[Dirtydozen]

Ok. I picked up a 300ex doesn’t fsoark I did all the normal checks and followed the manuals checks the only thing that seems out of place is the manual says that the reverse switch should have continuity to ground when in reverse but it doesn’t it has continuity in neutral and yes it’s in reverse I have checked it several times. I think these bikes don’t start when in reverse. I don’t have much experience with this double cdi set up I am good with the older stuff and have worked on bikes for a long time but this thing is driving me crazy. If anyone has a 93-99 300ex that can check the reverse wire coming from the right side of the case and tell me if it has continuity in reverse that would be great or maybe someone can tell me what I maybe doing wrong or someway to bypass it. According to the manual I think someone put something back together wrong or something needs adjusted but I have read a lot of stuff on the bike and can’t find anything. Maybe it’s the way it should be and the reverse inhibitor is bad. Sorry for the long post

 

[shadetree]

with key on, in neutral, is the neutral light coming on ?, if not ?, this is why it wont fire. you must have a neutral light on the dash in order for it to start. find the neutral wire that leads to the neutral switch, remove it from the switch, ground it to the engine, turn key on, light on now ?, if so ?, pull spark plug out, put back in boot, lay on engine, turn key on, crank it over, watch for spark. if it fires plug now ?, then its your neutral wire or neutral switch not making a good ground when connected to switch on motor.

 

[Dirtydozen]

Hey shade tree thx for the info I have already been through those steps.the light goes on and off with neutral and the ground at the cdi from neutral switch. I have 12v at the cdi and a pulse from the cdi. But I also have the reverse grounded when it’s not in reverse. If I unplug that wire because I assume that it won’t start in reverse the bike won’t turn over. I have checked for broken wire from reverse switch all the wat to the cdi and it is not shorted to ground the switch itself is fine. When you take out the reverse switch and look in the whole the arm that makes contact is making it in neutral not reverse and I don’t know if that’s correct I don’t think it is because you would need it grounded to turn on light and I assume do something to switch to the reverse cdi. And just an FYI I am good with a meter and diagnosing electrical circuits and reading schematics I just don’t know how these two cdi talk to each other and what the inhibitor needs. More suggestions please! This is driving me nuts

 

[shadetree]

Hey shade tree thx for the info I have already been through those steps.the light goes on and off with neutral and the ground at the cdi from neutral switch. I have 12v at the cdi and a pulse from the cdi. But I also have the reverse grounded when it’s not in reverse. If I unplug that wire because I assume that it won’t start in reverse the bike won’t turn over. I have checked for broken wire from reverse switch all the wat to the cdi and it is not shorted to ground the switch itself is fine. When you take out the reverse switch and look in the whole the arm that makes contact is making it in neutral not reverse and I don’t know if that’s correct I don’t think it is because you would need it grounded to turn on light and I assume do something to switch to the reverse cdi. And just an FYI I am good with a meter and diagnosing electrical circuits and reading schematics I just don’t know how these two cdi talk to each other and what the inhibitor needs. More suggestions please! This is driving me nuts

i'll try to sum this up best I can . unplug both connectors from the neutral and reverse switches at the motor. look very closely at the ends of the connectors, each end has a letter stamped on the rubber boot, N and R, now look at the switch itself on the motor, above or right next to the switch you will see the letters N and R stamped into the case, make sure you connect the correct bullet rubber plug to the correct switch. now make sure the atv is indeed in neutral, turn key on, your neutral light should be on ?, if so ?, the spark plug should fire ?. if it does not ?, try another spark plug. when checking for spark, MAKE SURE PLUG IS IN BOOT, AND LAYING ON ENGINE, KILL SWITCH IS IN THE CENTER OF SWITCH HOUSING !. as for testing the circuits ?, with key on, and a tester set to 12 volt dc, ground your meter to engine , probe both bullet connectors at the harness side, you should have 12 volts on each wire with key on ?. both of these connectors are always ''h ot '' when key Is on. the way it works is, when your really in neutral ?, and the switch and connectors are making good contact ?, it grounds to engine, this in turn, makes the light come on the dash. when you shift to ..say 1st ?, then the neutral switch is no longer grounded, and now the light goes off. have I lost you yet ?. same thing applies when you go from neutral to reverse, the switch/wire going to the reverse switch is always hot, when you go down to reverse, your then grounding the '' hot '' lead ( switch )..this in turn makes the reverse light come on .

 

[Dirtydozen]

Thx for the info and no you have not lost me I am right there with you I have gone over that same procedure several times. When I shift the transmission in and out of neutral the light goes on and off and I also check at the cdi with a test light it also goes on and off from neutral to first and second. My issue is when I shift into reverse. Because the reverse light is always on and the switch for reverse is grounded with the reverse lever in the down or neutral position when I pull up the transmission does shift into reverse and I no longer have ground on the reverse wire. I assume for the reverse switch should be grounded in reverse

 

[shadetree]

Thx for the info and no you have not lost me I am right there with you I have gone over that same procedure several times. When I shift the transmission in and out of neutral the light goes on and off and I also check at the cdi with a test light it also goes on and off from neutral to first and second. My issue is when I shift into reverse. Because the reverse light is always on and the switch for reverse is grounded with the reverse lever in the down or neutral position when I pull up the transmission does shift into reverse and I no longer have ground on the reverse wire. I assume for the reverse switch should be grounded in reverse

yes, reverse grounds when shifting to reverse, which turns the reverse light on. if the light is always on, even when not in reverse ?, then your reverse switch is bad ?, or the connector to the switch is touching the engine some how ?.

 

[shadetree]

both wires going to the switches on the engine are hot at all times. so, try this : unplug the reverse wire going to reverse switch on motor, turn key on, put a 12 volt dc test light to the connector on the harness end, now put the sharp point of the test light to the very center of the switch on the motor, does the test light come on ?, if it does ?, then your reverse switch itself is bad. if it does not come on when you do this ?, well..then now you need to trace the light from dash to switch on motor harness side, and see if there is a short between the two that is grounding out on the engine or frame somewhere ?. other than this ?, I have not clue ??..lol.

 

[Dirtydozen]

Thank you again for the info. I have tried everything you have suggested. I traced the reverse wire and checked to ground to make sure the wire itself is not grounded and I replaced the switch it’s strange the reverse switch is engaged and light is on when the lever is in the neutral position and not engaged and light off when in reverse. That’s why it is so confusing. I have checked everything so many times my head hurts. That’s why I was wondering if something in the engine had been put together wrong and not sure if that’s even possible because usually everything needs to be in it’s place or it won’t go back together right. I am home today and will run through everything again and see if I can get her sparking. Thx again for the help. If any one out there with this bike the help is appreciated

 

[Dirtydozen]

The other question I have is regarding the main cdi for this bike. Usually in the past an ac powered cdi gets it juice from the stator and a dc one gets it from 12v this one seems to have both. Power from the on off switch and a yellow white wire that goes to the stator. What purpose does this serve is it for the reverse inhibitors power in reverse. When testing the w/y wire it does not give off any power when the engine turns over but it does have continuity to the other stator wires. I have changed the stator and both do the same thing. Just putting out there more info and questions

 

[shadetree]

Thank you again for the info. I have tried everything you have suggested. I traced the reverse wire and checked to ground to make sure the wire itself is not grounded and I replaced the switch it’s strange the reverse switch is engaged and light is on when the lever is in the neutral position and not engaged and light off when in reverse. That’s why it is so confusing. I have checked everything so many times my head hurts. That’s why I was wondering if something in the engine had been put together wrong and not sure if that’s even possible because usually everything needs to be in it’s place or it won’t go back together right. I am home today and will run through everything again and see if I can get her sparking. Thx again for the help. If any one out there with this bike the help is appreciated

I think your going to have to dig deeper into the side where the switches are bro ?, something is not right with the part that makes contact with the switches on the inside of the motor ?, or..this c.d.i. you speak of is not correct for this atv ?. i'm not much for sport atvs ?, but they all work pretty much the same way as far as I know.

 

[Dirtydozen]

I appreciate the help. I am tired of messing with it I am just going to get rid of the Cdi’s they are there and run my own dc cdi there are some good performance ones out there that are not as much as the stock ones and they are easy to set up. But I won’t have any of the lock outs for reverse but I’ll still keep the neutral light. Thanks for all the help

 

[shadetree]

your best bet is oem from honda, I dont trust any other c.d.i. for any of my builds.