Expert Class
One Day at a Time
Posts: 196
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posted May 23, 2007 03:07 PM
mine started leaking around 9k miles. I read on the zx board os a procedure where the wires were cut just outside the cover and soldered together, then shrink wrapped. I had the dealer do this under warrantee for me rather than what kawasaki recommended. I now have 30K miles and there is no sign of oil anywhere. Maybe I'm lucky who knows but it does make sense. When the wires are cut low, soldered and shrinkwrapped I don't see how the oil can travel up to the connector anymore.
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2000 ZX12R 40shot
2012 ZX14R
2009 Concours 14
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99libertad06
Parking Attendant
Posts: 10
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posted May 23, 2007 08:02 PM
can you add a picture on here ?
i think the picture might help alot
____________
i painted it and yes i was going for a bee look
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Megabyte
Pro
Posts: 1047
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posted May 24, 2007 09:46 AM
Wire color code
Removing the connector and soldering the wires sounds like a good idea. Are the wires on both sides of the plug the same color code?
Thanks,
____________
We First make our habits and then our habits make us.
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted May 25, 2007 06:43 AM
Blitz, back in the day, Kawasaki Sent service Bulletins to the dealer Service departments every time the saw or found a problem. They did this while Honda got Bigger and Bigger. Eventually they started acting like Honda by ignoring everything until Forced to do something. When I owned my 1983 Honda VFR750F I got a recall notice from Honda ordered ny NHTSA stating
"Handlebars Might come off while riding Motorcycle which MAY Cause you to lose control"
Word for word what they said. That was the First and Only Honda I ever owned. What I an getting at is Kawasaki is no longer a Large Company that has a Motorcycle Division, Kawasaki is now a large Corporation Period and operates everything in that respect!. The worst part is, they are usually Better than all of the others!
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NOS1290
Expert Class
Posts: 103
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posted June 19, 2007 06:13 AM
My bike electricals are so heavily modified that I'm not sure that a dealer would want to do the recall. Can these wire connectors to the stator wire just be hard soldered, thus eliminating the whole electrical mess, or is there an advantage to having the dealer do the mod...ie, mabey they would replace the stator if it has partially burned up. My current output is pretty low, and I'm afraid that the stator is damaged.
Your thoughts are appreciated.
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99libertad06
Parking Attendant
Posts: 10
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posted July 01, 2007 08:37 PM
well i guess you can end this thread,
my mechanic or as i like to call him " the doctor " he fixed it... he said i had a bad connection , there was a spark that was happening with one of the connections and that was causing the melting of the plug, so he resoldered a new plug . by the way i have three wires coming from the stator with one from the battery i think that all go the the regulator. even with the one wire not connected i was still charging my battery. thanks for the help everyone and i hope this was a bit helpful to someone else.
____________
i painted it and yes i was going for a bee look
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