Picked up a new horse today, 85 250ES

[sinsayers]

shes being lazy right now, no spark issue

[sinsayers]

I did a compression test and that was perfect, stator is spitting out power, power at and after the cdi and power at the switches. Im just chasing the bad spot man, fixing another guys problem.

Is she a strong runner? or is she tired?

[kb0nly]

Sounds like its the CDI box yet if your stator and pulse gen is ok then.

I suspected that from the start just because i have replaced so many of them!

[atc350xer]

Any chance it could be the spark plug wire? I've had a couple with bad connections, just snip 1/4" off the wire and screw the plug cap back onto it.

[sinsayers]

I have tried 3 different coils with 3 different plug wires so I think I can rule that one out, thanks for the tip though. I think your right Kb but I need to test my run/kill switch more tomorrow, I will take a few pictures so you guys can see the birds nest this thing has at the controls. Thanks for all the help

Any chance it could be the spark plug wire? I've had a couple with bad connections, just snip 1/4" off the wire and screw the plug cap back onto it.

[sinsayers]

Tri Again my reverse light will not work, I took the ignition plastic off and checked all the wires at that connection and everything seemed ok. The bulb is fine but something is preventing the red light to pop on. I have homework for tomorrow with the reverse light, thanks for that tip also. As much as I want to ride ol red theres a part of me loving this challenge.

[kb0nly]

The reverse light wouldn't be coming on because of a bad reverse switch or a bad connection at the switch most likely. Try pulling the bulb out and putting it back in a half dozen times or so to though, sometimes those types of bulbs get corroded in the socket and make a bad connection.

Will watch for those pictures! And hopefully a report of running soon!

If the kill switch turns out to be ok and everything else checks out, then it has to be the CDI. I have gotten to the point on these Honda's that if i get one with no spark the first thing i do is swap the CDI, that works like 9 times out of ten. That tenth time its usually a weird wiring problem somewhere.

[sinsayers]

A few pictures for you guys to see what Im dealing with. Storms today so no chance to play with some wires

[kb0nly]

Wiring nightmare! Been there, many times!

[sinsayers]

Nightmare is a good way to put it hahaha, Im off this week for vacation so I will have a lot of time with ol red. I'll keep you all posted and thanks for the tips. PS I never did tell you guys what I paid for her, $350 bucks but I had to spend 90 in gas.

Wiring nightmare! Been there, many times!

[tri again]

Hi

I have a 250sx and the ignition key switch is simply not there,
all 4 wires cut (even tho they UNplug) and it starts and runs with the kick with none of the 4 wires
connected to each other or anything else.

The reverse safe switch can simply be grounded to the engine but it WILL
start in gear. and should glow when you kick it. or glow if you turn the key on.
and the switch works and the battery is good.

Not sure if eliminating those 2 topics will help but it could help if you're in the zone of eliminating
problems one at a time.

Did the wire plugs push out the back of the cdi connector?
ground connections look good?

Stator ohms good and puts out some sort of ac voltage?

You'll get it.
I wonder how much a whole wire harness (correctly removed from working unit)
costs?
Seems like under 20 bucks or so on ebay.

Advice from a guy who wired a 58 triumph with a roll of red wire.

Keep smiling, we'll get it one way or another.

Hey, what do the wires look like under the box behind the headlight?

Bunch of connectors and a fuse or 2 but I think those fuses are just for the light and
accessory plug.

[kb0nly]

All the fuses are under the seat on the BR. There is two fuses, one for the lighting and battery charging, 10 amp, and another smaller fuse for the indicator lighting and inhibitor relay circuits, i forget what the rating is, like 5a i think i would have to look again.

The ignition switch has four wires, i know this by heart from memory..

Red
Yellow/Red
Green
Black

Black is the kill wire, when the ignition switch is in the off position it connects the green to the black. Just leave the green and black floating not connected and it will run. The Red and Red/Yellow are connected in the on position to provide power to the lights and accessory outlet. You can plug the red into the red/yellow on the BR and just leave the black disconnected to bypass the switch. I have done this on barn finds that have no keys before, takes only a few minutes to pull the two screws on the headlight and pull out the wires, find the four wire harness from the switch, unplug the black from the switch, unplug the red and yellow/red from the switch and plug the two ends from the harness together and its done. The ignition switch has a male connector on the green, black, yellow/red, and a female on the red, so with the switch removed you can just plug the harness red into the yellow/red without chopping anything and just use the handlebar light switch to turn the lights on and off.

I know three guys running like that, they kick it into first gear when its off to shut off the neutral light so it doesn't drain the battery, lol.

Chances are you still have a wiring problem or a CDI problem.

[atc007]

Reverse light is 90% of the time,unplugged/pulled back off at the sensor. It and the Neutral are under the clutch cover,behind a tin shield. It gets bent backwards and the plug ins get bent backwards. Good luck w that wiring. For time sakes,I'd get a good harness..If the CDI isn't junk now,,it sure will be till you're sorted thru that! Good luck!

[kb0nly]

After another post on here asking about the connector for the reverse/neutral switch i went looking and found a 250ES to take a look at, well the engine itself anyway not the complete trike, thats a stupid design i agree. I think with the right prep work i could get the wire soldered directly to the switch terminal and sleeve it with some heatshrink tubing and solve that problem once and for all if i had to on one of these.

[sinsayers]

I managed to fiddle with ol red for a few hrs this evening and my main focus was getting the reverse light to come on. I took apart the key switch, took out the bulbs and tested the reverse socket and with a frame ground I did get some AC output at the socket. I then switched the bulbs around to see if it was a popped bulb but the reverse bulb worked in the neutral socket so I can rule out the bulb. Im not getting a ground on that reverse socket I suppose?? I checked the reverse switch by the clutch cover and the black wire was unhooked but the bulb still didnt light after fixing. I checked fuses under the spotlight and a few other things but tomorrow I will do the hotwire test stated above. Thanks a ton guys, you rock! Jeremy