I bought a Aplpha Sports Cobra 180 ATV that run and drives Great (after I replaced the drive shaft that the sprocket goes to and cleaned the carburator)! Well now the switch is loose and it will not crank. You can turn the key on and crank it with the kick start and it will run fine but its not charging the battery no. Key not making a good connection? Can I just hook certain wires to a couple toggle switches and get rid of the key all together? Here are the wires I am dealing with.
Best I can tell I only have two hot wire? One all the time and then one when the key is on. But that could be part of my problem?

 

I don't know anything about cobras.

Your ignition switch has six wires, and so must have more functions then 'ignition on' and 'ignition off'. What else do you control with the ignition switch? Headlights - like 'off', 'on', and 'on with headlights'? Or is there a 'start' position - much like the start position on your car where you turn into a spring loaded position that cranks the starter, and then springs back to 'run' when you release it?

Why do you think the ignition switch is involved here? You turn on the ignition switch and it will start and run with the kick start. That eliminates the kill switch wires (probably the green and black/white wires in your photo). Hmmm... WHen you turn on the ignition switch and apply the brakes, does the brake light illuminate? Have you checked your main fuse off the battery?

 

I will have to check but I am not sure if it has a break light? On the key operation,one click lights up the neutral light and should let you start it. Two clicks still should let you start it but it also turns the lights on. The weird thing is,if you turn the key off it will turn over and over but not crank. If you turn the key on it stops turning over. I will look for fuses tomorrow and see what I can find and check them. To be honest I just assumed it was the key since it acts the way it does. It worked fine when I got it and now it doesnt.

 

Well I got a new ignition installed since the old one was loose and losing conection(partly my fault) and my original problem still exsists. No brake light but I don't see a brake light switch to even have a brake light.Battery not charging while running(checked with volt meter). Here is exactly what is going on.
Key off,kill switch off starter will turn over motor.
Key on ,kill switch off starter still trys to crank motor.
Key on, kill switch on starter does nothing but you can kick start it and it will run.

Oh and on the first two when the starter is trying to crank motor, it will hit and die almost at the same time.

 

just wanted to throw 2 cents in here for a moment. let's see if i got this right:
key off, kill switch off, starter turns? sounds like wiring is backwards on this quad, i presume you bought it used? if not, wire jacket deficiencies?
brake switches are usually in the master cylinder reservoir there at the plunger near the sightglass. usually 2 wires connecting into it. left handlebar lever. no wonder the battery won't charge if the wiring is backwards somehow.
hit and die simultaneously sounds like wiring is rubbing together somewhere/somehow until it is vibrated enough and it tries to act right but immediately "grounds out" again and kills the dang thing. just my theory. . but listen to Lynn, he's the electrical expert here on the forums.

 

Thanks for the input I did get it used and it worked fine at first. I had all the body off of when I fixed it and then put the body back on it. I think I am gonna pull it all back off and re check all wires. I don't see any pinched wires but its possible I guess and maybe its just now rubbed a raw spot and shorting something out. I don't thin anything is wired backwards since all the plugs are a one way only plug in design. A buddy of mine is gonna come over this week end and look at it as well. Maybe a fresh set of eyes will see what I am not?

 

please answer Lynn's questions. he's on to something there i believe. is it a multifunction key switch? simliar to a polaris sportsman where you turn the key like a car/pickup to start it? please explain further about it "starting/cranking on its own". key on and it starts cranking? we need some more detail about what it is doing and what you've done. please help us help you

 

I thought I did,I am sorry I will try again.The ignition when turned one click just basically turns the power on. You are then to flip the red kill switch to the run position and then hit starter button. While running you can turn the key switch one more click and that turns the headlights on. Once on you can then use a different button to go from hi to low beam.

That is how this atv is supposed to work. Here is what it is actually doing now.

Key on, kill switch on, hit starter button-nothing
Now if you turn either or both off at any time and then hit the starter button it will turn over try to hit but keep instantly dieing out and just keep turning over and over etc...

Now let me add that you have to have kill switch and key on to kick start it and it will run fine BUT not charge. So if you do this the battery will die over a couple days worth of running.

 

I've been out of the loop for a week now, and am trying to catch back up. I was flat on my back with the flu for 6 days. I still have a bad cold, so please forgive the delay in responding...

Your original post of 10/21/12 had a picture of the wires to your ignition switch. That link now appears to be broken. What are the wire colors going to your ignition switch? Important--- I want wire harness colors, not the colors of any short pigtail wires going into the switch itself. So find the connector between the ignition switch and the wire harness, and report the colors on the harness side.

From there we'll need a meter to follow the wiring to the starter solenoid. You need to have 12 volts across the two small wires that drive the starter solenoid to cause it to close and connect the battery directly across the starter motor.

I know nothing about cobras, nor have I been able to turn up any diagram. But normally quads have starter interlock wiring that prevents quads from starting unless the brakes are applied, the clutch is pulled in, or the quad is in neutral. The reason is obvious. It is just like your car where you cannot crank the starter motor in drive.

Usually (I don't know for sure on Cobras) the kill switch circuitry prevents quads from starting (by inhibiting spark), but have nothing to do with whether the starter motor cranks or not. We'll have to do some sleuthing here.

Your symptoms are very strange, and the ignition switch itself is suspect. It is a multi section switch ganged together on a common shaft. One possibility is that the ignition switch internal rotating cylinder is broken up, and major intermittent connections are happening.

But let's verify all this with a meter. First I need the ignition switch wire colors (harness side), then we'll determine witch wire does what, and test their functions. From there we trace the wiring through the interlock stuff (whatever that may be) and through the start button to the solenoid.

 

no let me apologize. you did answer his questions and i should've wrote "with a little more detail". of course then you added more detail. so please allow me to apologize. it was early in the morning for me after working all night. again, my apologies.