83 200e big red no spark

[biganini1]

ok so i finally got my 3 wheeler back and go to start it and well no spark now befor i got it back it sat out in the florida weather for about 4 months and befor that a friend borrowed it and who knows what he did to it anyway so i go to start it and nothing so i start troubleshooting its a new wire harness so i assume thats ok just put it on befor it was parked so now i break out the multimeter i test the the kill switch that checked out ok so now i test the pick up coil and it had 32 ohms and the book says between 30 and 60 so i feel that should work next i picked up a new cdi box for like 30 on ebay i figure if it doesnt work atleast i have a spare and well still nothing so next i check the stator i have no continuity between the primary and a ground but it puts out 20 acv well its cranking so next i thought it was the coil so i check continuity and the primary coil had none but the secondary did i tested the plug wire and that was ok so now i figure its the coil so i order a new one from napa after waiting a day i got it but its nothing like the factory coil it bolts up and plugs in but the mounting bolts are too close and i could only thread one but anyway it was grounded and pluged in and still no spark so i checked the volts goin to the coil from the cdi box and i got about 6 i think not exactly sure il post the exact volts tomorrow but anyway im getting low volts to the coil i not exactly positive but shouldent i be getting a weak spark with low volts why nothing? and does anyone know how many volts my stator should be putting out? iv been stuck on this bike for 2 weeks i hate just throwing parts at a bike and i hate to see classics die id really like to get the bike running so any help would be appreciated im more then willing to awnser any questions about it that would help me out

[Bren_downe]

I had a similar problem the other day with my auto-x. Turns out the spark plug boot was separated from the wire but the boot was still hangin on like it was fine. Easy fix, snip the end of the wire and screw the boot back on. Fired right up.

[GunsShooting]

Yeah, it could be a wire issue. You might also try a new spark plug. What part of FL? I'm near the Ocala forest.

[briano]

Great spelling and sentence s e p a r a t i o n.

[biganini1]

i allready tryed cutting the ends of the wire still nothing but i put the multimeter in the end of the plug wire and was only gettin .5 to 1 volt

[kb0nly]

Hooking up the voltmeter to the plug wire is a good way to fry your meter, not to mention that you won't get an accurate reading. I don't remember the exact number but i think it was something like 10-15,000 volts at the plug!

Ok lets start over here...

You had 20v AC at the stator/source coil while cranking on the Black/Red wire, thats good. So no problem there. You should also check the Black/Red wire to ground up at the CDI plug to make sure its not a problem in the harness somewhere, again while cranking you should have around 20v AC into the CDI. Another check, just to be sure, unplug the Black/Red wire and use the resistance/continuity check on your meter and check from the Black/Red wire coming out of the motor and the engine as ground, should be around 100-400 ohms, if you didnt have it unplugged when you checked it that would give a false reading due to the CDI.

Now test the pulse gen, aka pickup coil again, unplug the two wires coming out of the cover marked CDI up on the head, put your voltmeter across those two wires you should have some resistance, the service manual doesn't specify the resistance of the pickup coil, but it should have resistance as its a coil, if there is no resistance or infinite resistance then its bad. Now as a further test, leave the meter connected to the two wires from the pickup coil and then set it to AC Volts and crank the engine over, you should see pulses of voltage, on a digital meter it might just be a quick flicker from zero to a small voltage because the pulse is too fast. I usually test them with a test light or an analog volt meter. The pickup coil is like the stator, the advancer has a magnet on it like a flywheel, as it passes the pickup coil it creates a voltage just like a stator, the CDI reads those pulses to know when to fire the plug. If it passes both of those tests then your fine!

Now plug the pickup coil back in and unplug the CDI, use your meter and check to make sure you still have the same readings on the two wires at the CDI plug from the pickup coil, that eliminates any problems with the harness.

Now for the ignition coil, aka spark coil, etc... The primary, from the wiring tab to one of the screw holes to mount it, should be 0.2-.04 ohms. Again out of that range its bad. The secondary, from the plug wire to one of the mounting holes should be 3.6-4.4 ohms. If the primary is fine but the secondary is bad remove the plug wire from the coil and put your meter probe onto the point that the plug wire goes on inside there, check it again, if its now ok then you have a bad plug wire or bad connection on either end. As already mentioned snip off a bit and reconnect both ends and then test with the meter again.

I see you mentioned it sat outside in the weather for four months.... I would go through every connector on the harness for the ignition, each component. You could have a dirty/corroded connection. There isn't much to the ignition system on these thankfully, so its a pretty easy troubleshoot.

That ignition coil you bought, you mentioned it doesn't mount up right, did you put the green wire under the mounting screw that you did manage to put in? Thats the ground for the coil, the frame also acts as the ground but the green wire is there to make sure its grounded as well. Also, i would ohm out that replacement coil and see if its the proper resistance since its not the correct style to mount up, just as a precaution to make sure its ok. Also, you bought another CDI, but is the replacement new or used? A new one is the best bet unless you pull one off a running trike to know its good.

[biganini1]

ok i tested the stator and it starts at about 19 acv then drops down to 14 and theres no continuity between the black and red wire and a ground and i did unplug it to make the test accurate. next i tested the pick up coil and got like 32 ohms and tested the volts only got .1 but my multimeters cheap so who knows but it is showing a sign that it works because it has resistance. after that i tested the volts from the cdi box to the coil and im only getting 4.5 volts it starts out high about 10 then drops and floats around 3.7 and 6 so thats a problem. The primary on the coil i got about .8 ohms so that seems bad and im getting nothing for the secondary on the coil and on the new coil i get 2.4 ohms for the primary and also nothing for the secondary. so now im really stuck any help is great, and im in cocoa fl

[kb0nly]

Hmm... Seems like a meter issue then too. I can't see you having two ignition coils with no resistance on the secondary at once, especially when one is new. I mean i guess its possible its bad, but still odd.

You should have way more volts from the CDI to the coil, around 100+ volts AC output from the CDI. I would have to measure mine again but i think on my 200ES the ignition coil wire was around 90v at idle and 100+ at higher speeds.

For now my guess is this... You have a bad stator/source coil if, and i say IF, you know for sure that the CDI is good. Because even if the ignition coil is bad you should be seeing far more voltage out of the CDI. Thats why i said if you know for sure the CDI is good then the voltage source, aka the stator/source coil, has problems. Also the fact that you weren't seeing 100-400 ohms on it.

But, before you toss a crapload of cash at it.... Borrow or buy another meter just to double check! Because it seems your getting some odd readings.

[biganini1]

I have a total of 3 coils and all of them tested the same so im pretty sure its the meter i need to get a professional one i keep buying the harbor freight ones their almost disposable. I thought the volts coming out of the stator were really low to and its a new cdi box and coil so thats the next big thing, im going to borrow another meter and keep everyone posted thanks.

[kb0nly]

Yeah definitely get yourself a better meter... For $30-$40 you can get a much better quality one at Lowe's, Home Depot, or even Radio Shack. Gardner Bender or Fluke are the brands i trust.