I have a 2000 honda rancher that will not start. I was having problems with the reverse and neutral light. I would put it in neutral and sometimes the reverse light would come on, and vise versa. Now nothing but the oil light comes on and the machine will not start. I am not that mechanically inclined so some expert or even novice advice would be much appreciated.

This machine is always garaged and never abused cannot understand why this is happening....

thanks in advance for any help,

Bstick0928

 

unless the green neutral is on, the bike will not start, fix the netrual light problem before continuing

 

try using the manul shifter to make sure its really in neutral.

 

I would need to know if the Rancher is an electric shift or a manual shift to help you solve the problem.
I think your gear position switch is bad or the end of the shift drum is broken and will not turn the switch. Honda had a service letter out on the shift drum replacement, but I think it's date has expired for any warranty coverage.
If the drum end is broke, it requires engine removal and the crankcase split to replace the drum.
Let me know what model your Rancher is and I can advise you what proceedure to follow for diagnosis.

----- Gimpster -----

 

It is a manual shift. The shifter shifts into neutral and into reverse but the lights do not light up and hence not start.....

 

I also have a 2000 rancher with manual shift and i cant start it either .The nuetral light will not come on in nuetral. I tried crossing the relay connections under the seat and can get the starter to run but the engine will not start(all switches are on) can i somehow start it? I was told the shift drum end broke,is this an expensive fix if i bring it to a dealer? thanks

 

Follow the wire harness to the connection inside the right rear fender well, foreward of the wheel. There is row of connectors there. The gear position connection has a light green wire with a red stripe. Cut this wire on the gear position side and ground the end that goes into the connector. It needs to see the gear position in neutral for spark to occor during start-up. The drawback of doing this is the neutral light will be lit all the time. A manual switch can be put in line to ground during start-up then flip it off after the unit is running.
What concerns me is if the end of the shift drum is broken, a chunk of the drum tab could be floating around inside the transmission. This can cause serious damage.


----- Gimpster -----

 

if the shift drum is broken ,is this an expensive fix?

 

The engine must be removed, disassembled and cases split to get at the shift drum and gears

----- Gimpster -----

 

In your opinion is it worth that or would you just do the wire thing? I use the machine for ice fishing only and it will be 8 years old . It is in pretty good condition though.

thanks for the help