Here we go again and my bike will be down for at least 2 weeks. It's a good thing that I had the extended warranty...

One of these days this will end someone's life if Kawasaki doesn't do something about it.






The last pic is a bare corroded wire that has had the insulation melted off of it.
The connector is fused together.
Notice the burnt oil on the rear cowl and the passenger footpeg bracket.
This is a 2003 with 23k on the clock.
Note that I still have the kleen connected, bmc race filters, Akro pipe and PC3R.
No other mods.
Even if they replace all of it, this will happen again in 2 years if not sooner.
It is my belief that a class action is in order to get this repaired once and for all.
I will let you know when I need input from you guys.

Wow!!! I hate even posting in threads like this cause it might ruin my luck with not having the melting problem. I do take mine apart every now and then and brake wash it real good and keep the oil out of it though.


This is crazy. Didn't they change to a single connector in 04??

Sorry to hear about your misfortune there Faukker. You are absolutely correct though. This problem is Bull Shit and the only way to get somebody to listen is to file a class action law suit againt mama Kaw. I'm in because I noticed oil up the wires on the '01 I sold. I have an '03 now and it's not done it........yet but we all know it will. Thx and keep us all updated.

I don't even tighten my seat down anymore,
I have it loose in case I have to remove it quickly :?

I checked mine today when I got home,
the connector was so hot I could not hold it.
It has not melted like yours,
but the wire loom is melted about 6" in both directions.

Man o man, who needs that fuck... connector anyway ?? even if Kawi replaces it with a new one, it will still be the same shit. How many times in your life did you need to unplug that freekin connector ?? if your answer is NONE then ditch it and buy splicing lugs at your local parts store and crimp them good. If someday you need to take apart any of those wires then cut the damn splice and splice it again when you are over. Being an electrician, believe me it will do the job and your ass will never catch on fire again :D the most important thing will be reliability. If i had my camera i would have taken pictures to show you the kind of splicing i am talking about, but i am sure you will figure it out !
Good luck. :wink:

Zixxer12r said:

...and as soon as I get the new parts, that is exactly what I'm going to do.

On the other hand, I didn't pay for something that I can't ride.

They really should have a loaner plan (Kawasaki) if they don't plan to repair the problem.

I would have been happy as a clam if the service manager said "We'll solder the wires together and that will solve the problem."

hey is that happening to all years???

do i have to be worried about my 04??

splicing them doesn't sound bad.... do we need the damn tube???

Faukker,

That sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am glad that it did not catch fire. I think your right though, about Kawi standing up and doing the right thing. I mean, it is obvious that they know about the problem and have done nothing to attempt a permanent, correct fix.

Are you taking it to House of Kawi? If so, let us know how they treat you. I am going to check my 12 right now.

Huero

Yes, I took it to the House.

The House has been supportive so far.

They seem to be doing all that they can do to repair the current problem, but it still takes time and I've got a bike that I'm making payments on that I can't ride.

No loaner program means me with no bike.

I would have taken a EX500 just so I could ride.

I have done the factory prescribed recall procedure twice, on my 02 personally. Last time (strike three) I checked the connectors were fused together (presumably from excessive heat due to the presence of oil ....). I broke the connector apart snipped x 6 and installed (soldered connectors)an ac/delco weather resistant connector from NAPA ($10). I'm not sure how long that'll work. I'm going to talk to my service guy at the local Kawasaki shop and see if they'll replace all the components and then I plan on performing a fix that will prevent the oil from getting anywhere uphill on the wires and well away from the connector (a sealed butt connector splice or bolted eyelets). I'll let you know how it goes at Kawasaki.

*UPDATE*

Service says the vr is bad and of course to replace the stator connector the entire assembly has to be replaced. It was all ordered on Friday (sound familiar?).

More later when I get it home...

I went and checked mine again after seeing yours and it's covered in oil. This sucks , I'm leaving for Laguna Thursday and I don't know what to do. There is no way it can be sealed up now and thats all I can get the shops around here to do, they wont do the right thing and replace the the whole stator, and I don't know if I can get one here in time to change it myself.

:idea:
If your connector hasn't melted yet ...

Clean the connector, both halves. really douche that f***er, then let it dry.

Cut the wires on the stator side of the connector
:!: (one at a time or be sure to mark the wires so you know where they go)

Install, with solder if possible, lugs (or eyelets).

Nut and bolt the appropriate lugs together, tape 'em up and viola!

No more path for the oil to wick up to the connector!
The oil will only travel as far as where you have placed the lugs.

This remedy should keep the oil out of the connector, thereby,
eliminating the additional resistance to current flow through the
connector created by the oil, which causes excessive heat and
should prevent a potential catastrophe.

Should your bike turn into a ball of fire at some point.. :shock:
it's not my fault!:oops:
I'm not a mechanic, electrician or representative for the
Kawasaki Motor Corp. and will assume no liability for the
procedure described.


P.s.
I hope this helped.
:D

I spent a couple of hours yesterday cleaning out the connector, I took all the wires out of the connector and sprayed every thing with contact cleaner and let it air dry over night. I talked to some of my buddies and they suggested the same thing , so I'm going to cut the wires today and fill the connector with electrical grease. My only concern is where is the oil comming up the wire going to drip? I guess I'll just have to put a rag around the wires and change it every so often.

I still say zip-tie a kotex around it and check it once a month!!!!!!! :) I think I'm going to head for the Stereo Shop and pick up some high end connectors, cut some heat shrink tube (3 pieces) along with a electrical pliers/crimper and place them in a zip lock in the back of the bike just in case.

At this moment in time, I just clean mine out regularly.

See my previous response on this, below.

The temp difference creates a capillary action in the wire, like a straw. Break that action and solve the problem. Don't splice in ring terminals then bolt them together. Although this will work, you are introducing a failure point - the bolts coming loose if not done correctly. Plus, "electrical" tape sucks. We do not use it to cover splices or bare conductors, we only use it for mechanically holding wiring and harnesses together, not to insulate electrically.

I just got mine fixed today spliced and soldered the wires back together my connector was melted and fried within the connector :shock: I got in touch with this guy that works on 12's here. I knew after riding last night and popping my dino hinge and smelling that electronic burnt smell that I was living on borrowed time. Not to mention I didn't want anymore down time for my bike that I just got back for being down a week because of a bad junction box :roll: Hopefully now I can start enjoying the summer and putting some miles on this beast :D

Gee and to think the dealer and Kawi headquarters told me I was the ONLY one having this problem....LMFAO...you guys cant imagine how pissed off I get ever time I read ANOTHER one of these !!!! Who was it in here that has connections with a class action suit ??? WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO HERE !!! IM IN !!!

That's me on the suit.

Was there ever a customer recall submitted by Kawasaki or was it strictly a recall for dealers?

I believe it was mailed to all owners.

Canadian version, but you get the idea :wink:

Right..BUT...the recall does NOT state that the plug fries......just states the oil seepage !! 2 different problems......the 2nd and 3rd time my fried there was NO indication of any oil in the plug !! So technically there has been NO recall for the plug frying problem !!!

I got it all put back together and it runs fine, but those wires sure get hot while she's running. I'm just going to cross my fingers and keep an eye on it during the trip.

If I get any more oil in there I'm selling the thing when I get back. Don't know what will be able to replace the 12 but I don't want my kids to have replace their dad because Kawasaki cant pull their heads out of their ass's.

My Voltage regulator was cooked. You better check voltages on the stator and vr.

does everyones connector get HOT.
So hot you can not hold it after a 5 mile ride???
I was just going to cut the connector out and splice the wires,
but now I don't know?

For those that have removed the connector completely, and spliced
the wires together, does it still get that hot??

Ya know Kawasaki is not going to help, the recall is a joke,
I don't have a warranty....

GAWD!!!

If the wires on either side of the connector don't get hot, it has to be arcing inside the connector.

If damage has already been done to the voltage regulator, that too might cause it to heat up.

Everything points to the connector.

Marcus, you gotz juice in yer connector again?

After I spiced and soldered the wires they got hot but not to the point you couldn't touch them. We leave for Laguna tomorrow so hopefully it stays dry for about 1700 miles.

Oh yeah :roll:
Well. the last time I could pull it apart it was full of oil

I can't even get the damn thing apart now, I think it's fused together.

I'm cut'n that friggin connector out Saturday and splicing 'em togther ..
that's if I can make it home today w/out burning up !!

No riding tomorrow, Tropical Storm Cindy will be here with much rain :(

I can hear Kawasaki now... " We have not had any reports of this "

This does not look exactly ...normal

Here is mine about 2 months ago,



Got the FIX, not oil yet.. I know, get rid of the plug. I have to wait till Blitz get better..

Pat

I wish I had a camera like yours Payor, but i don't,
that shot shows great detail.

If you have not checked your connector,
or if you are just ignoring the problem, DON"T !!

You need to keep a close eye on the connector AND the wiring harness !!

I started the process of removing the connector today,
and made a startling discovery :shock:

On the stator side there are four wires.
Two of the wires merge into one just before the connector.
Then three wires go into the connector.
Three heavier wires are on the other side of the connector.

Honestly, I don't know what any of these are for :oops:

But, where the two wires merge into one is where there was a big problem.
There was basically ONE strand of wire, with a 2nd strand barely on there,
holding that wire onto the other wire.
It had to be very close to failure!
I don't know what would have happpened if it had broken off,
as I do not know it's function. It was the smaller of the two wires.

I took a pic, and I apologize for the poor quality :oops:

Fortunately for me, I had the foresight to buy an extended warranty
(at a discount of course, cost + $75)...

I talked to the service manager at the Kawasaki dealer and explained
the situation. He in turn called Kawasaki and got approval
(warranty.. not recall) for and ordered the parts for replacement
of the stator, gasket, foam piece in the tail and the voltage regulator,
they should arrive at the dealer mid-week!

Those of you who are out of warranty and have had the recall performed
by the dealer should be able to get the replacement parts as well.

I think you may be getting the run around by the dealership and not
Kawasaki. The reason I think this is...

I called Kawasaki customer service and asked about the recall and
explained how ineffectual the prescribed remedy was based on my
own experience and the mass bitching (justified) found here in the
forums.

The Kawasaki CSR mentioned that
the parts should have been replaced if there
was already any oil present at the time of the recall
inspection!!!

From that statement I would presume that the KAWA-BOND
(aka.super-glue) method was for prevention of seepage only
if the wires and connector were not already oiled!

I have a copy of the recall procedure (glue method) from Kawasaki
but it certainly would be interesting, and most likely beneficial to those
who have not yet found a suitable resolution to their woes, to see all
of the accompanying documentation regarding the recall.

So bottom line as I see it is, the service dept.'s at the dealers dropped
the ball trying to save time (time is money) and are now liable for parts,
labor and damages by not performing the recall as dictated by Kawasaki.

I'll see if I can get the documents (if there are any) from my dealer to
substantiate my theory and give you guys a leg to stand on whilst pursuing
resolution through your dealer.

I believe the three white wires come directly from the coils of the stator. These carry between 85-120v to the regulator/rectifier, so if these short out on the frame (as we have heard) this is a major problem :shock:

I also spotted the wire attached to one of the white wires - At first I thought it was for the bike alarm, as it appeared to be an after-thought. According to the wiring diagram this leads off to the headlight relay in junction box (US, CN, AS and ML models).

I remember Epstein's headlights failed, I wonder if that could have attributed to that. I dunno.

I don't have enough patience to deal with the dealership :?
I have already had a new stator and harness installed, and then the recall.

I'll post pics of what I did later.

Yep if the stator goes out, good bet the headlights aren't gonna work either.

Here are pictures of my connector that had fused together. I had the wires spliced and soldered last weekend. I just had my bike at the dealership for a week and some days over a fuggn fusebox so I wasn't trying to have anymore downtime. I think I will have them order the replacement parts from Kawasaki because I got the superglue job when I got the bike last year with only 60 miles on it. I think I will send these pictures to Kawasaki.

I'm on my 3rd! stator, wiring harness(connector) and regulator on my 01' 12R. Kawasaki has given me, what my dealer calls, a Double Goodwill for the parts. Now Kawi's saying if this connector melts again, I'm on my own. Supposedly the stator is a sub'd part. Meaning an all new part number. The connector definitely looks the same. Im wondering if I should leave it as is and see if it happens again or remove the new connector now and solder the wires directly.

What do you guys think?

I don't know Viper. My connector had not melted, but it was so hot
I could not hold it. So today's project was to remove the connector.

The fix I did DOES NOT address the oil in the wire issue.

Since not very many pics have been uploaded showing
the repair/replacement, I guess I'll show what I did.

If there are some members with electrical expertise,
please critique my work. I'm not very smart on electrical issues. :oops:

I started with a hot connector



I removed the connector and I had to pry the connector apart,
it was fused together



I used this type connector... will they be OK?



Here's the test run before I used the heat shrink



Everything worked fine, so I used my butane torch and applied the
heat shrink that was on the end of the connectors,
then I put an extra heat shrink tube over each wire to secure
the connectors



I placed the connectors in a similar location to the stock connector
and I secured it to the subframe with a zip tie to keep it in place



Notes:

I did not apply any type of silicone in between the male/female connectors
because I was not sure what to use.

I did not use heat shrink tubing to secure the four wires on the stator side
because my thinking was if they are exposed they can dissipate heat. Thoughts on that?

The wires do get a little warm, but no where near as bad as before.

Input appreciated, especially if I have used wrong parts or done something wrong.

Good luck with the heat shrink Mark !!.....Did the same to mine and the one wire (that gets the hottest) MELTED the heat shrink then elec tape the second time....now I have the metal back tape on that one and sofar so good !!




Viper.....The " GOODWILL" part is the SAME shit Kawasaki told me.....not the dealer...it was Kawi Customer Service !!!! Go figure huh....they also told me that they have never heard of ANY OTHER bike doing it ! :shock:

Same here Avenger.

What does the wire that gets so hot do?

If it is the one that goes to the voltage regulator and the vr goes bad, would it cause a heat problem?

That wire is getting hot for a reason.
Mark since you've put the new connectors on. Does it get hot all the way from one end to the other or just at the junction point?

You guys see what I'm getting at? It just doesn't make sense for the wire to get hot at only one place.

My new one should be in next week and we'll perform a test to see if the new one gets hot.

I'll have to check it for you. I took a short ride today,
about 30 miles, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary.
I felt of the wires and I would say they were only warm.
I think 2 of the 3 were warm on the stator side.

I don't think the wires on the VR side were warm at all.

Again, I will double check as I am going to look at them everytime I stop for awhile, and I will be riding it to work tomorrow.

Before removing the connector it would be so hot that I could not even touch it.

I'll let you know if the stator replacement I get is the '04 style with seperate connctors. Even Kawasaki deems this a fix.

Hopefully the new and improved stator will fix the problem.

I checked the wires when I arrived at my work this morning.
The only wire that was warm was the one that goes
from two into one. And it was just warm, not hot like before.

That's real good news. My faith has been shaken on this problem lately. If I didn't like this bike so darn much, I'd sell it and get something else but everything I ride either doesn't fit me or doesn't have the power of the 12. I'm spoiled rotten.

What's the diference between the 2000 model and the new model??? Pics??

Last night I did a search and found drawings (can't remember who posted them) of the new '04-'05 stator connectors. They are 3 seperate connectors instead of one plug. The plug from the vr looks to be the same.

Notice the three plugs on the new one...

The regulator is going to need 3 plugs as well...


And in fact it does, the round plug must be the output from the regulator...

Yep, my bad, it does have three as well.

I have not taken my 2000 in for the half ass fix. Is Kwak (no mispelling when it comes to this topic) stepping up to the plate and changing the componets? If not what is the cost of the new parts?

Another good question. The thread I saw (on this site) stated that Kwak did replace his stator and regulator with the '04 version.

I'll let you know which one they use on me.

If I get the old one, I'll put new connectors on it myself.

You can check ron ayers and see what the '04 version costs.

www.ronayers.com

New stator $304
Ner vr $115

Funny, the old ones are still available.

Gee I wonder why they changed the stator wiring for....NO ONE HAS EVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THEM BEFORE !!!! :roll: WHAT A LOAD OF FUCKING SHIT !!!!

C'mon Lenny...tell us how you really feel about it

But I agree, I like how the new design looks similar to my repair job, albeit with different connectors.

Picked up my new stator, vr, gasket and foam thingies from the dealer today,
for my 02, they look like the same parts as before.

The service manager says it's a superceeded part #.
I haven't disassembled mine yet so I can't remark whether or not
anything is different about the wires coming out of the stator.

The connectors are the same as before. I think I'll cut out the factory
three prong and put in three seperate connectors to avoid the melting
mess again.

I wish I had specified to order the 04 units instead.

I'll probably install it next weekend because I'm waiting on a few other pieces to install as well and would rather do it all at once instead of taking
the bike apart twice.

Can you send it back and reorder the 04?
It would be worth checking into,
even paying a re-stock charge if needed, IMO.

I don't want to hassle them, its easy enough to throw on different
connectors, they have done a lot of stuff over and above what most
folks can get out of their dealer. For example I got the parts and labor
under warranty.I get to install the parts.. they get the labor..
no mysterious scratches to gripe about, the bike never leaves my sight,
etc..I can get tires mounted and balanced gratis, just tip the mech.
My front fender on the ZX12 had a crack in it (rt side fork flare near
mounting bolt) got it replaced under warranty with an Art carbon fiber
fender and was able to keep the old fender and install the new one myself.
The fuel tank on my 98 KX500 had a crack in it, got it replaced with an
IMS desert tank. Had a blown fork seal on my ZRX1100 got it fixed under
warranty and had gold valves and springs installed, no labor charge, while
they were doing the seals. A bolt jiggled out of the ZRX and they didn't
have it in stock, so they pulled one off a showroom bike for me. I cracked
the fairing on the ZRX and it was replaced under warranty! They'll swap
out shims for valve adjustments. Bad radiator on a ZRX, replaced under
warranty! Got a free dyno run on the ZRX!

8) These guys rock and I tell 'em so every time I'm there.

I also asked about any accompanying docs that may have come with the
recall procedure, they say there are none.

I did the recall thing on my 01. I just now checked my connecter and there was oil in it. No doubt a plain and simple bad design. I want the motherfucker fixed right and soon. Iam not going to have that shit. Ive been with the same dealer since 1974 and they will do whatever it takes for me. I even got a clutch and broke driveshaft warranted from them one time on a KZ1300 that I drag raced all the time and they knew it. A dealer can get nearly anything pushed through if they word the claim the right way. Iam just wondering what the correct fix for this problem is? I dont just want a band aid I want this solved.

And so does everyone else...thats why everyone is doing it themselves !! :oops:

I've been riding mine every day since I did my fix.
About 700 miles so far, no problems, fingers crossed :?

If I do have to replace mine, I'm going with the 04/05 parts.