1987 Honda Foreman 350D no power to fuel pump or spark.

12294 Views 39 Replies 6 Participants Last post by appalachiansherpa, Jul 2, 2020

350D

Discussion Starter · Apr 21, 2017

Hi All,
So I got a great deal on this wheeler from a guy who was having trouble keeping it running. In fact, he couldn't get it started at the time, said the man at the shop told him it was working fine when he brought it in to have him look at it. Well, I just so happen to have a wood splitter he was in need of, hence I own it now. Anyway, I found a stash of acorns under the old chewed up air filter and the battery was dead. I dropped a new battery in it and cleaned up the carb and it started right up. Smiling away, I would go out to the garage and run it from time to time just to listen to it purr as I repaired and painted all the plastic, put on new front brakes and replaced a cv boot. Next up is to change the gear oils and motor oil and filter. So I noticed one time it didn't want to start. Thinking it was not getting fuel, I sprayed a little ether in it and it fired right up again and kept running. I drove it around the driveway a few times and it ran perfect. Then it happened again only a few hours after it had been running. The battery was fully charged, engine turned over, but still it wouldn't start. I checked the fuel pump by taking the gas line off the carb and no fuel is coming out. And to top it off, when I tried to start it with ether, it wouldn't fire. So I pulled the plug and it's not sparking either. I think the ground to the fuel pump is good because it will pump when I over ride the positive feed with a direct wire to the battery while leaving the ground wire attached. It seems like it may be two problems at once or somehow they are connected. I have power to the coil. Anyone care to share some insight and help a poor guy out?

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350D

Discussion Starter · #21 · Apr 26, 2017

Retro,
Ever since the last time I tapped the CDI it has started about 25 times and run perfectly.
Before that, while wiggling the connection to it, I thought it acted funny, lust for a second, like it might stall, but it quickly came around and seemed fine. I took the connections off, felt tight and it looked clean. So I put a little dialectic grease on each metal tab, snugged it back together tight and wrapped some electrical tape around it just make sure it could not back off or move any at all.
It was after all that, that it ran fine for a while and then simply would not start. So while trying to start it, I lightly tapped it and it started.
I just ordered an Honda OEM CDI box for $116 on Ebay. So we shall see!
Ya know, I got such a great deal on the wheeler that these new purchases are not so bad. It's not like I have a lot of cash, I don't, but it helps knowing I only had about $400 in cash invested in it before I started fixing it up. I'll be happier and have the peace of mind when it finally turns over and runs steady for a week or so. I'll probably need a new starter by then. LOL

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350D

Discussion Starter · #22 · Apr 26, 2017

PS That handsome face on my avatar is my new grandson. He may just be playing a bigger part in my happiness than my deal on the wheeler.

:grin

retro

· #23 · Apr 26, 2017

Hey, congrats on the grandson! I wondered who that might be cause I have a beautiful grand daughter I'm pretty proud of too! Grand kids can sure bring out the happy in us...

I think you did a great job on your 350D too. You have one of the finest and at an affordable price to boot. Hope your grandson falls in love with it!

Reactions: 1

Ron Fillmore

· #24 · Dec 14, 2019

retro said:
Well, yes or no... IF! ...you have gone through all of the connections and grounds in the wiring harness and verified them to be clean and snug, all making good electrical contacts with one another. And IF both the kill switch and ignition switch are working good with no intermittent continuity (electrically clean) issues.... And IF you have checked the resistance of the pulse generator according to the service manual and found it to be within specs....

You'll need to replace the CDI with an OEM Honda CDI (or optionally, a genuine Ricks Electrical Service CDI, not from one of the chinese liars pretending to be selling Ricks CDIs).

The Fuel pump must be an OEM Honda part too, else you or your family may burn up in the chinese fire under your butt.

Good luck and have fun with it! I'm happy that you are keeping your old girl running rather than parting it out!

Edit:
One more thing I forgot to mention earlier.... Sometimes the old spark plug wire can deteriorate at the end of the wire where the spark plug boot attaches. Its a good idea on these old machines to twist that plug boot off from the wire and cut about 3/8" of wire off the end, if you can, then twist-attach the boot back onto it. Try doing that before buying a CDI just to be sure.

Is there any way to test a CDI? I did by a Chinese one for $30. Still no spark or fuel pump. All lights work and fuel gauge and hour meter

Ron Fillmore

· #25 · Dec 14, 2019

I bought one of those Chinese cdi's. Is there any way to test even my old one? I have no spark or fuel pump. All lights and hour clock work and starter does also.

Goober

· #26 · Dec 14, 2019

Ron Fillmore said:
I bought one of those Chinese cdi's. Is there any way to test even my old one? I have no spark or fuel pump. All lights and hour clock work and starter does also.

Are you getting a steady neutral light and a momentarily oil light when you switch on?

Put your old one in an oven, connector side up. Turn oven on to 180F no more than 200F; let it dry out for at least 3 hours. Turn off oven and let cool completely before reinstalling. Sometimes the CDI traps humidity which may cause electrical problems; drying it out may revive it. Let us know if this works for you.

also check and maybe reseat all your fuses

Ron Fillmore

· #27 · Dec 15, 2019

Hello, yes I have a steady neutral light and momentary oil light. Have checked all fuses, but have not pulled the big 30 amp under the seat. I am assuming that that one controls every thing. I have put my old one in the oven twice to no avail. I have the owners manual and wiring diagram. I have not opened the fuel relay box yet. Is there anything in there that I should check? One screw is stripped, but I am sure I can drill it out if need be. My quad has 400 hours on the clock and I got it from a meticulous German friend who changed the oil every time he used it. It runs super when it starts. It just started getting harder to start, about a year ago. Got worse and worse until it finally quit. I was thinking it was fuel, but new fuel pump didn't help.

Reactions: 1

shadetree

· #28 · Dec 15, 2019

Ron Fillmore said:
Hello, yes I have a steady neutral light and momentary oil light. Have checked all fuses, but have not pulled the big 30 amp under the seat. I am assuming that that one controls every thing. I have put my old one in the oven twice to no avail. I have the owners manual and wiring diagram. I have not opened the fuel relay box yet. Is there anything in there that I should check? One screw is stripped, but I am sure I can drill it out if need be. My quad has 400 hours on the clock and I got it from a meticulous German friend who changed the oil every time he used it. It runs super when it starts. It just started getting harder to start, about a year ago. Got worse and worse until it finally quit. I was thinking it was fuel, but new fuel pump didn't help.

first mistake: taking the cheap way out, and buying a china c.d.i. !. buy a oem c.d.i. be done with it, taking the cheap way out is never a good idea. second: unplug the fuel pump from harness, hook 12 volt dc to it from a good known battery, DO NOT RUN IT WITHOUT FUEL HOOKED TO IT !, or you will burn it out in sec's !. if your pump works this way ?, then chances are your fuel pump relay is bad ?. been sitting for a bit ?, clean or rebuild the carb with a shindy carb rebuild kit, DO NOT USE ANY STUPID CHINA CARB KITS !!. the fuel cut-off relay is in the metal box, above right rear tire. you can get a pair of vise grips on the screws to remove them. the fuel cut-off relay is still sold by honda. if your pump is bad ?, buy a oem pump from honda, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY ON SOME STUPID PUMP FROM EBAY THAT SELLS FOR AROUND 20 BUCKS ?, IT'S A CHINA KNOCK-OFF !!!. word from the wise: if your too cheap to spend money on your atv to fix it, AND FIX IT RIGHT ?, then you should not bother with it, all your doing is wasting time and hard earned money !.

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shadetree

· #29 · Dec 15, 2019

Ron Fillmore said:
Is there any way to test a CDI? I did by a Chinese one for $30. Still no spark or fuel pump. All lights work and fuel gauge and hour meter

other than testing it on a known running atv thats same in year/make/model ?, NO !.

Goober

· #30 · Dec 15, 2019

It could be several things gotta get OEM parts only!!!)
Bad CDI (firing upon initial crank with ether tells me your prob is likely electrical) three different CDI part numbers for this model
You did not specify which model or year you have

Other Mechanical factors
Choke valve (SE) worn
Carb dirty and or gaskets worn (is it a QA03A? Don’t lose that carb!!!)
Dirty fuel tank or crud in the tank suction lines (internal to tank)
Clogged Petcock
Clogged fuel filter

Ron Fillmore

· #31 · Dec 15, 2019

shadetree said:
first mistake: taking the cheap way out, and buying a china c.d.i. !. buy a oem c.d.i. be done with it, taking the cheap way out is never a good idea. second: unplug the fuel pump from harness, hook 12 volt dc to it from a good known battery, DO NOT RUN IT WITHOUT FUEL HOOKED TO IT !, or you will burn it out in sec's !. if your pump works this way ?, then chances are your fuel pump relay is bad ?. been sitting for a bit ?, clean or rebuild the carb with a shindy carb rebuild kit, DO NOT USE ANY STUPID CHINA CARB KITS !!. the fuel cut-off relay is in the metal box, above right rear tire. you can get a pair of vise grips on the screws to remove them. the fuel cut-off relay is still sold by honda. if your pump is bad ?, buy a oem pump from honda, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY ON SOME STUPID PUMP FROM EBAY THAT SELLS FOR AROUND 20 BUCKS ?, IT'S A CHINA KNOCK-OFF !!!. word from the wise: if your too cheap to spend money on your atv to fix it, AND FIX IT RIGHT ?, then you should not bother with it, all your doing is wasting time and hard earned money !.

Gotcha. Thanks!! '87 TRX 350D Fourtrax Foreman Foreman. I have tested the fuel pump with a battery, and yes it works. I have chased down entire fuel system. Not clogged. I guess next step is OEM CDI and check fuel relay. Thank You!!

Ron Fillmore

· #32 · Dec 15, 2019

Ron Fillmore said:
Gotcha. Thanks!! '87 TRX 350D Fourtrax Foreman Foreman. I have tested the fuel pump with a battery, and yes it works. I have chased down entire fuel system. Not clogged. I guess next step is OEM CDI and check fuel relay. Thank You!!

Where or which site do recommend to buy the OEM CDI from?

shadetree

· #33 · Dec 15, 2019

Ron Fillmore said:
Where or which site do recommend to buy the OEM CDI from?

rocky mountain atv, or partzilla is where I buy my oem parts.

Ron Fillmore

· #34 · Feb 10, 2020

Ron Fillmore said:
Gotcha. Thanks!! '87 TRX 350D Fourtrax Foreman Foreman. I have tested the fuel pump with a battery, and yes it works. I have chased down entire fuel system. Not clogged. I guess next step is OEM CDI and check fuel relay. Thank You!!

Hello, it's been a couple months since my last message. Winter, and not thinking much about my quad. Anyway, I took your advise a bought an OEM CDI through Babbitts online. Seemed like a good Co. Put it in, and still nothing .No fuel pump or spark. They are going to exchange for another just to try. Seems like it's a pretty specific part. We checked VIN and all. Unit is just the same, but at the very bottom are some numbers that are different. The parts store said that they don;t matter.part#is30410-HA7-751 and on the little mouth thing where you plug it in to, they read HA7 under that is CI537 All these match. But on the very bottom are the little numbers Old one says 6.6 201 New one says 9.7 111. I'm stumped. Can't even find anyone to work on it. Too Old, but runs like new when running. only 300 hours on clock. Thanks ,Ron

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Ron Fillmore

· #35 · Feb 10, 2020

Not sure if my reply was in the right place about the OEM cdi. If you don't see it please let me know. Thanks Ron Fillmore

shadetree

· #36 · Feb 11, 2020

seems you have the correct cdi. i would check/test all your fuses, test the stator, as well as the reg/rec. check the '' kill '' switch, check the ignition switch for being good and correct ?.

Ron Fillmore

· #37 · Feb 12, 2020

shadetree said:
seems you have the correct cdi. i would check/test all your fuses, test the stator, as well as the reg/rec. check the '' kill '' switch, check the ignition switch for being good and correct ?.

Thank You.

Goober

· #38 · Feb 12, 2020

Goober said:
It could be several things gotta get OEM parts only!!!)
Bad CDI (firing upon initial crank with ether tells me your prob is likely electrical) three different CDI part numbers for this model
You did not specify which model or year you have

Other Mechanical factors
Choke valve (SE) worn
Carb dirty and or gaskets worn (is it a QA03A? Don’t lose that carb!!!)
Dirty fuel tank or crud in the tank suction lines (internal to tank)
Clogged Petcock
Clogged fuel filter

I see you did not answer some of my questions.
Do you have the service manual?
There is a troubleshooting flowchart which will help isolate pulse generator and stator—also fuel relay and kill switch. Pretty easy at least for me
You can’t just put 12v on the fuel pump and isolate the system in that manner tho.
service manual and parts links in my signature block below

Ron Fillmore

· #39 · Feb 12, 2020

Goober said:
I see you did not answer some of my questions.
Do you have the service manual?
There is a troubleshooting flowchart which will help isolate pulse generator and stator—also fuel relay and kill switch. Pretty easy at least for me
You can’t just put 12v on the fuel pump and isolate the system in that manner tho.
service manual and parts links in my signature block below

yes, I do have the owners manual. Thanks for the info.

appalachiansherpa

· #40 · Jul 2, 2020

350D said:
Retro,
Ever since the last time I tapped the CDI it has started about 25 times and run perfectly.
Before that, while wiggling the connection to it, I thought it acted funny, lust for a second, like it might stall, but it quickly came around and seemed fine. I took the connections off, felt tight and it looked clean. So I put a little dialectic grease on each metal tab, snugged it back together tight and wrapped some electrical tape around it just make sure it could not back off or move any at all.
It was after all that, that it ran fine for a while and then simply would not start. So while trying to start it, I lightly tapped it and it started.
I just ordered an Honda OEM CDI box for $116 on Ebay. So we shall see!
Ya know, I got such a great deal on the wheeler that these new purchases are not so bad. It's not like I have a lot of cash, I don't, but it helps knowing I only had about $400 in cash invested in it before I started fixing it up. I'll be happier and have the peace of mind when it finally turns over and runs steady for a week or so. I'll probably need a new starter by then. LOL

350D, Did the CDI cure your issue? I have the same but already dropped in a new CDI...

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