Ask The Editors: Ignition Won’t Work But Recoil Start Does
That it runs is a very good sign.
When an ATV starts and runs fine off a manual backup system but refuses to light up off the electric starter, you can be sure all of the major engine systems are alive and well. The trouble is certainly one in the ignition circuit meaning either a low or depleted battery, corroded cable connection somewhere, a faulty starter/solenoid, or, like you guessed, the ignition switch itself.
It sounds like you’re confident on the battery, solenoid and having no bad connections or shorts in the wiring so that does indeed leave the ignition switch as your next diagnostic target. Fortunately, testing the switch is pretty straightforward:
Unplug the switch from its wiring harness and grab your multimeter. Set it to check continuity (ohms) then place your leads between the terminals in each key of the key positions noting changes between off (no continuity), on and run.
If this isn’t the problem and you’re sure the solenoid is good (you can test this with your meter as well) and the battery has enough amps to turn it over, time to trace the ignition wiring from harness to harness, checking for continuity (process described above) within each run.
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