Hi, I'm a newbie here.....with a problem...of course.
I have an older (1995 I think) Suzuki LT-F250. It's not in the best of
condition but it's always run pretty good. I only use it to plow of a small
pond for ice skating. I've had it for about 4 years and have always noticed a smell like burning oil after an hour of use. After I park it there
is usually a little spot of oil number the engine. I always thought it
was a bad seal somewhere, but it wasn't leaking bad so I haven't fixed it.
Well, last week I started plowing and after 1/2 an hour or so I could smell
the oil as usual, but then after another 10 minutes or so it started to
run poorly....kind of like bogging down and then it would clear for a bit
and bog down again. Finally I stopped plowing, took my thumb of the
throttle and it just died. When I tried to start it, I could not get the
Neutral light to come on, there for the electric start didn't work. The headlights to work, but the Neutral light and the Reverse light do not work. So I towed the ATV to the barn and when I went back a couple
days later I noticed a rather large spot of oil and water (melted snow) under the engine. So, I was wondering if I might have burned up something (clutch maybe) that might effect the Neutral switch or some other electrical component. The Engine does pull over with the pull start and but there does not appear to be a spark at the plug. The fuses in the front appear to be okay...not sure about the Neutral relay. Anybody got any ideas where I should start? Thanks for your help, Chip

 

Can anybody tell me where the Neutral switch is, and is it tied to the Reverse light in anyway?

Thanks, Chip

 

although your lights seem to work, my first thought would be the battery, then the electrical/charging system in general. See if charging your battery will at least temporarily solve the problem. A 15 year old voltage regulator is a likely suspect

If your engine will pull with the hand crank, then it isn't frozen (seized) from the oil leak, but that is something you need to address immediately after you check the electrical issues.

 

I actually hooked up a Jumpstart Battery and still no Neutral light or Reverse light and no electric start. I'm not sure where the Neutral switch is but I was wondering if it might be something internal and it got
cooked when it overheated.....I'm just grasping at straws.

 

I'm pretty certain that something is cooked now. I got it up on the lift and pulled out the oil filter and very little oil came out. The small amount that did come out spelled really nasty....kind of like when a brake is dragging on a 10 wheeler...very over powering. Again, the motor does turn over and the plug actually looked pretty good, but getting real hot with out any oil must have caused some damage somewhere. I don't suppose there is a low oil safety shut off feature on these things..is there?

Thanks, Chip

 

The Neutral switch is in the front just to the right of the handlebar down shaft and there is another on the top of the trans in the middle.
I bypassed mine by finding the wires under the seat, they were on the right side........now mine starts in any gear..........no more trying to find neutral to restart.

 

Thanks very much for this info. I will check it out and let you know how I make out.

Chip

 

Well, I pulled all the plastic off this weekend and started trouble shooting.
I found the Neutral relay in the front, behind the battery box. I pulled out the relay and jumped two of the connections and was able to get the Neutral light to come on....starter didn't work but I'm guessing that was because the other two pins for the relay provide that power source. So, does this mean the relay is bad, or does this just mean that I need to check something else? Thanks for all your help.

Chip

 

The problem is more then likely in the switch on top of the transmission and it's a pain to get to.....you will have to remove the rear fairing.....do you have a wiring diagram for your ATV? My switch went bad on my ATV and I just tap into the wires that go to that switch and bypassed it(easy way),what it does is disables the switch and sends the connection power to ground, the neutral light stays on(key on)....I like this better because I don't have to find neutral to restart the ATV.
The switch cost around $80.......the bypass wire about 5 cent.

 

Actually that was the first thing I checked. I found what I think is the Neutral switch on top of the transmission, right behind the exhaust pipe.
I could see one wire that went from the switch, over the top of the motor to the other side of the frame. I traced the wire and found it had male/femail connection. I unplugged it and took a test wire and plugged it in and grounded it to the frame...nothing..still no Neutral light...that's when I went looking for the relay. Does this mean the switch is okay and the relay is bad...or could they both be bad?