Alright, I have an old 1987 Fourtrax TRX125 and am having a spark issue with it. I have tried multiple plugs in the ATV and it seems like it will spark the first time you pull the recoil starter (battery is dead due to sitting) but then won't spark until it rests for about five minutes, then the same thing happens again. I tested the coil and have 12v at the black and green wire when pulling the recoil starter, and if I plug in the black wire and test from the green terminal to the ground or to the green wire, I get 12v. Every time I pull the starter, the green neutral light does light up, so I know he magneto is working and producing power. I also get power at the coil terminals and coil wires every single pull, but it only sparks on occasion as stated above. Does this sound like a bad coil? I am kind of tight on funds, being in college and between jobs at this time, but I would like the machine to run so I can at least keep it running.

 

So nobody can tell me if this is a coil problem or something else? I don't want to waste money on replacing good parts, and I am kind of lost here.

 

 

Holy heck! That's great information, I owe ya'. I actually came to the conclusion that it was the points, but after pulling off the recoil starter and not finding any points, I came inside to ask where they were, and found this wealth of knowledge. I am now going to assume that it is the pulse generator or something due to it sparking once and never again until it rests for a few minutes. I'll follow he guide and figure it out.

I was able to download the Yamaha shop manual for my 400 Kodiak and for a friend's 660 Grizzly, but is this possible for the Honda? What you pasted appears to be PDF images, or really good scans. If I can download this manual, could you tell me where to look? Oh, and the Yamaha downloads were legal.

 

Don't know what happened, but taking out the CDI unit and washing it with soapy water fixed the problem. Guess it had some corrosion on the terminals. I also blew out that on/off/reserve valve with an air compressor and put everything together, and found a new, larger problem!

No fuel made it into the engine, so I pulled the carburetor and when I opened the bowl, it was bone-dry and filled with a white, chalky substance. I dumped it but it was all over everything, the bowl, the needle, the jets, everything! I brushed out as much as possible and then realized the needle-valve was stuck, due to the white crap.

I pulled it out with a lot of effort and time, but the plastic piece on the float that pushes it up broke. No biggy, it can't cost much, but then the needle was frozen inside the carburetor housing. I pulled it out using channel-locks, and it was white inside the hole in the carburetor. I used a small fillips-head screwdriver to clean the sides of the hole, but the top part I could not safely reach.

Would a rebuild kit be worth my time since the housing may still contain some of that white crap, or do I need a whole new carburetor, which I cannot afford any time soon. The computer on me piece of junk Dakota broke and I need a new one. The circuit-board somehow cracked in half while it sat in my driveway one night. Most troublesome truck ever.