[CalebG]

Hello Everyone,

I am new here. I have a rancher that I am trying to get up and running again. It was mine when I was younger, and my grandfather used it for a while until it quit running about 2 years ago. He got to the point he was going to either have one of us come get it or sell it, so I decided to go pick it up and get it running.

I believe it is a 2000 trx. It is the 2 wheel drive version with the manual foot shift. Not sure where to look to verify the year or exact model, but if anyone does know I will be glad to look it up.

I have cleaned the fuel system and the carburetor, and have replaced the spark plug but I still am not getting a spark. I checked the kill switch and it seems like it may not be working. I will replace it, but want to make sure I can get the atv running before I spend that extra money. Do I need to wire the two wire's together or not to trick the engine into thinking it is in the run position?

Also, I went ahead and checked the ignition coil and it seems to be giving about 3.5k ohms. Is the coil bad, or is this a normal reading? Seems low to me but just wanted to double check.

Thanks for your help guys. First project like this and wanted to get as much help as I could along the way.

- Caleb

 

[retro]

Hi Caleb, welcome to the forums. Your questions are pretty basic and I'm sure you'll have more before long... so rather than look up the coil specs for you, here is a link where you can find a copy of the factory service manual:

https://www.hondaatvforums.net/foru...nual-help/50817-service-manual-downloads.html

The kill switch should be closed in the Run position, and open in the Stop position. Let us know how it goes if you can.

 

[shadetree]

welcome to the forums. post a pic so we can see what you got ?. vin number is stamped on metal cross member bracket under front fender, very front middle , upper frame. 17 digits. read left to right, 10th digit is the year model.

 

[CalebG]

Thanks retro. I have been looking for one of those manuals but had not been able to find one. I downloaded it and this should help a ton!

Shadetree, I looked at it and verified and it is actually a 2001 honda 350trxtm1.

I am going to do some more work on it and will update here with any other questions or when it gets up and running!

Thanks,
Caleb

 

[shadetree]

good deal !, keep us posted !. we love seeing members digging in !.

 

[CalebG]

Update

Got a new ignition coil and sparkplug in, but I am still not getting a spark. Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I can gather this should be caused by either the ICM or the ignition pulse generator being bad. I spoke with my grandfather and he said he thought the igniter was going out. I would assume he is talking about the pulse generator, but is there any way to test it without pulling the engine?

Thanks,
Caleb

 

[shadetree]

Got a new ignition coil and sparkplug in, but I am still not getting a spark. Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I can gather this should be caused by either the ICM or the ignition pulse generator being bad. I spoke with my grandfather and he said he thought the igniter was going out. I would assume he is talking about the pulse generator, but is there any way to test it without pulling the engine?

Thanks,
Caleb

with the service manual, yes..you can test the pick up coil ( pulse generator ) while the motor is in the frame, you will just ohm it, compare readings to specs in service manual. be sure to check the kill switch for being dirty, corroded ?, kill switch in the center of switch housing ? check all your connections on wire harness. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A NUETRAL LIGHT LIT UP ON THE DASH ?!. if you dont have a neutral light ?, you will never get the spark plug to fire !.

 

[shadetree]

Hello Everyone,

I am new here. I have a rancher that I am trying to get up and running again. It was mine when I was younger, and my grandfather used it for a while until it quit running about 2 years ago. He got to the point he was going to either have one of us come get it or sell it, so I decided to go pick it up and get it running.

I believe it is a 2000 trx. It is the 2 wheel drive version with the manual foot shift. Not sure where to look to verify the year or exact model, but if anyone does know I will be glad to look it up.

I have cleaned the fuel system and the carburetor, and have replaced the spark plug but I still am not getting a spark. I checked the kill switch and it seems like it may not be working. I will replace it, but want to make sure I can get the atv running before I spend that extra money. Do I need to wire the two wire's together or not to trick the engine into thinking it is in the run position?

Also, I went ahead and checked the ignition coil and it seems to be giving about 3.5k ohms. Is the coil bad, or is this a normal reading? Seems low to me but just wanted to double check.

Thanks for your help guys. First project like this and wanted to get as much help as I could along the way.

- Caleb

when you spoke of putting some wires together ^^^, your not talking about on the kill switch are you ?, if so ?..no !!!..do not twist the kill switch wires together !!. the kill switch works like a light switch in your house, but just the opposite. voltage is going to the switch on one side of a small circuit board on both sides of the board. when you move the kill switch to right or left instead of the center where its suppose to be ?, what your doing is completing the circuit to the spark plug coil, this grounds the spark plug coil, when this is done, you spark plug no longer fires. bottom line: red button has to be in center, and no wires to it, or out of it can be tied together.

 

[CalebG]

Thanks shadetree. So there is no way to bypass the kill switch just to test if the atv is sparking? Just to verify, I am talking about the red switch just above the start button and just below the headlight switch on the left handlebar. When I pulled the housing apart, the switch literally fell out of it in about 8 or 10 pieces all mangled together. I guess something in there must have corroded or shorted.

I checked all of the connections on the wiring harness and they all seem to be good. Checked all of the wires I could get to for continuity and they all passed. I don't have a light on the neutral switch, but it burnt out a while back before the atv quit working and wasn't ever replaced. I do know that I am in neutral (I put it in Reverse and shifted up one gear) however I have not checked the neutral switch yet to verify it hasn't gone bad. I will run by the store and buy a new bulb and swap it out this weekend to make sure I am getting a neutral light.

 

[Carolynskii]

Shade is correct getting a neutral light is first thing. Clean the switch plug and add dielectric grease as well. (Don’t skip the grease)

 

[Jeepwm69]

Welcome to the forum.

350 Rancher you have.

As toodeep said, if your bike's computer doesn't recognize that it's in neutral, it won't spark.

I doubt you're going to have to touch the motor. This is likely an electrical problem. Maybe a bad CDI, but before you start throwing parts at it, first thing I'd do is pull the neutral light bulb and replace it.

You can ground the neutral light circuit and trick the bike to thinking it's in neutral, and that would possibly eliminate some other possible issues if the bike starts with the neutral light circuit grounded. Where's @retro when you need him?

 

[CalebG]

I was able to skip out of work a little early and get a new bulb. Popped it in and the green light came on so it is in neutral.

 

[Jeepwm69]

I was able to skip out of work a little early and get a new bulb. Popped it in and the green light came on so it is in neutral.

Still no spark though, and you're sure the spark plug is good?

My next bet would be CDI. Do you know anyone with a like machine that you could borrow a CDI from to see if it fixes your problem? No way to troubleshoot a CDI, and throwing parts at a machine gets expensive if a new part doesn't fix the problem.

 

[CalebG]

Negative, still no spark and it is a new plug.

I have a buddy that has an 02 rancher that might work. It looks like they use the same CDI? If so I can get over there Sunday and try it out.

Thanks Jeep! I do feel like I am at least making headroom on this quad.

 

[Jeepwm69]

Yep, his CDI should work fine.

https://www.partzilla.com/product/honda/30400-HN5-305?ref=15a661b5ee43abafd8f868969b66b3786c13b753

 

[CalebG]

Awesome. Thanks Jeep I will give yall a heads up on whether that fixes it or not!

 

[CalebG]

Doesn't appear to be the CDI. Met up with my buddy last night at dinner and we swapped CDI's. I put his on my atv last night and still didn't get a spark, and I just got a call from him that said my CDI worked fine on his. He said it started and ran for about 15 minutes before he cut it off.

What's yalls opinion on the next step?

 

[CalebG]

I looked through the troubleshooting guide on the service manual and it said the pulse generator was the next culprit to test. Contrary to what that manual says, you don't have to pull the engine to get to this (I really did not want to pull it off the frame). Just remove the recoil start and you can pull the alternator cover off by pulling the 7 bolts that hold it on. This has the stator and pulse generator in it.

When I initially looked at the generator inside the case it didn't have any appearance of being damaged, however I took it out of it's housing and upon further inspection there was a black spot at the connector where it appears something may have arced or shorted. I have a new one on order and will keep y'all updated.

Only question though. The service manual calls for 80ftlbs of torque to reassemble the driven pulley on the backside of the recoil assembly. Is this correct? Just don't want to snap a bolt head off. Also there is no specification on the torque on the 7 bolts to put the alternator cover back on. Any idea what I should be shooting for?

Thanks guys!

 

[misterclean59]

I rarely use an impact on anything and I've been a professional for 35 years. Just zip it on with a half inch impact. Let it hammer less than a second, unless you have a $400 snap on half inch then stop right as you hear it hammer. The seven bolts should be snugged at first then then gently tightened after that. You can feel when it tightens and doesn't want to turn any more. Good luck. It is exciting to hear of you learning from some of the best on this forum. As a few have mentioned, please don't buy new parts until you've checked them out first.

 

[CalebG]

I received the pulse generator and the handlebar switch over the Christmas holiday and got them both installed, but still am not getting a spark. It now has a new pulse generator, run/kill switch, battery, spark plug, and ignition coil. I have checked over all of the wires and none of them have any breaks in them where it would appear they got chewed on by rats or corroded.

I am kind of at a loss on what the next step is here to try and get this thing running. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Caleb