[hodge5]

I'm back to tinkering on Helen's Foreman 350D. A young man (who is very careful, doesn't abuse or misuse her stuff) was out in the field with it, and it just quit. I went and looked at it the other day, and the battery was virtually dead. It was 10 years old, so I replaced it today. It cranks fine, but no fire. It is getting fuel, and I tried it with starting fluid- no fire. I didn't have any more time, today, to troubleshoot. I will go back later this week.
Any apparent things I should look for? I can do a lot, but electrical stuff is my weak area.

 

[retro]

Check that the (NGK) spark plug is clean and in good condition, then lay it on the head and check for spark. You might hear the fuel pump run a bit while cranking it over using the starter as well. You'll need a neutral light on and the kill switch in the "Run" position and a good 30 amp main fuse and 10 amp Ignition fuse... check those as well and let us know whats up with spark or not?

 

[LedFTed]

Hodge; your very wise for a young man. you learned not to abuse your ladies equipment. some never learn this.
your better off not to use her stuff, no matter who she is,, wife mother sister, etc...
if your were going down the road, with her car, an vehicle in front somewhere, picks up a rock, it leaves a ding in the windshield, its going to be your fault. for piece of mind, its best to stay away for her things.
retro's got the idea. when you pull the plug,, check for carbon an such. bad plugs cause many problems.
on the side, what was the battery that lasted 10yrs. lots of battery advice here if you need it. //ed

 

[shadetree]

chances are, kill switch in off position ?, bad stator ?, bad reg/rec ?, bad spark plug coil ?. bad c.d.i. ?.

 

[Jeepwm69]

Click that kill switch back and forth a few times. Sometimes they get off a little, and merely clicking them back and forth cleans up the contacts.

 

[hodge5]

Hodge; your very wise for a young man. you learned not to abuse your ladies equipment. some never learn this.
your better off not to use her stuff, no matter who she is,, wife mother sister, etc...
if your were going down the road, with her car, an vehicle in front somewhere, picks up a rock, it leaves a ding in the windshield, its going to be your fault. for piece of mind, its best to stay away for her things.
retro's got the idea. when you pull the plug,, check for carbon an such. bad plugs cause many problems.
on the side, what was the battery that lasted 10yrs. lots of battery advice here if you need it. //ed

You are confused, Ted. I'm not the young man; Helen is a widow from my church, and I take care of her mowers and atv for her. I'm not the one who was using it.
Thanks for the input, everyone. I didn't check the plug when I was there (ran out of time), but I assume that it would have fired on starting fluid, if there was spark. I did not, ever, hear a fuel pump running.

 

[hodge5]

Should I be able to hear the fuel pump running?

 

[retro]

Should I be able to hear the fuel pump running?

Maybe, maybe not... the fuel pump shuts off once pressure comes up and the pump may not run again for quite some time.

 

[_Wilson_]

As retro said, my 86 pump clicks a few quick clicks/pulses soon as the ignition is cycled on, up until the pressure builds.

 

[shadetree]

if it won't '' hit '' off of starting fluid ?, then you got more problems that a fuel pump !. compression test should be done.

 

[Goober]

Perform ignition diagnostics.
Also do fuel pump flow test.
Tests in manual.
Lotta stuff to go wrong here so be very methodical or you’ll drive yourself crazy .
Usually an 87 will hit off a shot of starter fluid idk about the 88 Foreman with the newer ignition system.
If you want to throw a part at it try a CDI

 

[Duck0fDeath]

If you have no spark and the fuel pump isn't running, I'd try a CDI, as it powers both those functions on these 87's.

 

[Jeepwm69]

If you have an 87D model, that's the oddball with the CDI that only fits that particular model. The 86-87 TRX350 and 88-89 350D won't work.

 

[hodge5]

Good news, and bad news. It was a bad spark plug. That's the good news. Bad news is, I always look for the more complex issue, first. Truly, I would have much more believed that a fuse was burned or the CDI was bad, before suspecting a plug. I know that the plug was good- I had put it in the last time I serviced it. But, after checking the fusible link, fuses, and other suspects, I pulled the plug, checked it for spark, then tried another plug. Yep, plenty of juice. Stuck it in, and fired it up.
On a side note, there was another ATV at Helen's to look at. Another widow from our church had been considering selling her husband's Kawasaki (Bayou 400 4x4). Her two daughters were in our youth group over the years, and the younger of the two (now in college to be a pharmacist) was upset that her mom wanted to sell it. Helen talked Evelyn to store it at her place, so that Alex could come ride it when home from college. But, it wasn't running- it had been setting for 3 years. Helen told Evelyn that I would look at it while working on her Honda.
Whoever had been trying to start it didn't understand the fuel selector, and had it on reserve. I think that they had used the bike until it ran out of fuel, them garaged it. So, it fired right up once it could get gas. After running it around a little to warm it up and look for any other issues, I found that the front calipers are seizing (or, the master isn't allowing the fluid to return). So, I'll troubleshoot that.
But, after running the bayou around for about 10 minutes (before the front brakes tightened up), and then jumping on the Foreman, it was interesting to compare the two. While the bayou is newer, it isn't as refined as the Foreman. From the power band to the transmission, the Foreman is a lot nicer machine. And, the 350 Honda will smoke the 400 Kawasaki. No question which one i prefer.
I love that 350D, and enjoy getting to work on it.

 

[retro]

If you're gonna be looking after that Bayou 400 for a while, keep a close eye on the coolant level, oil level in the crankcase and the waterpump impeller shaft seal. Those are problematic because the impeller shaft is small and poorly supported by chintzy little ball bearings which allows it to wobble quite a bit. The impeller seal goes out often on those... and when that happens coolant leaks directly into the crankcase past those little ball bearings and within minutes the oil pump will seize up and the motor will begin to knock. It all happens so fast that there are very few of them still running around nowadays.

Glad ya fixed the 350 easy enough!

 

[hodge5]

I'll keep an eye on things.
The master cylinder needs to be rebuilt on it. As soon as I cracked the bleeder screws open, the calipers released. I've ordered a rebuild kit for it. It appears that parts are readily available for it.
When I first got over to Helen's this morning, I hit the choke and starter on the Foreman. What a great sound, hearing it fire up! I am very impressed with the 350, and especially hers- it is cosmetically challenged, but mechanically in excellent shape. For being 32 years old, it is impressive.

 

[shadetree]

I'll keep an eye on things.
The master cylinder needs to be rebuilt on it. As soon as I cracked the bleeder screws open, the calipers released. I've ordered a rebuild kit for it. It appears that parts are readily available for it.
When I first got over to Helen's this morning, I hit the choke and starter on the Foreman. What a great sound, hearing it fire up! I am very impressed with the 350, and especially hers- it is cosmetically challenged, but mechanically in excellent shape. For being 32 years old, it is impressive.

before you buy a new master cylinder rebuild kit ?, remove the rubber plug from the bottom of the master cylinder, there are two holes under it, the very tiny hole is your return line/hole. take a fine wire from a wire brush, carefully poke it down through the hole, as your doing this, spray some wd-40 down in it, it will open up, problem solved.

 

[hodge5]

I'll keep an eye on things.
The master cylinder needs to be rebuilt on it. As soon as I cracked the bleeder screws open, the calipers released. I've ordered a rebuild kit for it. It appears that parts are readily available for it.
When I first got over to Helen's this morning, I hit the choke and starter on the Foreman. What a great sound, hearing it fire up! I am very impressed with the 350, and especially hers- it is cosmetically challenged, but mechanically in excellent shape. For being 32 years old, it is impressive.

before you buy a new master cylinder rebuild kit ?, remove the rubber plug from the bottom of the master cylinder, there are two holes under it, the very tiny hole is your return line/hole. take a fine wire from a wire brush, carefully poke it down through the hole, as your doing this, spray some wd-40 down in it, it will open up, problem solved.

I've already ordered a kit for it. I had pulled the cover off, and found a nasty sludge in there. I will rebuild it and flush everything out. Thanks for the insight, though.

 

[shadetree]

I'll keep an eye on things.
The master cylinder needs to be rebuilt on it. As soon as I cracked the bleeder screws open, the calipers released. I've ordered a rebuild kit for it. It appears that parts are readily available for it.
When I first got over to Helen's this morning, I hit the choke and starter on the Foreman. What a great sound, hearing it fire up! I am very impressed with the 350, and especially hers- it is cosmetically challenged, but mechanically in excellent shape. For being 32 years old, it is impressive.

before you buy a new master cylinder rebuild kit ?, remove the rubber plug from the bottom of the master cylinder, there are two holes under it, the very tiny hole is your return line/hole. take a fine wire from a wire brush, carefully poke it down through the hole, as your doing this, spray some wd-40 down in it, it will open up, problem solved.

I've already ordered a kit for it. I had pulled the cover off, and found a nasty sludge in there. I will rebuild it and flush everything out. Thanks for the insight, though.

your worst prob will be getting the c-clip out from around the plunger, soooooo...be warned now !..lol.

 

[hodge5]

before you buy a new master cylinder rebuild kit ?, remove the rubber plug from the bottom of the master cylinder, there are two holes under it, the very tiny hole is your return line/hole. take a fine wire from a wire brush, carefully poke it down through the hole, as your doing this, spray some wd-40 down in it, it will open up, problem solved.

I've already ordered a kit for it. I had pulled the cover off, and found a nasty sludge in there. I will rebuild it and flush everything out. Thanks for the insight, though.

your worst prob will be getting the c-clip out from around the plunger, soooooo...be warned now !..lol.

I know- I'm up to speed on that, thanks to youtube.