My 2001 rancher 350 4x4 is acting up. When i would put the machine in to neutral, the light would not come on, i would have to click it into gear,then back into neutal a few times and then the green light would come on. Some times in reverse, the neutral light would stay on and the red reverse light would not come on. If i shut it off in neutral, but the green light wasnt on, it would not start. I had to fuss with it for a long time in order for it to get the light on in order for it to start.Now it will not start and the green light will not come on eventhough it is in neutral. Because hondas dont start in gear, is that why machine wont start?? I think because the neutral light wont come on but its actually in neutral, the machine doesnt sense that its in neutral. Everything on the dash works, the oil light comes on, but reverse and neutral dont. What could have failed, a short in the wire, blown fuse??? the ignition cant sense that its in neutral, it always thinks its in gear. ne help is appreciated

 

come on guys, someone had to have had the same problem with tgeir machine

 

Your neutral sensor sounds like it is not working. If your have a multimeter check to see if it is grounding when shifting n to 1.
it should make or break contact when shifting back and fore.

 

Look through the old post. If I remember correctly someone else mentioned they had this or similar problem. It was a simple fix of just pulling one of the sensor and cleaning it.

 

I am assuming it is a manual shift. Do as Trxray suggested. Take the seat and the black plastic on the right side off and you should see a few connectors by the right back fender. Mine was the third connector from the right with two wires. The connector can be removed from the bike by using a screw driver in the top. If you look at the top of the connector you can see the metal tab it is attached to, use the screw driver to push the plastic tab on the connector away from the metal tab and lift. The connector should come off. Use a small screw driver to push the plastic tabs on the sides of the connector to take it apart. I used an ohm meter to test the neutral gear. I put one lead on the Lg/R wire that goes to the switch and the other to the top of the carburetor, when in neutral the meter read 0 ohms (short circuit) and OL (open circuit) when in any other gear. This should tell you if the gear position switch is working.

If it is a manual shift you can tap into the Lg/R wire to install a cheat switch and start the bike in any gear. Get a toggle switch and connect one side to ground and the other side to the Lg/R wire that goes the gear position switch. When you turn on the toggle switch the neutral light will come on and the bike will start in any gear. Be careful to make any wire connections as water tight as possible.

Let us know how you make out.

 

thanx for the tips
i checked out everything and looked at the box type thing under the fender
i called the local dealor, and he suggested i just bring it in and they will check the whole system. its under warranty, so ill go that way. the reason i wanted to try and fix it myself is becuse we live quite far from the dealer
thanx for the input