Newbie MZ owner 1 day in and big problems already.

[cheza2127]

Hi Everyone, I'm Chris from Edinburgh and i've just bought my first MZ, a 2002 MZ 660 mastiff.

Things started off great with the new bike, great fun to ride and everything working as it should.

A 37 mile ride home from motherwell in torrential rain and wind has brought about a rather severe issue which I'd like to run by you all to see if you have tips or advice.

Basically everything was fine after the journey back to edinburgh, I stopped briefly at a friends then when I drove away I got about 10 meters and the bike died.
Turns out i'd blown the main 15 amp fuse. Luckily a replacement was taped to the loom so I replaced it. As soon as i turned the ignition on it blew again ( no attempt to start the bike and the lights were off).
Iv let it dry out for a few days now at my mates garage and I'm now going over there armed with some 15A fuses to try to bring it back to life.
I'm hoping this works and it's just a case of protecting the wiring a bit better in future.

If it doesn't work, does anybody have any suggestions as to what may be the root of the electrical failure?

Thanks for your help

Cheers Chris

[rodge70]

hi and welcome,try pulling on loom and moving bars around first with ignition on and engine not running,maybe a wire going to earth somewhere.if that shows nothing then try starting it and if fuse then blows try looking where the wires go up to ign switch,seem to recall they go between two plates that hold front headlight/tank panel brackets in place,good luck with it,cheers rodge

[DAVID THOMPSON]

the plastic connectors on these bikes in the humid valley where i live
suffer from attacks of the green crud ... oxidation of the copper wiring
clean the connector plugs and give the harness a very good look for defects
and spade lugs that are loose
may want to take off the tank and check wires under it also
dave

[cheza2127]

Thanks for the replies, i ended up taking all the underseat wiring apart and greasing and re-taping everything. 4 blown fuses later and now everythings sorted and running fine.
One thing though, I was wanting to check the oil and unlike my other bike an FZR1000, there doesn't appear to be an oil window - i cant even see a filler cap? I didnt get a manual with the Mastiff, where is the oil cap and window/dipstick located on these bikes?

[iceman]

Front right side by the handlebars.You'll see a cap pull it up and it has a stick similar to a car.

That's also the filler.The filter is on the right side also down lower on the motor.

There's a post I made in the 660 section. Edit: here it is.






The fuse sounds like somewhere you had a positive + lead going to ground blowing that fuse.I would carry some with you.
It could be anywhere that 15 fuse services,Like turn signals with water shorting to ground.

[jimc]

A trick way to troubleshoot 12v wiring shorts.
Assuming you have a solid problem....
Take one of your blown 15A fuses and wire a headlight (or maybe any 12v bulb) across it.
(I used an old seal beam out of a junk car- puts a good load on the offending wiring without smokage)
install in the fuse holder - the headlight will now protect the wiring without popping lots of fuses. It will
light up full bright if you have a wire shorting to ground. You can then wiggle wires, turn the bars etc.
when you open up the short, the light will go out, or go dim if there's a normal load on that
circuit. If you have an intermittent problem , carrying a smaller bulb setup with you may be the only way to
go.
Good Luck.

[cheza2127]

Nice one! thanks again for all the help, the manual pages are especially useful.
I've strapped in a couple of spare fuses so if it happens again i'll be prepared!
Cheers Chris