I bought a beater LT230S to fix up. The guy who had it before me half-asses everything, so I have alot of work to do. The thing that is keeping me from riding it is the ignition. He said he replaced the pick-up coil and the ignition coil. The spark is still weak to non-existant. I will probably have to replace the CDI, but I would like some advise before I spend that much money. Is replacing the CDI going to solve the problem? Or should I look elsewhere? Thanks

 

I'm sure you changed the spark plug? Sorry, I 'm not real educated on that electrical crap.

 

Yes, I changed the spark plug. Sorry, I forgot to add that. The system seems pretty basic. Trigger coil, CDI, Ignion coil, plug. I am hesitant to change the CDI because from my experience with cars, the thing either works or it doesn't. This works at least a little. The guy I bought it from said the spark gets weaker the warmer the engine gets? I am just looking for some ideas. Thanks.

 

Hows the spark plug wire? Usually the cap part, will unscrew, and you can ohm check it. Sorry i dont have the specs, but someone with a service manual, or the dealer could tell you. If the resistance is too high, itll cause a bad spark.
Also try ohm checking the coil, primary and secondary. There are specific values, for those resistances, and if its too high, itll cause a weak spark.
Check all the grounds,going to the frame and the negitive post on the battery. if they are corrorded or crusty, they could cause too much resistance as well.
Hows the battery voltage? Is it at least 12.6 volts while running?
Id only replace the cdi as a last resort, and the bummer is, most arent capible of being bench tested...they are replaced after everything else checks ok and still no spark. But seeing how you have some spark, id say the cdi is good.

 

That was very helpful. The wiring is a mess. I am trying to get my hands on a service manual. I will start working from the plug wire backwards. Thanks

 

Link

Check link for sevice manual and parts.

 

Unfortunately, I think it is your CDI based on my experience. I have owned several quadsports and have had trouble with the CDI in them twice. Surprisingly, even when the CDI's were bad, the bikes still ran - just crappy. My experience was that my quad would run real good and strong and all of a sudden, it would have no power and would actually sound louder (plus the header pipe would almost get cherry red hot). Then, all of a sudden, it would start running good again. It was very sporatic, but it always ran. I tried everything and finally swapped the CDI from another qsport and it fixed the problem. Also, I got 2 or 3 used CDI's from another guy to try and at least 1 of them was bad also. I think it's a common problem on these great little bikes.

 

i am having the same problem little or no spark but i just bought the whole wiring system with cdi and coil for 36 bucks so im just going to replace everything.

 

the C.D.I. aint no big deal at all to replace, 3 screws and like 3 wires harnessed, so all you do is unplug them and unscrew the ground from the frame. as for the bad spark, I would check the lead inside liek somone mentioned before and check the ground wire, and then if that didnt work, i would take off the left side engine cover and check the stator, this means all the wires are connected and the surfaces on the mag and stator arent rusty or corroded. and onther thing is, if your left side cover was smacked with the chain at one time and was Spam wordSpam word Spam wordSpam word Spam wordSpam word Spam wordSpam word er-rigged together the stator might be cocked just right to throw it off.

 

It has a new left cover. The triger coil and ignition coil have been replaced and look very new. I am waiting on my service manual and clymer manual. I am going to try and eliminate every thing but the CDI as the problem before I replace it. I am going to completely restore it. It has had a lot of half *** fixes do to it. I ned parts if anyboby has anything, let me know. Its a 1986 LT230S.

Thanks