I am working on a 1988 300 4x4. It has no fire whatsoever. It ran perfectly the last time it was ridden (couple of months ago). I have checked fuses connections etc. everything seems in order. All other electrical parts are working fine. Should I have power at the coil when the key is on? Where else should I check or what could be bad. Please help me.

 

If you have power to coil and no spark then coil is bad.(most of the time) Put a plug into the plug end and see if it sparks while cranking engine. While cranking engine also see if power drops off going to the coil, you may have a big short inline to the coil.

 

Check and make sure your battery isn't hooked up backwards. I have seen where if a battery is hooked up backwards it will crank fine but won't fire because the coil is not being energized. If that checks out OK and you don't find anything wrong with DaFormans suggestion, then you may want to look at your carbueration and make sure your air/fuel mixture is good. You may be flooding it or not giving it enough fuel. If the fuel is really old, it may also be your problem. Is your fuel valve open? Did mice make a nest and plug off the air filter? I wouldn't suggest it if I haven't seen it!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Mice like to chew on wires too. Make sure you try a NEW spark plug. Possibly one of your kill switches (key switch or emergency) has become oxidized. Try flipping them back and forth about 25 times. Find your ICM, or sometimes called CDI box. It's underneath the front fender in front of the main steering shaft. Unlock and pull the couplers off, plug them back in and try again. Still no luck? Pull the couplers off the CDI again. Check for battery voltage on the black wire with the white stripe, with both switches in the run position. If it lights your test light, both run switches are good and your ignion is powering up, best to get a manual to troubleshoot it. If it doesn't, you have a poor connection to the battery through those switches.

 

Dzzy, I think you are on the right track. I don't mess with Hondas much so I am kind of in the dark. It is a new plug. Checked for fire before I even installed it nothing. Just to get it straight there are two square boxes in front of the stem one is larger than the other which is the ICM? And the black and white wire should be hot when the key is on correct?


Thanks for the help guys.

 

The bigger one is the ICM. Yes the black\white is the power supply line that runs from your battery through your two kill switches. It should light your test light when the key is on and the kill switch is in the run condition. I think the other wires to that box will include: green - ground , blue or blue\yellow - pulse generator , black\yellow - to the coil and maybe a yellow - ac from stator. Honda calls this ignition set up DC-DCI, so it is a battery ignition. However it is made with a power feed from the stator and designed to be provide good spark even with a weak battery. Anyway, I am writing this from memory, I will try to remember to look at a manual at work today to verify.

 

Yes, my previous post is correct. You will find two couplers on the ICM with all the wires I previously mentioned plus a light green\red which is for the neutral switch. The smaller box next to it is for the oil\temp warning light.

 

Thanks for all of the info. When I checked for power at the box it was good so after plugging it back in I had fire. Guess it was just a dirty connection. If I need any more assistance I'll give you guys a yell.

P.S. Youguys aren't near as bad as the other Polaris guys let on. LOL [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

we do what we can. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

You not outta the woods yet codeman. You could have something broken in the CDI box. Allow the machine to idle and pull the box off its rubber mounts and move it around, shake it a little. If your engine dies while you are doing this, replace the box. BTW, I read the Polaris and other forums once in a while too, and they all got their weirdness. Couldn't help but follow a Kaw thread awhile back that had about a million posts about the "new nasty secret weapon ATV they were coming out with" at their recent dealer convention in FLA. After much ado it turned out to be some kind of utility machine with a BA box on the back. Talk about anitclimax. LOL.