i own a 1984 honda bigred 200cc trike. there is no spark but it may be just a bad connection. after geting it started i rode it for about 10 minutes then i let it stall.i tride to start it again but it was not sparking .when i looked down at the engine there was a brownie liquid coming out off the CDI casing i think it is oil i had been going through pretty deep mud the week before. what is in the cdi part ? could it have something to do with why its not sprking?is my trike goosed.the cdi casing is not cracked the liquid is coming from the seal on the side.
thanks for any response.

 

All the CDI box does is limit how high the rpm's can go. Sounds like it may have got water in it. I would make sure that the liquid is not coming out anywhere else around the casings or head. It might just be muddy water but if it will not start i would check the plug then look for any places it might be grounding out and last buy a new CDI box. Alot of times ebay will have one for cheap. Might also try Rockymountainatv.com or DennisKirk.com. Put as much info as you can on here about what it is or isn't doing that it should be. You will get an answer.

 

The CDI does a LOT more than limit RPM. Matter of fact there probably is no rev limiter built into that box. I know for a fact they didn't start using a rev limiter on the ATC250ES until 86 (it was introduced in 85). All that is inside the box itself is a circuitboard, intended to be sealed from the elements. It is not reliable to test the box, many of the problems I saw were with the connector becoming corroded anyway. Is it safe to assume the box is bad? If it got hot and the runny stuff you see is the potting from next to the connector that has melted it probably is. If for some reason it got full of muddy water, you may be able to dry it and use it again, but it may not be very reliable. You sometimes never know til you replace it with a known good. I usually at least test the rest of the ignition to see if there is another obvious problem already. You can pretty much do most of it right at the CDI connector. Always do your spark testing with a NEW plug, they can foul out and look OK. It sux to spend time and $$ only to find out it was a 2$ spark plug.

 

Try a new plug and check your wire and boot for damage and a good connection. If that isn't it, unless you can get a CDI box for cheap to try it, I would look into your ignition system wiring a little more carefully for a problem before you go blowing money on a new CDI as DZZY already said. Try the simple and cheap stuff first.