As posted recently I'm a bit behind in my replies. Sorry about that. I'm having computer problems as well as putting in long hours at work. And travelling too...

I'm not sure about the two yellow wires but the others seem fairly standard. Does your switch have 3 positons? If so, what are those positions? Off, on, and what?

When the switch is in the on position the black wire should have 12 volts on it with respect to engine ground. What do you measure?

With the ignition on, and the brake(s) applied, does the brake light light up?

 

Okay, I checked the brake light and have nothing. Thinking it may be broke, i pulled the wires and put the voltmeter on them....nothing. So, I am guessing that my ignition must not be letting voltage through, which would mean that it is broke. Can I fix it, or replace it? Where do I find a new one?

Thanks

 

Your ignition switch may or may not be broken. It could be a bad wire too. It could be a bad wire on the way to the ignition switch, or after the ignition switch on the way to other stuff like the brake switch.

The logical place to start is at the ignition switch. Measure the output wire from the ignition switch first as outlined in my last post. If you don't get 12 volts (with the ignition switch turned on), measure the input wire (the red wire). Do you have 12 volts there?

Does your ignition switch have three positions? If so, what do the three positions do? Is it off/on/start, or off/parking lights/on, or off/on/headlights? I'm still trying to figure out what those other two yellow wires are for...

 

Okay,
I finally had some time to tinker on the quad again. I am certain that the ignition is off/lights/start. So, I am guessing that the yellow wires are for the lights. I did could not find any voltage coming through the harness with the ignition switch on. So it could be the switch. the next question is, where do I find an ignition for these machines? I check 2 local 4x4 shops and came up empty. I am hoping that a new ignition will fix my problem as the boys are getting ansy to ride and winter will soon be here.

thanks

 

Other than the yellow wires (which I agree are probably for the headlights - if your ignition switch has three positions [ off, on, on with lights]), you could use a regular four wire switch to wire in the ignition on, and engine off functions. Then use another ordinary toggle switch to separately control the lights. But I'm assuming your extra two yellow wires are for lights.

I asked before if your ignition switch had three positions, and (if so) what that third position was for. You haven't answered that part yet.... This leaves me to guess, which I'm forced to do at this point.

Also, from recollection, are your lights AC powered - i.e. they only light up when the engine is running (and usually dim at idle), or did the headlights light up when the ignition switch is on and the engine is stopped?

 

Yes, my ignition has three positions. Off/?/ start. the lights have not worked since we bought the machine. I figure that 4 wire ignition will work but where do I get that?

If it is not the ignition, what is my next plan of action? Do i need to be thinking about other parts? If I am going to buy an ignition, perhaps I need to buy others?

Thank you so much for the help and directions here. It has made an impossible job something worth trying.

 

I went back though all the posts up till now. I don't see any place where you confirmed that there was 12 volts on one of the switch wires all the time (the input wire to the switch). The question was asked, but no definitive answer was given. The ignition switch has to have power to it in order to be able to pass it down the line to everything else that needs it to start up the quad.

So I would verify that one of your switch wires (probably red) has 12 volts on it to engine ground all the time. I just want to make sure before heading down a primrose path. If you don't have 12 volts at the ignition switch input pin then the problem is before the ignition switch and we need to look first there.

There are a lot of online vendors selling ignition switches. I'd look at Mainstreet Motorsports (a sponsor of this group). There is also many others, and of course eBay. I searched eBay a few minutes ago for "chinese atv ignition switch" and found 6 pin ignition switches that match your wire color scheme exactly (6 wires including 2 yellow wires).

 

Lynn,
I finally got around to ordering my ignition switch and installed it. I charged the battery and put it all together. There was a time when it would turn over but not start. I gave it a rest for a few days, now I have nothing when I push the start button. However, if I arch the celenoid, I get it to turn over. I am lost on what to do, and ready to dump it in the trash.

thank you for your insight and input

Jakal

 

But you haven't measured whether you have 12 volts at the input side of the ignition switch yet or not. See my last post. If 12 volts from the battery doesn't make to the switch it doesn't matter what switch to try to plug in. If there is no power at the input side of the switch there can *never* be power at the output side.

1) Is your new switch 6 wires also?
2) What are the colors?
3) What is the DC voltage from each of those wires to engine ground when the ignition switch is off?

If you're trying to troubleshoot this without using a meter you are going about this in the hardest and most frustrating way possible. Meters are really inexpensive, and they are a very powerful tool. You need to use a meter ...

 

Lynn,
I finally got my 110 chinese quad running after cleaning the carb and a new battery. The starter switch is not working so we have been crossing the relay to start it. The boys road it around for 2-3 weeks many hours, and ran it out of gas. The machine sat for 5 days and now the battery is low. When I put jumpers on the battery and cross the relay there is very little power. Does this mean that my battery is shot, or is there are possible wiring issue?

thanks for all of your input and intelligence on this thing