I have a 98 SP500, and It wont start! I worked the carb, and I am getting fuel/air. I checked the spark and it is weak to none and it wont start,On Sat it started and ran then I put it in gear and it died then nothing. I have blisters on my hand because the batteryabout died so i had to pull. I ttried new plugs and nothing. whats next? I think I read something about the 98's having problems with CDI's, but I cangt remember. Do I try a new coil, then CDI, then rectifier, then stator? Help, I Am really frustrated..W

 

Any of the things you mentioned could be a problem, as well as your plug wire and battery. Are you sure your battery is good? Just because it starts doesn't mean the battery is good, if it dies when you put it in gear the battery may not be supplying enough umpf to keep it running, which could either be the battery or the charging system.

 

you can easily check your spark plug wire by taking it off and using a multimeter to check for ohms/resistance of the wire from end to end. the specs for a spark plug wires resistance should be less than 4ohms per foot. anything over and you have a bad wire creating resistance for spark/voltage to travel to the plug.