KFX 450 - We think we got a lemon

[texsgirl]

Tex has had to bring his new KFX in for the same problem 5 times now. Something is draining the battery. They've accused him of leaving the key in, but he has never done that on either of his quads.

Anyone hear anything about these KFX's? There's already been one recall on the tank and we've already had that fixed. Anyone have any ideas?

I am calling to day to look into turning it in under the lemon law. Apparently we are well within the rules and legal rites to do so now but thought I'd check to see if anyone else knows of anything helpful.

Thanks!

[mojaveleclaire]

Sounds like a pain in the ass to me! I don't know about Lemon Laws on Quads but I think it would fall under it. Go down to Brenny's East in Bettendorf and talk to them. Did you buy it in Texas or here in Iowa? BTW glad to see you guys are here and now we got to get you to come out riding!

[texsgirl]

Thanks Mojave.

We bought it in Texas. It's the limited edition quad and he loves it. That's the problem. He absolutely loves this bike and it's crapping out on him. He was wanting to ride it this weekend, but he's going to have to use his backup.

I just got done talking to a guy at the Iowa City shop and he thinks there is something that's creating some kind of constant pull on the battery. That's obvious. We know that. But what is draining it...we don't know. We've even had the battery replaced. He also said the Iowa lemon law essentially sucks and only applies to cars. I think we qualify for the Texas lemon law still. We will probably pursue it. He also recommended that we just insist the Texas dealership replace it.

[mojaveleclaire]

I totally aggree! Talk to Brenny's in Bettendorf as they are a Kawi Dealer or go take it to Quad Doctor in Andulsia, IL. I think Brenny's would be able to help you fight the dealer in Texas as they are a pretty big dealer.

[Weck]

I would post the same thing at www.kfx450central.com and kawieriders.com. Does Tex have access to a digital voltmeter? If so he can remove the positive cable from the battery and set the DVM up to read current flow. Attach one lead to the cable end and the other cable to the battery terminal. If it is draining the battery in just a few days it will probably read around 50 - 100 milliamps. A couple milliamps would probably be normal as a residual draw for the ECM (Electronic Control Module) Fuel injection thingy. Anyway if it is showing some type of draw on the battery he should start unplugging connectors until the draw goes away. I would start with wires related to the fuel injection / fuel pump system, followed by the stator wires etc... A quad this new should not have any problems. Here is an even easier test. Have him remove the positive wire from the battery. If there is even a slight spark jump when he disconnects it or re-touches it there is an abnormal draw. Did this problem start after the gas tank recall work was done? They could have pinched a wire against the frame causing a high resistance short thus draining the battery.

I assume you spoke with Iowa City Motorsports. They are a club supporting dealer. Dealers get paid from the factory for warrenty work so they should help you whether you bought it there or not. I can understand them not being interested in a lemon law type of deal though. I deal with Rod there, and I think he is the business manager.

[texsgirl]

THANK YOU! I'll pass that all on to Tex. He doesn't have a meter but I think one of his riding buddies does. It did this after his second ride not long after he got it Feburary/March and long before the recall. We've been messing with it ever since.

We are taking it in to Iowa City Kawasaki tonite after work. They were real helpful and seemed genuinely concerned. I talked to the shop in Texas and Jimmy sounded annoyed his guys still hadn't fixed it and said they'd help any way they could.

We're going to have IC take a look at it, pick it up before we ride Saturday down in Bussey, and hope for the best.

We appreciate all your input.

[Weck]

I have not seen Bussy mentioned in any Iowa OHV / DNR e-mails about being closed due to flooding but you might call someone before going down. I am not sure who to call but you could probably find out on www.iowaohv.com

You also need to have your quads registered in IA. There is info on that at the above website too.

[texsgirl]

Already have tags taken care of. Thanks for the info on Bussey. Would have been a wasted trip otherwise. I'll check into it.

[Riley Westerberg]

check your coil wire right off your coil by the radiator, your fuse wires under the hood close to your fuse, and your tail light wires right close to your tail light. these wires all wore through on mine and were creating shorts so it wouldnt be a bad idea to check them anyway. I have the special edition as well. Its a great bike and i had the first one in michigan. Keep riden and have fun. I hope I could help

[Weck]

This is kind of an old subject but in this story from atvriders.com William Yokley's mechanic specifically mentions the wiring harness routing. Must be a consistant problem.

www.atvriders.com/atvnews/kawasaki2007kfx450ratvronwade.html