[JohnnySolo]

I'm blank on what's wrong. After cleaning Carb, air box and filter, gas tank, replacing solenoid, battery and putting in a new sparl plug. My Recon 250 '04 is yet to crank. I've tried pull cranking and it fights be and I can't get a full pull of the rope and my neutral light/start button won't turn on. As said in my other post, my battery was cheap from Battery Sharks and is registered as 12V, it however was half size of old battery (also 12v) and also says 4.5AH. I don't know what to do and don't wanna admit defeat for this IS my first project. I was very cautious each step of the way so I find it crazy that I'm having so bad luck. Please any ideas welcome. This is my last resort untill I have to give in. . .

 

[fishfiles]

If you were truly "cautious every step of the way " as you say . Then how did you wind up with half a battery ? ----where did you get the solenoid ? From e-bay , Chinese by any chance ? reading in between the lines , it must not start from the starter button , the neutral does have to stay lite , maybe a connection problem at the neutral switch , but a good battery and a solenoid not from China if that is the case , would be the first thing I would address

 

[JohnnySolo]

If you were truly "cautious every step of the way " as you say . Then how did you wind up with half a battery ? ----where did you get the solenoid ? From e-bay , Chinese by any chance ? reading in between the lines , it must not start from the starter button , the neutral does have to stay lite , maybe a connection problem at the neutral switch , but a good battery and a solenoid not from China if that is the case , would be the first thing I would address

I'm referring to being cautious on rebuilding and everything was purchased according to what I had before except for the battery. Idk why the battery was half the size I didn't think I need to look at size of battery before purchasing. Figured Voltage was all that mattered and besides the title on the website said Honda Recon 250 12v battery. The Solenoid idk if it is foriegn, I can look it up and try to see. The box it came in was just a small box with tape on it saying the type solenoid and that's all. It was exactly the same as other solenoid. Everything I ordered was from Amazon. How can I check for a bad connection at the nuetral light?

 

[fishfiles]

sounds like you got a Chinese solenoid , if it were a Honda part , the package would have said Honda , I have bought those $5 solenoids , one time 3 at a time as they were so cheap and had one that never started the bike one time , one that lasted 4 or 5 starts , one that got stuck and started spinning on it's own and had to disconnect he battery to make it stop , a OEM solenoid is lest than $20 for your 250 , what you paid would be an indicator ----------with a test light you can see if voltage is present to the solenoid when you press the starter button , and if it is there should be voltage on both the large wires , but you might be fighting more than one problem

 

[alloutdoors]

My Recon 250 '04 is yet to crank. I've tried pull cranking and it fights be and I can't get a full pull of the rope and my neutral light/start button won't turn on.

I'm trying to help and just asking, did you get it to spin over, fire and not start? Or is the recon not spinning over/cranking and doing nothing?

 

[JohnnySolo]

sounds like you got a Chinese solenoid , if it were a Honda part , the package would have said Honda , I have bought those $5 solenoids , one time 3 at a time as they were so cheap and had one that never started the bike one time , one that lasted 4 or 5 starts , one that got stuck and started spinning on it's own and had to disconnect he battery to make it stop , a OEM solenoid is lest than $20 for your 250 , what you paid would be an indicator ----------with a test light you can see if voltage is present to the solenoid when you press the starter button , and if it is there should be voltage on both the large wires , but you might be fighting more than one problem

Well it was $13 lol. Well that sucks bc its cord was too short so I cut it and attached some of my old cord to it so looks like I can't return it. And I don't have a test light, if you remember I'm a 16 yr old and I ain't got those laying around.

 

[JohnnySolo]

My Recon 250 '04 is yet to crank. I've tried pull cranking and it fights be and I can't get a full pull of the rope and my neutral light/start button won't turn on.

I'm trying to help and just asking, did you get it to spin over, fire and not start? Or is the recon not spinning over/cranking and doing nothing?

I can't crank it. The electric start doesn't work and trying to pull crank it fights me. I guess bc it hasn't been cranked in a while it's harder to pull than usual and I can't get a full pull out of it. Literally having worse luck lol.

 

[fishfiles]

I would have never guessed your age from your language for your thread title , I am amazed it lasted as long as it did , but the night is young

 

[Melatv]

Hi: When you replaced the solenoid make sure the 2 small wire (R/Y & R) are placed on the solenoid stud with the large wire going to the + on the battery.
Have you try boosting the bike?

 

[dr. feelgood]

Need to have the neutral light as a first test. If needed you should be able to ground the wire to the frame to determine if the light is bad or the sensor. I had to do that on a Big Red 250 years ago.

Rob

 

[JohnnySolo]

Hi: When you replaced the solenoid make sure the 2 small wire (R/Y & R) are placed on the solenoid stud with the large wire going to the + on the battery.
Have you try boosting the bike?

How do I boost my bike?

 

[JohnnySolo]

Need to have the neutral light as a first test. If needed you should be able to ground the wire to the frame to determine if the light is bad or the sensor. I had to do that on a Big Red 250 years ago.

Rob

Ground what wire to frame?

 

[JohnnySolo]

I would have never guessed your age from your language for your thread title , I am amazed it lasted as long as it did , but the night is young

Wym fish, am I not allowed to have word **** in title? That's not even a bad word. Lol

 

[Goober]

Always buy OEM; you’ll have some assurance of reliability and performance.
Don’t get mad it’s hard on tools and equipment! You have to have a good understanding of the wiring schematic before you can fix this. This is not an easy thing but I know you can do it so—get into the diagnostic flowchart in the manual; you have to have a multimeter. You have to check for continuity and switch operation

It’s simple just don’t tear anything up before then

 

[Carolynskii]

The best way to learn is from mistakes don't give up lol
The battery for your bike should be 10ah not 4.5ah as Samuk said earlier so I would start there.
Have you tried to connect it to a car battery to jump/boost it?

 

[JohnnySolo]

The best way to learn is from mistakes don't give up lol
The battery for your bike should be 10ah not 4.5ah as Samuk said earlier so I would start there.
Have you tried to connect it to a car battery to jump/boost it?

No but I will try, I sure hope the battery is the problem. Would hate for it to be wiring problem or solenoid problem.

 

[JohnnySolo]

Uh oh I used wrong vocabulary, my bad. "Beyond Upset" better word choice.

 

[retro]

Thats right, we don't allow any cussing or adult gutter language here. This will remain a clean and welcoming environment for family members of all ages & from all walks of life. Language rules are enforced by quietly editing inappropriate comments where they are found. We'd rather not edit anything, so please keep it clean... thank you.

 

[retro]

This should help resolve some of your frustration. Read up first so you better understand how things work, then follow the troubleshooting charts beginning in each relevant section:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_TKSTsdx3KNOEVQTWhRRlpaV1E

 

[SamUK]

So your neutralmlightbwire will be at the bottom of the engine, there will be three, on each plug will be a letter, you want ‘N’ for neutral, that’s the wire to ground.
Even with a 4.5Ah battery you’d still get a light show up.
Get a neutral light and try again, then replace your battery.


The solenoid you have two choices, buy Lucas or OEM. They cost around £30 here in the UK.