This one has me baffled. there are several variations of the problem, but here's where it stands right now:

As soon as I turn the ignition switch on, the starter cranks and the neutral light comes on. This is regardless of the kill switch position (on or off). If the kill switch is on, it will start, but the starter keeps turning. If I disconnect the starter switch, the lights, and the kill switch, I've got the same problem.

I tore off the front panel and found lots of fried wires, I think starting from a short in the headlights. But even though I think I've found everything that has shorted out, I still have the same problem. I can unhook the starter from the solenoid and use the pull starter, but I suspect I still have a short somewhere.

My problem is where to look next. I have not yet taken the gas tank off, but I think the wiring looks fine under there. I made sure the ground wire was clean, but with no effect. I tested the ignition switch, starter switch, and the starter solenoid and they all have the correct resistance according to the manual.

One last thing--when I got the machine a few months ago, the headlight switch was broken and the neutral/reverse light wires were clipped. I replaced the headlight switch and the neutral/reverse wires and lights. This problem started after the second or third time using it after the fix. However, I suspect the headlights already had a short in them.

Any suggestions of what to check next? I'm considering a new wiring harness, but if I don't find the original short I'm just going to fry that one too.

 

relay switch/wiring

 

After some thought, I determined:

1. The starter circuit relay was working because the starter was not spinning when in gear.

2. The starter solenoid was working because it stopped sending power to the starter when in gear.

Because the problem exists when the starter switch and the kill switch are completely disconnected (i.e. the starter still spins regardless of the starter switch or kill switch), and after tracing the wiring diagrams, I concluded there must be a short in the black wire coming from the starter circuit relay to the starter switch.

I had already exposed most of that wiring, but re-examining it again, I found another patch of melted wires that was obviously causing that wire to ground out without going through the starter switch or the kill switch. The grounding caused the switch in the starter solenoid to flip, sending power to the starter regardless of whether the starter switch was released, the kill switch was off, or the ATV was running. In this case understanding what the circuit relay did and tracing the wiring diagram until I understood how it worked helped me to see exactly where the problem must be.

 

I had electrical issues on my bayou 300 and instead of trying to rewire things i just bought a new harness from BikeBandit for i believe 40 or 50 dollars daved alot of headaches.