[mattholmes134]

Hello all, I have sort of inherited a 1987 Honda TRX350. Love the old manual Honda but the electrical is failing on it. Battery has been fully charged and I checked all the fuses and the neutral safety switch. I got a repair manual but just can't find the exact issue. I have power into and out of the key/ignition switch but the lights do not work, it does not respond to the start button, and the fuel pump does not run.

 

[TBRider]

Welcome to the forums

 

[fishfiles]

Welcome to the forums , check electrical connections at the battery and fuse holders , they get corroded , also the ground cable at the case , also I think yours might be the same as a 450 , I had a diode in my fuse box , looked like a fuse kind of but black , it gave me a fit figuring out whaat it was and that it was bad ------are you sure the battery is hot

 

[_Wilson_]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[Goober]

These things need a good battery to start. Do you have a service manual? Troubleshooting guides in there.

How old is the battery more than three years or you don’t know? Get a new one

If you’re not getting it to crank will it fire when you kick start it?

When you switch on does the oil light come on momentarily and then go out?

Is the neutral light on?

I would clean and lube the CDI connectors

 

[Riverc]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[mattholmes134]

The battery is fully charged, I have also used a good condition battery with jumper cables to be sure. If I put power to the solenoid, it starts and runs. It eventually dies and under further examination I believe the fuel pump is not getting power so it empties the carb bowl and runs out of fuel at that point. I'm tempted to just run a power cable with a switch to the pump as that's all I need to keep it running. I was told by someone that frequently works on these older Hondas that there is a fusible link somewhere in the harness but didn't see anything.

 

[SamUK]

Can I ask how you justify a good battery? What voltage are you getting when you test it? Have you load tested it at all? Ideally you want 13.2 volts, anything under 12.2 and you may as well throw it in the trash. One cell down and you'll have issues.

 

[Goober]

Ok there’s some good info but you didn’t answer my questions.

If it will start and run well that’s welcome news. Then the pump must be working. The carb and fuel filter might be dirty

Do you have a service manual?

Let us help you so we can prevent you from doing something “unnecessary.”

Is it an 87 350A (Fourtrax) or D (Foreman) model

Check out my resto thread
https://www.hondaatvforums.net/forums/honda-fourtrax/127208-86-trx350a-restoration.html

 

[Goober]

My guess is your choke valve oring is worn and so the enrichment feature stays open.

Is your plug fouled?

Here’s a pic of mine.

My choke cable was missing the rubber cover on the handlebar end and so I couldn’t get the carburetor set right. Replaced cable today

 

[mattholmes134]

Ok there’s some good info but you didn’t answer my questions.

If it will start and run well that’s welcome news. Then the pump must be working. The carb and fuel filter might be dirty

Do you have a service manual?

Let us help you so we can prevent you from doing something “unnecessary.”

Is it an 87 350A (Fourtrax) or D (Foreman) model

Check out my resto thread
https://www.hondaatvforums.net/forums/honda-fourtrax/127208-86-trx350a-restoration.html

It is a Fourtrax. I downloaded a service manual and read though it, I still believe my issues are electrical. The fuel filter is a possibility but I have been manually filling the bowl of the carb by adding slight air pressure to the tank for test runs and that works okay. I disassembled the carb and everything looked great. I'm hesitant to pull the fuel tank but I drained it and filled with new gas and had the motor running fine. I checked the neutral switch and that is okay but I have no lights coming on when I turn the key. The battery is at 12.7 Volts but hasn't had a good charge yet since the wheeler won't stay running. I've been using the starter by just jumping power to the solenoid. The choke system is fine, I checked it when I cleaned the carb and also disassembled the parts on the handlebar to make sure it's moving correctly. I'm thinking there's a bad ground or a short or a broken wire or blown fuse somewhere and I had a 15A that kept blowing because two wires had been plugged in wrong that I have since fixed. Maybe that caused problems? Still wondering if that fusible link exists inline within the harness like I was told but I don't feel up to removing the entire harness to find out.

 

[Goober]

Okay thanks
There’s no fusible link in the harness i can tell you because i just removed and replaced my 86 harness—yours and mine very much the same—old one has a few mouse bites out of it.

Look at the manual and/or a parts link like Rocky Mountain parts—focus on the 4-wire change switch sub harness under a small cover under the right case. It hooks into the main harness under the right side panel.If you’re not getting the oil light to come in momentarily when switching on, the wires are probably needing repair—just like mine were all in terrible shape.

Your dash harness bulb may also be burned out

Your solenoid may not be getting power from the starter button because a wire is broken—very common. My thread will show you what I did—i will update it today with pic of the connectors you ought to look at.

I did have to repair several wires and replace the dash harness

Be very patient and careful with each wire and harness—can’t buy new ones so follow my thread to make careful repairs.

O btw I didn’t know you were manually filling the carb bowl

 

[mattholmes134]

Okay thanks
There’s no fusible link in the harness i can tell you because i just removed and replaced my 86 harness—yours and mine very much the same—old one has a few mouse bites out of it.

Look at the manual and/or a parts link like Rocky Mountain parts—focus on the 4-wire change switch sub harness under a small cover under the right case. It hooks into the main harness under the right side panel.If you’re not getting the oil light to come in momentarily when switching on, the wires are probably needing repair—just like mine were all in terrible shape.

Your dash harness bulb may also be burned out

Your solenoid may not be getting power from the starter button because a wire is broken—very common. My thread will show you what I did—i will update it today with pic of the connectors you ought to look at.

I did have to repair several wires and replace the dash harness

Be very patient and careful with each wire and harness—can’t buy new ones so follow my thread to make careful repairs.

O btw I didn’t know you were manually filling the carb bowl

I'll try and check continuity on the wires when I get time. The bulbs in the dash all looked great and I tested resistance to make sure. I have power at the ignition switch but I might need to make sure it's coming out properly; the service manual isn't perfectly clear about this specifically.