I was out test riding the ATV the other day after doing some work on it (nothing electrical). I turned on the key on and got the Oil Temp Light and Neutral Light as normal, when I hit the start button, those lights went out and the engine never turned over. I figured a simple fuse blew. I checked the main fuse, it was good. I let it sit for a few minutes and turned on the key again, lights came on, but when I hit the start button, same thing happened. So I pushed it back into the garage to do some checking. I first checked the obvious....battery, fuses (again). It's a brand new battery and has 13v. Went to the ignition switch connection (4 pin) and have 13v there. To eliminate the ignition switch I jumpered Red to Brown (for power) and Black to Blk/W for ground. No change...no lights, NADA!. Ground is good.

I left it at that for now as I've got to make a small road trip. I'm going to check the start cutoff relay when I get back. figure I'd post to see if anyone experienced anything similar in the mean time.

 

Does it start with the pull rope? I rode my 1989 350 moto4 with a empty battery box for 3 years by just pull starting it before I finally bought a battery and solenoid and fixed it.

 

Forgot to mention. There is no pull rope option on this one. Electric start only.

 

Check the earth leads. For everything to go dead, it is one of the main leads, either the earths, or the main feed from battery to fuse to ignition switch. A test lamp is a lot more use than a meter in these cases as it checks power rather than just volts. Also check the battery voltage when you have everything switched on. A dud can show 13v when static but 4v or less when loaded.

 

I never seen a Moto4 without a pull rope back up and I see a lot of them or any Yamaha Utility for that matter. I think the 700 Grizzly was the first to not have one and I'm sure on that.

My 1987 250 moto4 had both electric and pull start.

 

Well, I figured it out finally. Went to check it this morning and had power/lights when key turned on. However, as soon as I would hit the start button, I'd hear a sound (like a relay or spark) and that's when I'd lose everything. I checked the batt again....at 13v at rest and under load.....that's when the problem area showed itself. When I got this thing the battery was inside the rear storage bin instead of the rack at the left wheel (which was removed evidently because they put bigger rear tires on it). I found a mass of electrical tape on the power wire. Removed it to find a dang house wire twist nut barely hanging on (way to small for that size wire). Fixed that and now we are back in business. As for the "no pull rope" TLC, I'll try to load a pic on my other thread since this one is done now. Can't seem to get it to upload using my phone.

Thanks all for the advice. I knew it would be something stupid simple.