I have a Hawk 70 for my son. It had been sitting for the winter after running great last fall. I charged the battery and went to start it, and it wont fire, nothing, wont even turn over. With the key on the headlight illuminates, so I know there is a charge, but neither the manual start on the handlebar or the remote starter will get anything to turn over. I checked the fuse that is right by the battery, would there be any others?

 

Turn on the ignition and step on the brake. Does the brake light light up? (I'm assuming your quad has a brake light - most do) If the brake light doesn't light up then this is probably your problem. The safety interlock circuitry won't let the starter turn unless the brake is depressed (and that means the brake switch has to be adjusted and working). This keeps the quad from starting up in gear and taking off unexpectedly.

 

Try to check for any blown fuse, then check the relays. also try to check the cdi it might be busted. But surely its just the wiring either loose or no contact.

 

Lynn - the quad we have is 'automatic' in that there are no gears to shift, and the only brake is on the handlebar. I did try holding that in and it did not effect anything.

 

Do you have a brake light? If so, did the brake light turn on when you held the brake in?

Automatic or not, if it starts up in gear (or in forward/reverse) it will lurch unexpectedly when the quad starts - hence the safety interlock. Automatics are *worse* in this regard than clutch/gear systems because with clutch/gear quads the quad starts to move while cranking (long before it starts). This gives an early warning. An automatic doesn't connect the engine to the wheels until it starts, and you've given it lots of gas - at a time when you are *concentrating* on getting the damn thing to start up - instead of concentrating on who's standing right in front of the quad.

Here's another thing to try as well that will shed some more light on the problem:

Make sure the quad is in neutral. Turn on the ignition and the headlights. Follow the big fat red battery wire til it gets to the starter solenoid input post. Follow the other post on the solenoid to the starter motor. Then take a screwdriver and short those two screw posts on the solenoid together. The starter should turn. Does the quad start up? Does the starter turn turn? If the starter doesn't turn do the headlights go out while the short id applied?

 

My son lost the key to hawk 70 and we are trying to wire it so it will start, i can not find a ignition for it anywhere.

 

UH OH! I think safety interlock is either mafunctioning or does not exist on my kid (yeah now 14 and as big as me) quad. It does have to have both right and left brakes depressed but it can start in gear. Is this another form of interlock since it does not seem to matter if it is in gear or not.

 

Lynn - touched the posts on the solenoid and it did make the starter turn and turn, but nothing close to starting. Whats that telling you...

thanks for the help so far.

 

You should have four wires on your ignition switch. Follow those wires to a plug (maybe under some plastic body panels) and unplug it. Turn the headlights off, and release the parking brake (so the brake light can't be connected up). Find the wire in the main harness (at the ignition switch plug) that has 12 volts on it all the time. Find another wire in the four that *isn't* shorted to ground when your handlebar kill switch is in the Stop (kill) position. Use a meter on a low resistance scale to do this.

Wire those two wires together and your ignition is now on. If you step on the brake to satisfy the brake safety interlock, and turn off all your kill switches the quad should start. You'll have to use the handle bar kill switch to stop the engine if it starts.

But what not just buy another ignition switch? They are pretty common. eBay has them for sure.

 

Windtrader, I didn't phrase my post very well. You can start it up in gear but only if the brake is applied. On my quad it only requires front or rear brake to do this. I forget and start my quad up all the time in gear. But because my brakes are applied it only lurches forward (or reverse) a couple inches.