250 R ignition ?

[SCEADU]

Even though this is on my 88 "R" all the ignition parts should be the same, right?

Today I took both my machines to a friend's house to ride. When we got there my buddy jumped on my "R" and it started with one kick no choke. He rides it around the yard and warms it up then takes it up and down the road a couple of times. When he comes back he jumps on the "Z" and I on the "R" and again first kick its running. We get to the trail head and he immediately gets stuck so I shut off the "R" to help. When we get him freed up I go back to the "R" and kick it about 20 times and no start. I pulled the plug and no fire. I change the plug andd still no fire on the plug. We pull it back to his house and just for grins I kick it and on the first kick it starts up again. So we do a complete diagnostic check on it looking for broken or loose wires or connections and we found none. He is an ASE mechanic and I have been wheeling for 20 years so the obvious has been checked before anyone comes up with the usual suspects. At the end of the night we still could not get it running again so we had to push it onto the trailer. When I got home again for grins I kick it and first kick it fires right up. WHAT GIVES HERE!!!!! I thought that a coil or a CDI box just went bad and was not intermitant like this. Anyone ever experience this?

[MTS]

do an ac voltage output on the stator.., will it die as it gets hotter or just when you shut it off..

[ChrisD]

the stator is a major weak point of the R. ...as well as the Tecate. usually it goes as an intermitten studder or miss at high rev, but can fail at any time.

[SCEADU]

The lights are glowing when we are trying to start it so i don't think that it is the stator.

[Taiser]

Stator is easy to check, just put the Ohm meter on it and check the reading, should be 50-250 ohms if I remember (check the book though)

Also seen that before with a cracked CDI or secondary coil. Engine warms it up, expands and causes the fault. Sits for a while and cools and starts back up BUT I wouldn't discount a crappy ground or short somewhere either. Get the manual out, check all the resistances and continuity and go from there if not already done. At least there is not much to look at.

I had weird problems like that too and could never figure it out so I gave up and went with a complete new (to me) electrical set up. If it helps I just got a complete wiring harness, including coil, CDI and rectifier for 50 bucks on e-bay. Runs like a champ now!

[MTS]

i wish i had a scematic of the wiring, make sure your kill switch isnt staying open when in the run posistion too...the lighting is on a diffrent circut, or should be anyways.

[SCEADU]

Kill switch was the first check. If the lights glow when you kick it then the stator is putting out power. I am going to steal the coil off of my 200 x and see if that that problem. If that does not fix it then it has to be the CDI.

[88 Turbo Coupe]

I had the same exact problem with my 89. Did all the diagnostic checks. Was the stator. Service Honda sells them for $200.

[Mosh]

My 86 TRX does this from time to time.

Next time it doesnt start,wiggle or your CDI box and connectors and see if it fires up.

Mine will start,and run fine for weeks.
It has had everything,but a new wire harness installed.So I am looking for a nice 86 harness.But they are discontinued.The 88 harness is different,and still available OEM.

The 88 harness had different plugs on it than the older years.As did the 88 stator.

[SCEADU]

Am I correct in thinking that if the lights glow when you are kicking it and it still does not start that the problem is not the stator or are there 2 different circuits in the stator? one that runs the lights and the other for the ignition.

[Mosh]

There is a seperate pick-up coil for the ignition,on the outside of the flywheel.Sometimes,they get all rusty,and the pick-up cannot generate the voltage needed to start the bike at kicking RPM'S.They can be cleaned up,and regapped.Clean the flywheel with a wire brush,and the pick-up coil magnent with sand paper.Check the air gap. .017" -.020"
There is a raised bump on the flywheel that triggers the pick-up coil.That needs to be clean and gapped correctly.

did you try to pull start it? did it fire that way?

[SCEADU]

No, I did not try to pull start it . It is just wierd how it is a hit and miss thing. Will advancing the timing be an improvement like it is on the Banshee ? If I get a new Stator then I just I'll get one that has adjustable timing and advance it the 4 degrees for a few more ponies.

[1upfront]

Am I correct in thinking that if the lights glow when you are kicking it and it still does not start that the problem is not the stator or are there 2 different circuits in the stator? one that runs the lights and the other for the ignition.


Theres a lighting coil and a power coil on your stator, your power coil could be bad and your lights will still light up perfect when kicking over as far as I know.

[SCEADU]

Gotcha!!!!! So I guess i will look into a Stator becasue that seems to be the #1 culprit. What about adjustable timing? Is it alright to advance the 250r +4 like the Banshees?

[SCEADU]

Ok I swaped out the coil with one from my 200x and it is still doing the same thing. I also cleaned the flywheel pickup and stator point with some sandpaper and still it has this intermitant problem. I am moving on to the stator and had hear that some guys use the CR 250 ignition. What all is involved with this swap?

[beets442]

I think it's your CDI. My friends did the same thing.(84R) We would ride and stop and he would kick the hell out of it to get it started again. Once it cooled it would start fine. Doesn't happpen all the time but enuf to be annoying. Like someonre said check you stator too...Let us know how it goes..... Beets

[SCEADU]

I have a CDI on my 86 200x. I know the coils are the same between the 200 x and 250R but does anyone know if the CDI's are?

[SCEADU]

The CDI box is the culprit.. I took the coil off my 86 200x and put it on the "R" ...no spark . I put a brand new stator on it...... No spark. SO I put the 200x CDI box on it. !st kick was fire in the whole.....


The CDI box on the X is alot smaller than the one on the "R" ..... I plan on buying a new one for the "R" but I want to ride this weekend. Could this cause and catarophic damage to the "R"'s electrical?

[Mosh]

Another guy on here put a 350x cdi on his 250r.The bike never ran right.It would not rev out...I feel you will have the same problem.

On a side note,I said earlier in my post,My TRX did the same thing.Everytime I plugged in a different CDI it would run.I swapped back to the original CDI after the problem re occurred,and I thought I had fixed it with changing the CDI.

What I found was by simply swapping CDI'S when it didnt run,it would fire and run good for weeks,then act up again.
The next time,I wiggled the connector before swapping CDI's and it ran good for weeks again..
I have determined,it was a wire harness issue with mine.
Just for giggles,reinstall your original CDI and see if it runs....If so,you need a new harness.

[SCEADU]

Ok so I takes the "R" CDI and put it on the "X" just now and same result. No fire!!! I did the Moshman wiggle an the "X" fires up.. I shuts it down and wiggle the wires again and no start.. I wiggle again and the "X" comes to life. I moves over to the "R" and do the dame with it...same results. At this point I would say its in the "R" CDI. Maybe in the pins somewhere.

[Mosh]

Very strange,indeed.I would have to say the CDI is the problem then.