When I hold the start button down I get no spark. When I tap the start button I get a spark every now and then. I have done all the test on the stater coil, pulse generator, ignition coil and wiring that is call for in my manual and it all checks out. I put the ignition coil module on another bike and it ran fine. I also swaped the rectifier to the other bike and it ran fine.

Any ideas

 

HOW ABOUT THE BUTTON ITSELF?

 

I'm gonna go with the starter button itself, too.

 

turn the key on and jump the solinoid

 

The starter button is working fine the spark plug is not firing and I am not getting 12 volts consistently to the ignition coil only when I tap the starter button in short burst.

 

Cool, just what I like.... A puzzle, lol. Well, my guess is the stater button has nothing to do with it. As long as the key is on AND the kill switch is on "run", the spark plug should spark if the engine is somehow turned. Will the starter still turn if the kill switch is on the "kill" position??? If it will not then we can rule out the switch having anything to do with it. If it will then maybe the kill switch is faulty. I think most bikes the starter will still turn with the kill switch on kill. You symptoms make me think the kill switch is shorting out as the voltage rises to 12 from the cdi. And that is why u get a spark after a short punch of the button, but no more after that.

Maybe a wire somewhere is shorting out to the frame or the hot engine melted some insulation off a wire. Check all the wiring for something simple. Check for corrosion on the battery terminals and for a good ground to the battery. Lack of good grounds make for funny water cooler talk after you pull all your hair out trying to find something more complicated.

My next guess would be the pickup coil (you didn't say you tested that). The pickup coil tells the cdi when the piston is at TDC and then the cdi sends a signal to the ignition coil to fire. Since you tested the cdi and the ignition coil, the only other thing would be the spark plug itself (or the plug wire).

Let us know when you get it figured out.

 

Ok Randy heres the problem. I changed the stater and pulse generator and I still have the same problem only about $250 greater and I failed to mention it earlier but I did test the plug the plug cap and wire. I guess I will start tracing out all the wiring. What do you think?

 

Check the yellow wire on the solenoid and make sure its grounding properly.

 

Are you sure the kill switch is working right? I remember one time I almost tore the whole bike apart looking for a bad wire when the kill switch was on, lol. I dont think manufacturers should let the starter turn when the kill switch is on, but they do and you'll sit there wondering why your bike wont start. Make sure you check all the little things before shelling out big loot or you'll feel pretty lame later on. If I was you, I would disconnect the kill switch entirely,,, remove the wires from it and then see.

There is one little wire coming out of the cdi for the kill switch and if that wire finds a ground, the spark stops. We now know the stator and the cdi works (pulse generator, whatever). The only things left are the kill switch, the coil, and a rogue wire somewhere.

 

Hold on to your hat I found the problem. It was the rectifier yes I said the rectifier.
If you remember I took my rectifier off and tried it on another bike and the other bike ran. Well today I took the one from the other bike and put it on mine and I have all the fire that I need. Put this one in your memory bank. I think the 96, 97 and possibly the 98 foreman 400's work this way all others use the rectifier only in the charging system. There is no mention of this in the clymers manual about this. A lesson well learned $$$.