Fellow Riders:

Concours 2001, ZG1000A16 .... Does Junction Box need rebuild or hot wire?

Is the problem a failed J-box or a wire becoming energized on its own. Heres the scenario...

Front directional lights and instrumentation lights go on after ignition turned off. This is an intermittent problem that only seems to occur after bike is very warm/hot after a long ride. When the lights do comeback on, it happens about 5 to 10 minutes after bike is switched off. when the lights come on on their own, the lights will go off when the ignition is switched On then Off. Already had to buy a new battery last week when the lights came on and i forgot to check them so they drained the battery beyond it being able to take a charge.

The ignition switch was replaced and problem still exists.

I think there is a wire intermittently being energized? There is only a small amount of wires exposed so before i start to tear open the wiring harnesses, do you have any suggestion?

In advance, Thank You

Sounds a lot like it could be a J-Box issue.... Have you tried violence yet? Next time the lights do this remove the left side cover to expose the black J-Box and with the plastic handle of a screwdriver give the J-Box a solid whack or two... Do the lights go out or flicker?

This is where I am at.....

I checked the wires around the jbox all looks good.  I put the bike back together to let the problem re-occur. When the lights go back on by themselves after the ignition is turned off (after a 5 to 10 minute time delay), then I’ll tap the junction box to see what happens. From the Kawi forums I got a few replies saying to tap the jbox and even get more aggressive and hit it pretty good with the handle of a hammer.  If the lights go off after the jbox is hit then they say the jbox is the culprit and needs replacement.

However, what I will do first is after I find the lights come on I’ll move around the exposed wiring harnesses under the fairing.  If the lights go out or blink then I can continue to isolate what wire in what wire harness is at fault. If this has no effect, I’ll pull fuses at the jbox, one at a time, till the lights go out in order to isolate the circuit fault.

Last note is that I took the bike for a small run – 30 miles each direction.  The lights did not come on from either ride.  Won’t be back on the bike till either tomorrow night or Sunday so time will tell.

Really appreciate everyone's technical support.

~ David

IF it is the j-box acting up, they can be repaired.  The issue is USUALLY fractured solder joints that just get reflowed to correct an intermitent problem.  If you don't find a crimped wire somewhere, it sounds to me like you are getting one of the relays (3) in the j-box hanging up which can also be replaced.  Kind of odd it comes on a few minutes later though.  There are two people on this forum that offer the service to repair them a lot cheaper than a new one.  If you find someone near you, maybe you could swap the boxes as a test.

Update as I wait for the intermittent problem to reappear.....

The problem with the lights coming on on their own has not yet come to light (pardon the pun). The bike has been on quite a few rides with the longest around 150 miles. It is these longer rides when the bike seems to get really hot that the problem “sometimes” appears. All the other rides have been under 75 miles with no problems when it comes to the lighting situation (I do have a recent “mechanical” problem though).

It’s been a few weeks since I last communicated anything so I figured I would give an update. I plan on a few long trips in October so we’ll see what happens.

Thx for hanging in there with me.

~ David

Update #2:

My Tech assistance friends.... Still waiting for problem to reappear.  Been on many rides over the past few weeks and lights haven't yet turned on.  In time!

Just another progress post.

~ FYI, David