Yes there is but intermittent electrical is the worst to find. I think if you unplug the reg\rect it will cause the machine to lose spark (of course that's if you have it to begin with), but I'm not absolutely positive. You should also check out the stator, as it too, can cause your model to lose spark.

 

At this point, I am at a loss. I have checked and rechecked all components in the ignition circuit. I still cannot get any readings from the Regulator with the probes in either direction. I realize that Red+ to any other is no continuity, but Red- is the same way to all other wires. Green+/- and black+/- are the same way. I have to think that perhaps I am doing it wrong, but I would not think so.

The voltage is present on the CDI only when the ignition is in the RUN position, so that circuit seems to be good. I do not see the problem being the new CDI that I purchased, but you never know. The Stator ohms out perfect between the yellow wires, with nothing to ground. Right now, the problem is not intermitten, so I should be able to figure it out.

I have not given up on this thing yet, but I am losing a lot of hair over it.

 

You may have to scale up in ohms quite a ways in order to get a reading on the rect. I use a fluke meter with a diode tester, which works excellent. Usually I get readings like .000 one direction, and something like .436 in the other. If you get inconsistent readings in any set of three tests, the rect is bad. You could do a cranking AC voltage test on the three phases of your stator...you should have consistent readings on all three in the area of 15 - 30 VAC, depends on how fast your engine is turning over.

 

After checking measurements again, I do believe that the regulator is faulty. I found a guy with a '97 TRX300, are the elctrical components the same as my '92? If so, I plan to do some swapping until I figure it our for sure. This will be much cheaper than blindly replacing additional parts in determining the exact problem.

If anyone can tell me for sure that the parts will/or will not interchange, that would be great. They look similar, but I have not had a chance to tear it apart to make sure.

Thanks....

 

If the coupler on the reg\rect is the same with the right colored wires in the same terminals it should work. Honda did change the mfg. of the ignition units in about '95 from ND (I think), to Phillips (American made) so that may not be interchangable.

 

Dzzy has everything pretty much covered, this guy obviously knows what he's talking about. We need more technicians like him; hats off dzzy. I'll mention one more thing that may help if the rectifier turns out not to be the problem. I'm not sure where you probed the wires with your multimeter, most people do it right at the CDI. However if you measured all the components at their connectors, set your meter to the continuity buzzer and check to make sure don't have an open wire somewhere. Twice last year I was working on no spark conditions (79 Honda CT70, 81 Honda scooter) and the problem turned out to be an open in the wiring harness. I had checked everything twice like I usually do and decided to check all individual wires with my continuity buzzer. Both machines had the same problem and I saved myself a lot of hassle by going an extra step. One of the machines had been worked on for two days by another tech and every possible ignition part had been switched with a known working machine. Just a thought, good luck with your igniton problem.

 

Ya good point. Harness problems aren't common but they do happen. Also the the terminals in the couplers, particularily the tiny ones like the 1mm pin type can become loose fitting and cause a head scratch or two. It pays to be thorough doesn't it ATVtech1? And it REALLY sucks to spend two days on a 79 CT70 only to have another guy find the problem in minutes LOL.

 

I checked all of the wires in the harness. All have less than 0.2 ohms resistance which is probably in the meter lead contact points. All of this comes out good.

The Regulator/rectifier looks to be the guilty party. I know that if the thing is not present, that it will not have spark. I am assuming that this is the case if it is blown as well, but I am not sure. I am getting MegaOhms resistance in the direction that I should get infinity. I am getting infinity in the direction that I should be getting continuity. I tested this last time with a Fluke 87 meter, so I feel that these readings should be accurate. I hope to make it to the bike shop tonight and have them retest. If this is bad, then I will need to replace it for sure.

I really hope that this solves my problem. Thanks for everyones suggestions thus so far. If anyone else would like to add a possibility, or knows for sure that a blown Regulator will definetly cause this problem, please let me know.

I will post again on my findings.

 

Any news?

 

Nothing promising. I took the regulator to the local shop, which I trust very well, and they pretty much told me that the regulator is not the problem. They used a diode check to test the thing, and all connections worked as they should, voltage one way but not the other. However, if you use simple ohm readings, neither of us could get anything that remotely looked like the book said we should get.

Since they do not think that this is the problem, I am still at a complete loss. They suggested that I put the entire system back together, test continuity on the back of each connector in case there is a connection that is simply not being made. Although I have not had a chance to check this out, I doubt that I will find that this is the case since all of my readings at the CDI connectors are good. But at this point, I am going to take time, hopefully tonight, to carefully check every connector just to be sure.

Currently, my best hope is to locate a similar if not exact ATV that will have the same electrical parts to allow for simple, old fashioned, part swapping to locate my problem. Everything that I am trying logically is simply not working. I am not willing to blindly purchase each part individually only to find that it may not fix it at all. After talking with my local Honda shop, they suggested purchasing the CDI (which I did), then if that did not work, purchase the coil, the the exiter coil, then the stator, and finally the voltage regulator. By that time, it might be cheaper to buy a new quad if I factor in the labor to do all of that. I was told that this is how they would handle the problem, but they assured me that it would fix the problem.

Well, I guess I am just going to keep guessing for now. Thanks for staying interested ATVtech1 and dzzy, it means a lot to me to know that others are willing to share in my agony.

If anyone knows for sure what years will be interchangeable and what models, that will be very useful information in my search for a compatible donor. I am pretty sure that on the TRX300, I have a '92, but I think that all of the models from '89 thru '94 are the same. But if a 250, or 300ex are compatible, I am willing to try those as well.