Kawaski KLF300 (Bayou 300)

[prepman]

Had to cut down some diseased ash trees, so I hauled the quad out of the shed, pumped up flat tyres....The charging circuit went kaput 2 yrs back. Turned fuel on, (as I'd ran carb dry to store) and yanked on the pull cord. Unfortunately my 'yanking' abilitity has deteriorated along with my body in general.
Battery is fully charged but only buzz out of starter. The cost of the charging circuit is prohibitive against value of bike. Also it's obscure as to which type. The alternator is a fixed magnet with the control dumping excess, which seems to be Zener type control.
Anyone have any experience of this? Might be easier to get rid of quad.
Tied the controller up as a temp, expecting to have a replacement easily obtained.

 

[AVI_8]

Try giving the starter a gentle knock with a hammer whilst operating it.
It may have temporarily seized.
And can you get the part number from the controller

 

[Cato]

Have a look at some of the aftermarket suppliers Electrex for example carry stuff for the KLF

 

[merryman]

DO NOT hit the starter with a hammer, gentle or not, the magnets are glued on and fragile, The KLF does have a tin can inside the magnets to stop this happening but lots of ATV and motorcycle starters don't. The "controller" is actually a voltage regulator, loads of cheap Chinese versions on eBay if the genuine one is too expensive. This won't make a blind bit of difference to the starter, except allowing the battery to slowly run down. First be absolutely sure the battery is sound. If it has been left flat for a while, it won't be. Then make sure all heavy cables terminals are clean and tight, including earths. I think the KLF has a de-compressor lever, if it has, use it. Lastly KLFs are suddenly gaining in value, you could be surprised how much "spares or repair" 300s are making on eBay.

 

[prepman]

DO NOT hit the starter with a hammer, gentle or not, the magnets are glued on and fragile, The KLF does have a tin can inside the magnets to stop this happening but lots of ATV and motorcycle starters don't. The "controller" is actually a voltage regulator, loads of cheap Chinese versions on eBay if the genuine one is too expensive. This won't make a blind bit of difference to the starter, except allowing the battery to slowly run down. First be absolutely sure the battery is sound. If it has been left flat for a while, it won't be. Then make sure all heavy cables terminals are clean and tight, including earths. I think the KLF has a de-compressor lever, if it has, use it. Lastly KLFs are suddenly gaining in value, you could be surprised how much "spares or repair" 300s are making on eBay.

The battery is questionable, was fitted new when problem first appeared, but was recovered with a desulf charger. Once the bike is up and running it's OK. I did initial think it was a magneto, but of course it's ECI so needs battery to run. Did try sourcing from a eBay (CCP) but there was a vague difference. Just looked today on web and found this...
https://atvcity.co.uk/types/regulat...0-ksv700-kvf300-kvf360-kvf400-kvf500-rm30w02/
But code doesn't match?
I suppose at that price if it is definitely the controller then OK. The rectifier side appears ok.
Don't have detailed diagram to ensure harness is good. Lot of conflicting ones on web.

 

[prepman]

Did you check for spark at the plug, also is the plug wet with petrol,
or dry like its getting none, if you have spark, put a little petrol down
the plug hole, tighten the plug and pull, she might spring to life.

There are a lot of you tube videos showing how, to connect up the wiring
on chinese quads, it will be similar for the KLF, just better components,
there are only a few wires to follow up, there may be more due to safety
switches low oil, out of gear and such, not too difficult, a good battery is a must,
they don't do well laying around.

Thee next big thing will be battery powered atv 's, given the ever increasing
price of fuel it won't be long, may be now its the time to unload the KLF before
they are legislated out to pasture.

I got it running with pull cord as usual. But electrical side is still iffy. From the battery volts it looks like it's trying to charge but something is dragging it down. Because once connected the volts goes below 12. So battery is not good, but replacing it previously didn't cure fault. Anyway whilst pushing it I operated the front brakes, which promptly came on and stuck. Spat my dummy out and went for an early shower.

 

[merryman]

Yes, the KLF and KEF300 are the only quads I know of which use a 1980s car style (contactless) 12v coil ignition system.

The charging circuit is fairly straightforwards, three phase alternator feeds regulator/rectifier via three yellow wires. Not certain of the following as I can't find my KLF300 wiring diagram. Black/yellow wire goes from regulator to negative side of battery, white from regulator goes to fuse then on to pos side of battery, and white also goes to ignition switch, through that to brown wire, which also goes to regulator, making it a 6 wire regulator. I know some 300s have a three wire ignition switch, can't remember just how that works.

Brakes on nearly all quads have a habit of sticking, can be pistons, but normally it is the pins that the sliding half of caliper slide on, seizing. Round steel pins sliding in one aluminium hole and one rubber bush, what could possibly go wrong?

 

[prepman]

Yes, the KLF and KEF300 are the only quads I know of which use a 1980s car style (contactless) 12v coil ignition system.

The charging circuit is fairly straightforwards, three phase alternator feeds regulator/rectifier via three yellow wires. Not certain of the following as I can't find my KLF300 wiring diagram. Black/yellow wire goes from regulator to negative side of battery, white from regulator goes to fuse then on to pos side of battery, and white also goes to ignition switch, through that to brown wire, which also goes to regulator, making it a 6 wire regulator. I know some 300s have a three wire ignition switch, can't remember just how that works.

Brakes on nearly all quads have a habit of sticking, can be pistons, but normally it is the pins that the sliding half of caliper slide on, seizing. Round steel pins sliding in one aluminium hole and one rubber bush, what could possibly go wrong?

BTW...Teddy went out of pram. Not just dummy. Will drag the digger battery over to it as it's smaller than the tractor or car and see what happens.
Might be any issue with the brown wire coming back from the switch. Although ignition wouldn't work then? Not entirely convinced it's the controller. The diodes meter out fine. One plug is 3 yellow wires from alternator. The other plug is 5 pin I think. Will check later. More than 6 in total I think.

 

[prepman]

I hate small petrol engines. I really do....

 

[Pete.]

You can check a bike 3 phase alternator by measuring the AC voltage across the 3 phases. If it's up in the 70 volts region (with quite a wide tolerance) it's working. Personally, I would first suspect the wiring loom terminal blocks. It's quite likely you've got a trotted out connector or even a blackened loom wire.

 

[prepman]

You can check a bike 3 phase alternator by measuring the AC voltage across the 3 phases. If it's up in the 70 volts region (with quite a wide tolerance) it's working. Personally, I would first suspect the wiring loom terminal blocks. It's quite likely you've got a trotted out connector or even a blackened loom wire.

Quite possibly in the loom I don't suspect the alternator or the diodes, but the control could be pulling it down.....once my Trammadols kick in sufficiently I'll be back out there.
If it wasn't such a pig to pull over I wouldn't bother and just charge battery as required. The tractor and digger have solar chargers, but this lives in the shed.

 

[Pete.]

Usually the alternator just puts out 3 phase and the diodes are in the regulator rectifier unit on bike engines. I expect this is quite similar due to the layout.

 

[prepman]

Usually the alternator just puts out 3 phase and the diodes are in the regulator rectifier unit on bike engines. I expect this is quite similar due to the layout.

Yes quite a basic setup, but it's encasulated.

Yes, the KLF and KEF300 are the only quads I know of which use a 1980s car style (contactless) 12v coil ignition system.

The charging circuit is fairly straightforwards, three phase alternator feeds regulator/rectifier via three yellow wires. Not certain of the following as I can't find my KLF300 wiring diagram. Black/yellow wire goes from regulator to negative side of battery, white from regulator goes to fuse then on to pos side of battery, and white also goes to ignition switch, through that to brown wire, which also goes to regulator, making it a 6 wire regulator. I know some 300s have a three wire ignition switch, can't remember just how that works.

Brakes on nearly all quads have a habit of sticking, can be pistons, but normally it is the pins that the sliding half of caliper slide on, seizing. Round steel pins sliding in one aluminium hole and one rubber bush, what could possibly go wrong?

Got photo now it's 8 wires total although some are commoned, or least meters out as such.

 

[Pete.]

Looks to be in reasonable nick. I don't see any cooked housing in there to suggest a bad connection.

 

[merryman]

Hadn't realised that Kawasaki added extra wires on 2002 to 2004 Bayous, I must not have worked on late KLF300s.

As regulator/rectifiers always seem to be connected directly to the battery, not (just) through ignition switch, most use 5 wires in total. The KLF and some Hondas had the extra pos which was connected through ignition switch, as well as having the direct wire. No idea why, nor any idea why Kawasaki should feel the need to put all those extra wires in on the 2002 to 2004 models. Personally I would just buy a cheapo Chinese regulator for that model/year. If fitting a new regulator doesn't work, I then test out the alternator in the same way as you test three phase motors, if all three phases have the same resistance, and they are not shorting to earth, alternator is probably OK. Another test, (which I found out the hard way that you should do), is for power from battery to regulator via those direct wires, not volts, power, and easiest way to check that is to put a high wattage incandescent 12v bulb between pos and neg at regulator plug.