1986 bayou 300 starting question
 

I have a '86 kawasaki bayou 300. 2x4, shaft drive, electric start and have a question. it's always been slow to start, which i attributed to a weak battery and have lived with that. well today went to start and after a bit of the starter turning i heard it finally get a good spark and go to start, then nothing. now when the key is on, button is put to run and i push the start button nothing. no clicks, no whine, no starter... silence. i'm getting power to the key as the neutral light comes on. what i'm thinking is:
-battery too low to spin starter
-starter frozen
-start button burned out
-possible cylinder is stuck and starter gear is engaged

i don't think there's a starter solenoid on this machine as i'm used to dealing with. any thoughts before i start digging in? thanks

1986 bayou 300 starting question
 

look for the wire that goies to the starter and fallow it to the starter silinoid. try to jumd the silinoid at the two post and see if the starter turns over. what that does is bypass the starter button the silinoid and sends power strait to the starter

1986 bayou 300 starting question
 

Does it have a pull start?Did you try charging or replacing battery-try jumping it?

1986 bayou 300 starting question
 

THere is a solenoid and you should hear a click at least. Check your fuse. Charge your battery. THe alternator on the quad is NOT a battery charger. Pull the rope a couple times to make sure the starter is free and not in a bind.

1986 bayou 300 starting question
 

no pull or kick start on this one, only electric. will charge the battery tomorrow and try to jump the solenoid. thanks for the real quick replies. let you know how it goes. sounds like it might be a fuse or such as no clicking whatsoever.

1986 bayou 300 starting question
 

got the plastic off, disconnected and blew out a few connections. then moved out back. looks like the ignition coil was a bit loose. ended up being just a bad connection.
got it running. time to buy a new battery though. thanks for the help.

1986 bayou 300 starting question
 

No problem!

A weak battery will heat up an alternator and shorten its life. Better to buy a new battery or charge the battery real good than it is to buy an alternator later.

Question? Where is the fuse? I have the same problem but when I try to jump the solenoid it does nothing. It's my first kaw and bayou and I kinda got taken for a ride buying it.. my fault so whatever but any help would be great. I put a new starter in it.

Can't remember where the fuse is on a KLF, but shorting something metal across the solenoid terminals will by-pass the fuse anyway, the bike won't start, but the engine should spin over on the starter. If it doesn't, you have either got a very flat battery, bad connections to it, or the engine is seized. Charge the battery, check those thick wires to earth and solenoid, and if it has a pull start, pull it to check the engine turns over.

Engine is free. I have voltage going going to the starter circuit relay and negative volts coming out? Click at tje relay when i bypass the key and tap the 2 ignition key wires together. But the starter won't turn and the relay makes a click.

Cannot jump the selonoid ether won't jump over. Good voltage from the battery 10.49

10.49v is way too low, 12.5v is about right unless you are testing with the start button pressed. Fist make sure your battery is sound and fully charged, and the heavy leads, live and earth, are clean and tight. If you still get nothing when you jump the solenoid, it looks like a faulty starter, but if you want to be sure the tests are below:-

I've posted this a dozen times, wish the moderator would make it a sticky. If the solenoid clicks but the starter won't turn, get a fairly high wattage test lamp and connect it to starter lead from solenoid and earth, switch on, press start button, if the lamp lights brightly but the solenoid doesn't turn you have a faulty starter (or seized engine, but then the starter usually tries and groans, also light is dim). If the solenoid clicks but the lamp doesn't light, you have a faulty solenoid, if the solenoid doesn't click, the solenoid may be bad, or the fault is further back in the wiring or start button.