I have a 2001 honda rancher 4x4. The neutral light comes on and moves around in different gears. Sometimes no light at all in neutral. and will start only win light is on, even in gear......... any idea

 

dead battery?

 

Sounds like the shift drum is broken ... We replaced a lot of them in 2000-01 .. The gear position switch runs in the "T" slot at the rear of the shift drum and when it breaks it still will turn just not at the right spot .. So neutral may be any gear or may be hard or impossible to find ..

I'm not saying that's what's wrong with yours but if it has a neutral light that jumps around I would check it .. It is possible it's a bad neutral switch but not likely ..

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Is this something that I can fix or does it have to go into the shop. Were is it located........... How much is the part?

Is this the same problem that people say to ground the neutral switch wire.

 

The shift drum is inside the center crankcase .. In the US a shift drum would be in the $50-60.00 range and you'd need gaskets etc. .. Yes you can ground the neutral wire then the bike will start in gear ..

 

Is the wire I need to ground the the left side of the bike. Right behind the shifter going into the engine.

 

Hey Buddy, I have your solution:
First the wire in the rear of the gear shift is engine light/heat~

Now, to fix your problem:
Remove driver's left hand panels. See the 4 wire harnesses?
Left = lights (thicker of the 4), MiddleL = Neutral switch (green)
The harness is plugged and mounted to the frame. You will notice there are 2 wires coming out (upper end of plug). There is a green wire. I gently scraped the rubber from the copper. Then I stripped an old cord (any type will do) about 10 inches long. You will need to ground one end; I unscrewed one of the 4 carb screws halfway, wrapped the extra wire's end, and rescrewed it to secure the end. Now touch the grounded wire to the newly exposed neutral switch harness green wire. The machine should start no matter what gear.
IF I TOLD YOU THE WRONG WIRE, I'm sorry - this is from memory. If it wasn't the green wire test the other one the same way by holding the ground to it and attempting start. The worst thing that can happen is a blown fuse.
Once you've got it figured out, electrical tape it up and your done.