[Nharcher1]

Just picked up a project machine yesterday. It's got some funny issues.
The guy I got it from had cut the ignition switch off cause he couldn't get spark. Only way he could do it was twisting Red, Black, Black with white together. If you do that you get spark

Is this due to a bad neutral switch? Green neutral light doesn't come on, and no voltage going to the neutral light while in neutral.

He was only using the kick start but I put a battery in. Same issue with battery but it's better than kicking it.

Now I actually can't even get it to fire but I think the carb might be dirty. It will only pop here and there even with ether.

 

[shadetree]

first, welcome to the forums, second, replace the ignition switch, no atv likes a freaking hack job !. wires twisted together is asking for an atv fire !!!. soooooooooooooo, do this, get an oem ignition switch, check all your fuses, these are under the front of the handle bars, under the cover, as well as near the battery. BEFORE you go tearing parts off !?..get your hands on the service manual from the site here .

 

[JohnnySolo]

Shade said it best. Replace that switch with an OEM!! Don't go china knock off crap.

Also, 85 250 w/ a kickstart? Sounds awesome! What do you say you upload a pic or two of that baby?

 

[Jeepwm69]

Look on powersportnation.com. They sell used OEM ignition switches cheap.

 

[Nharcher1]

Fuses are ok.

All the plastic is off and I can get to everything. The two fuses are fine.

I've looked over the wiring diagram and it just doesn't make sense that these three wires all need to be connected to get spark.

I'm not sure if the switch was oem or aftermarket but the keys says Honda

 

[Nharcher1]

 

[Nharcher1]

Guess it's an 86 actually. Was doing some research on the VIN

 

[Nharcher1]

So here is where I am at tonight and need some wisdom. I connected the ignition switch that was cut off so I could do some trouble shooting ( I'll get a whole new ignition switch eventually). I pulled out the neutral light bulb and sure enough contacts were dirty and it lights up.......HOWEVER.....it never goes off.

Shift through the gears and it stays on.

Put it in reverse and both lights are on.

Unplug rectifier...neutral light goes off.

Unplug light green with red that goes to the neutral switch light stays on. Not sure where the issue is.


As for the spark issue. With the ignition switch in place and pushing the start button I have 60ish volts AC (this sound right) on black with red stripe. Got power on this wire into the CDI unit but no power to the ignition coil......I'm guessing bad CDI unit

 

[shadetree]

So here is where I am at tonight and need some wisdom. I connected the ignition switch that was cut off so I could do some trouble shooting ( I'll get a whole new ignition switch eventually). I pulled out the neutral light bulb and sure enough contacts were dirty and it lights up.......HOWEVER.....it never goes off.

Shift through the gears and it stays on.

Put it in reverse and both lights are on.

Unplug rectifier...neutral light goes off.

Unplug light green with red that goes to the neutral switch light stays on. Not sure where the issue is.


As for the spark issue. With the ignition switch in place and pushing the start button I have 60ish volts AC (this sound right) on black with red stripe. Got power on this wire into the CDI unit but no power to the ignition coil......I'm guessing bad CDI unit

wisdom incoming !!!..lol. first, the reason ( i think ), is your neutral light is staying on ?, is because it is not grounding out at the neutral/reverse switch, which means, the switch is bad ( neutral/reverse switch ), if this is the case ?, then the c.d.i. will not fire the spark plug coil until this is fixed. reason : simple, the c.d.i. never '' see's '' the atv is in neutral ??..sooo..it will not fire the spark plug through the c.d.i. !!. this is a safety feature Honda builds into almost every Honda atv they build/sell !.

 

[shadetree]

View attachment 119698

 

[Nharcher1]

Thank you. That makes sense

How come though when I unplug the light green with red stripe wire before it goes to the neutral switch does the light still stay on?

 

[Nharcher1]

Also do you have a link with a clear wiring diagram. I downloaded the manual but it's too blurry to be able to read all the markings. Making my head spin!!!

 

[shadetree]

Thank you. That makes sense

How come though when I unplug the light green with red stripe wire before it goes to the neutral switch does the light still stay on?

simple, if you test that wire leading to the switch ?, it will show 12 dc volts !, why ?, because its hot at all times !!. when you shift out of neutral to 1st or reverse ?, then the neutral/reverse switch grounds to the engine case, this is what turns the light off .

 

[shadetree]

Also do you have a link with a clear wiring diagram. I downloaded the manual but it's too blurry to be able to read all the markings. Making my head spin!!!

can't help ya on the wiring diagram, but retro maybe able to have a better drawing on hand, i'll see if i can get him on the phone ?.

 

[Nharcher1]

Why does unplugging rectifier turn it off.?

Thank you for all this wisdom. Ive never owned a atv and thought this would be a sweet on to get dirty with. I've done a lot of stuff but I'm not gear jockey or a motor head so all this is new knowledge.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.

 

[shadetree]

Why does unplugging rectifier turn it off.?

Thank you for all this wisdom. Ive never owned a atv and thought this would be a sweet on to get dirty with. I've done a lot of stuff but I'm not gear jockey or a motor head so all this is new knowledge.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.

it goes off from unplugging the rec because all power from battery goes through it .

 

[shadetree]

watch your PM .

 

[JohnnySolo]

86 TRX250? Yeah I'd still like to see it lol. Share the pics. And glad Shade was able to help you out

 

[retro]

I looked all over and this is the clearest version (see attachment) of the 86 Fourtrax TRX250 wiring diagram that I can find. If I blow this page up on my laptop (about 200%) I can read the wire color labels. Hopefully this helps?

 

[retro]

If your neutral light is on in every gear, then it is either finding a ground elsewhere besides the neutral light switch, OR the neutral light switch is not operable... supplying ground full time. I suspect wiring issues are the cause, as you all do.