Tail light not working, but I know why.

[Ericthejet]

1984 Kawasaki Ninja 900.
I've had the bike for 7 years so I know her well.

My issue as mentioned is the tail light no longer works, but my brake light works. The problem is a wire that after 24 years has broken from its "tang" at the key switch, located on the backside of the ign. key cyclinder.

I have repaired this wire before but it was below where the wire attaches and I had about 2cms of wire to work with. As luck would have it the wire is sheared from its post.

My question is this,
Can I not just go and grab 12v off the wires running to the headlight to supply the tail light with power? Simple enough?

I have extra wire and proper fittings to do the job but I fear getting the end of the wire now back to the key switch attachment point would be quite the trick.

Thanks,

Eric

[BCT748]

They would work if you did that but don't be surprised if your headlights and tail lights are a little dimmer and the extra draw might cause the fuse to pop.

[ZX-12R]

I have repaired this wire before but it was below where the wire attaches and I had about 2cms of wire to work with. As luck would have it the wire is sheared from its post.

My question is this,
Can I not just go and grab 12v off the wires running to the headlight to supply the tail light with power? Simple enough?

I have extra wire and proper fittings to do the job but I fear getting the end of the wire now back to the key switch attachment point would be quite the trick.

Thanks,

Eric

Can you take a picture of where the wire broke? It's rare that you can't find a way to splice or reattach a wire.

You can't just tap into your headlight circuit since you have high and low beams. Directly splicing into both would cause both filiments in the bulb to light up which would burn it out or blow a fuse.

If there is no alternative place to get switched power from, you can tap into the headlight circuit but to do it properly you will need 2 diodes and a relay.

[Ericthejet]

The wire in question broke off from a soldered point on the backside of the keyswitch.
A few years back it broke and I still had a piece that I could splice and reattach. The part that I repaired is till holding but the other end up inside is what let go. To repair it I would have to remove the ign. cyclinder, not a fun job with the location of the bolts holding it in place.

It looks simple enough location wise to extend the broken wire up and forward to meet the wires that provide power to the headlight once the bike is started. 2 red, 1 black and 1 white.
Splice into the red wire and I would have 12v running to the tail lamps.
Could I also not go and grab power from my fan switch etc?
Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks again.

Eric

[Ericthejet]

bump

[stoinkythepig]

The tail light is powered by the ignition switch solely so you can turn on your parking lights. Bypass it and attach to the headlight circuit. The tail lights draw very little current.

If you are worried about current draw, get a 12 volt relay and connect pin 30 to battery +, with an inline fuse, pin 87 to the tail light +12 volt input, pin 85 to ground and pin 86 to the blue wire coming out of your junction box.

[Ericthejet]

Thanks for the advice.
Will plan to get this done before my next ride.

Cheers.

[mustang183]

It sounds like it could be soldered back on, is it really that hard to pull the ignition switch?

[Ericthejet]

The ign. switch has break away bolts holding it in place and have to be drilled out to remove it. I have taken a good look and it's close to impossible to get up in there.