Hello, Last year I bought my son a 70cc BMX Mini ATV. It always started a little hard. (Had to let it warm up quite a bit before he could ride it & it would stay running). I pulled it out of the garage this spring to get it set up for him and it won't turn over. I have checked the kill switches (handle bars, remote kill, rear tether), and the battery. I can hear the solenoid clicking when I push the ingition switch, but nothing more. I don't hear anything else..... I am getting a big I told you so from my husband for buying the "cheaper" ATV online. Lil man is eager to get back out on his machine. The operators manual leave much to desire and I haven't found any online repair manuals. Any ideas on what I should check next and how? Thanks a million! Michele

 

Follow the big fat red wire from the battery plus terminal to a post on the the solenoid. Follow the wire on the other big post on the solenoid to the starter motor.

Take a screwdriver and short those two big posts on the solenoid together. Don't mind a few sparks. This is normal. Does the starter turn over now?

If not, turn on the headlights and repeat the test. Do the headlights stay on while the solenoid is shorted? Are the lights bright? dim? out?

Try jumping the quad battery to car with jumper cables (please get the polarity right). Repeat the solenoid test. Does the starter turn now?

JFYI, kill switches work by preventing spark. They do not keep the starter from being cranked over. Instead you just crank and crank (no start) until the battery is dead. Also there is often a safety interlock that prevents the starter from turning unless the brake is applied, but we can ignore that because the solenoid 'clicks'. If the interlock wasn't working you wouldn't hear the click.

 

The starter started right up when I jumped it with my car. Embarrassed to say, I bought a fresh battery and it runs like a charm. I figured that if it was getting enough for the solenoid to click and for the alarm to go off when I hit the remote that there was enough juice. The battery must have had a bad cell in it. Guess I will have to pull it and put it in the basement over the winter next year. I have a very happy little boy again!! Thanks again!!!

 

Glad you got it running again .

But you need to do one more thing: Start up the quad and run it at a fast clip in neutral with the headlights off. Measure the battery voltage right on the battery terminals while doing this. You should have 13.5 to 14.5 volts DC. If you have 12.6 volts or less then your battery charging circuitry is not working. Your quad will run fine, but if the battery isn't getting charged back up it will eventually go dead and you'll be back in the same boat again. Batteries that are not kept fully charged up are very quickly ruined.

If you do read 13.5 to 14.5 volts then you're good to go...

 

Ah! Will do! Thanks again!!