1984 Honda 200es "Big Red" Inhibitor Relay problem?

[oscarjm]

I have a 1984 Honday 200es that often will die in the middle of a ride, and will not start again until I move the HI/LOW lever from forward to reverse. When I do this, I can hear the inhibitor relay click, and it will fire right up. Sometimes I can keep riding, other times I have to keep shifting from forward to reverse and it will fire right up and then die, and I am then done for the day.

I removed the inhibitor, and jumped the two green/red wires on the 4 pin connector. It fired up, and I was able to ride quite a while, and then it died again. It would not start until I reinstalled the inhibitor relay and shifted from forward to reverse. I removed the inhibitor, jumped the green/red wires again, and no spark. I reinstalled the inhibitor and it fired right up and died.

It will be a few weekends before I'll be around the 3 wheeler again, and I'd like to go prepared with whatever parts I might need.

I can hear the inhibitor clicking when I shift, so it seems to be engaging and disengaging properly. The key and kill switch work fine. Can anyone weigh in on whether I have a bad inhibitor, or a bad CDI? Thanks!

[oscarjm]

I need to clarify that when I jumped the inhibitor connector, it would turn over, it just wouldn't spark. When I reconnected the inhibitor, it would turn over and spark and then die, until I shifted from forward to reverse and back to forward. This is confusing to me because I thought the inhibitor acted as a kill switch so that the starter won't engage in reverse, and doesn't affect spark.

[kb0nly]

You have a bad CDI, i would almost BET on it it. My 200ES was doing the same spark no spark crap. I documented it on here where i took apart the CDI and also replaced it. Try this, leave the inhibitor relay plugged it, which ONLY affects the electric start, has nothing to do with the spark/ignition system, then unplug your CDI and smack the bottom of it on a hard surface a few times, sidewalk, etc... Then try it again, spark or not?

Mine i could take the CDI off and smack it a couple times and put it back on and it would fire right up. I cut the plastic box off the CDI unit to find that it was poorly potted in the box and water getting in corroded all the solder points on the little circuit board. I cleaned up the board, resoldered everything and it worked again for a while, but i finally just replaced it.

You can get a CDI and new rectangular connector for under $20, you can remove the contacts from the stock round connector and put them into the new rectangular connector if they are in good shape, otherwise cut them off and replace them with new contacts.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/156644-ATC200ES-CDI-Replacement-Sticky-Been-asked-a-lot-lately.

There is my post on replacement.

One other thing you can try, check the Reverse Switch, its the gray wire on the connector by the sub-trans (hi/lo/rev lever). If your reverse switch is going bad that could be causing issues to. But again that affects the electric start, not the spark.

[oscarjm]

You have a bad CDI, i would almost BET on it it. My 200ES was doing the same spark no spark crap. I documented it on here where i took apart the CDI and also replaced it. Try this, leave the inhibitor relay plugged it, which ONLY affects the electric start, has nothing to do with the spark/ignition system, then unplug your CDI and smack the bottom of it on a hard surface a few times, sidewalk, etc... Then try it again, spark or not?

Mine i could take the CDI off and smack it a couple times and put it back on and it would fire right up. I cut the plastic box off the CDI unit to find that it was poorly potted in the box and water getting in corroded all the solder points on the little circuit board. I cleaned up the board, resoldered everything and it worked again for a while, but i finally just replaced it.

You can get a CDI and new rectangular connector for under $20, you can remove the contacts from the stock round connector and put them into the new rectangular connector if they are in good shape, otherwise cut them off and replace them with new contacts.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/156644-ATC200ES-CDI-Replacement-Sticky-Been-asked-a-lot-lately.

There is my post on replacement.

One other thing you can try, check the Reverse Switch, its the gray wire on the connector by the sub-trans (hi/lo/rev lever). If your reverse switch is going bad that could be causing issues to. But again that affects the electric start, not the spark.

Thanks kb0nly! I was searching through the site last night and saw your CDI replacement post... I was hoping you might have an opinion on my problem. Sounds like I really have two unrelated issues going on... either a faulty reverse switch or inhibitor, and a faulty CDI. Like you said, if it was the reverse switch or inhibitor, I should have spark when I get it to turn over again. I think I'll just eliminate the inhibitor by permanently jumping the green/red wires, and replace the CDI following your excellent instructions. The eBay CDIs are cheap enough that I might just order two just in case. Thanks again! I'll follow up in a few weeks once I have the parts and get a chance to replace the CDI.

[deuce228]

This is an interesting post. Funny how common the Cdi issue is becoming.

[kb0nly]

Ok be sure to let us know how it goes for you!

Yep, the CDI is becoming a common issue but i don't think thats too much of a surprise. You have capacitors in there that are pushing 30 years old! Most caps last a lot less than that.

[oscarjm]

Well, I'm reviving an old post... I didn't get the oppportunity to work on the 200es until a month ago, and replaced the CDI and harness with parts from vintage connections (thanks kb0nly) and a 5 pin CDI from this seller: ttp://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Pins-CDI-Box-For-70-90-110-125-135cc-Scooter-ATV-Quad-Go-Kart-Chinese-TaoTao-/281157343788?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4176489a2c (http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Pins-CDI-Box-For-70-90-110-125-135cc-Scooter-ATV-Quad-Go-Kart-Chinese-TaoTao-/281157343788?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4176489a2c)

Drained out the old gas and cleaned the stuck float, and it fired up. Idled rough. Made some adjustments to the carburetor and got it idling well, but that is about it. It is missing and running rough at anything other than idle. The bike was running well before replacement (with the exception of randomly dying per my previous posts)

I haven't done any diagnostics, but I'm wondering if I got a bad CDI? Anyone have a suggested seller that they have had good luck with?

[oscarjm]

Heck, the 5 pin CDIs are cheap enough, I decided to buy one from a different seller, from Amazon. The one I purchased previously had a white connector, the one from Amazon has a green connector, so I am hoping they are from different manufacturers. $5 and free shipping. It will probably be a month or so until I can get it on the trike, and I'll post an update. I should probably post some picks of my used and abused three wheelers soon as well- a 1982 185s that I modified with a front fork and suspension from a 200m (I highly recommend this), and a 1985 200es Big Red.

[oscarjm]

Thought I would close the loop on this. Swapped out the eBay cdi w/a clear plastic connector) with the amazon one (green connector) and the trike fired right up and didn't miss a beat. Must have been a bad replacement CDI. Only issue left to tackle is my float seems to be stuck open as gas constantly drains out the overflow. It's running smooth though!

[Ryanq55]

Thought I would close the loop on this. Swapped out the eBay cdi w/a clear plastic connector) with the amazon one (green connector) and the trike fired right up and didn't miss a beat. Must have been a bad replacement CDI. Only issue left to tackle is my float seems to be stuck open as gas constantly drains out the overflow. It's running smooth though!

Have a link to the amazon CDI you purchased? I just picked up an '84 200es that I want to start tinkering with and would like to get some replacement parts stocked up before I start messing with it...thanks!