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Mbenko

2000 Honda Rancher 350 No Spark

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Good afternoon all,

 

I have a 00 rancher with no spark. It has sat for about 10 years. I replaced the ignition coil, cdi and what I believe is the rectifier. When hooked up all lights come on and starter turns over and all fuses are good. When I check for voltage of any form at the black/yellow and green wire I get nothing. This led me to check the stator yet all ohms readings were in range. Prior to going into replacing the stator or pick up coil I wanted to get some opinions of what it could else be since it appears to be like an absolute task to replace. 
 

Thank you in advance 

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Welcome to the forum , first question always is ,  did you use OEM Honda parts or Amazon/ E-Bay after market stuff ---- next thing comes to mind with a 10 year sitter , mice , wring issues

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Along with inspecting the harnesses for mice chewed wiring issues, each of the wiring harness connectors should be opened, cleaned with brake clean or electrical contact spray and then dielectric greased before snapping them back together. You'll need to remove both fenders in order to access them all. Also loosen the two bolts that connect the black negative ground battery cable to the motor and to the frame and shine up both of those grounds with a stiff wire brush or some sandpaper. There is another harness ground bolt on the right side of the frame below the steering head area in the front, next to the CDI that should be shined up as well. Finally, check every fuse using a multimeter to insure that none of them are blown and unplug & dielectric grease the fuse sockets. If the ignition is still dead after prepping the harness plugs, grounds & fuse sockets, check the ignition switch with a multimeter before doing anything else.

 

You can download a copy of the service manual linked from here for reference:

 

Keep us updated as you work so we can help you.... and Welcome to ATVHonda!

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Thank you guys for the prompt and I formative responses. I’ve since taken all plastics off and checked, cleaned, and greased each connector. I’ve also cleaned and re did the two frame grounds. Sadly the issue is still present. I’ve also gone around with voltage meter and found 12v at two wires I believe at the ignition switch with the key flipped. 

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Good work! Now it should be fairly easy to find the fault since you've prepped the electric system and have verified clean grounds.

 

Before you begin diagnosis make sure that all ignition parts that are on your Rancher are Genuine Honda parts. Reinstall the original Honda parts if you have them, or if you have replaced anything with china parts from amazon, ebay, etc. The reason this is important is because china aftermarket parts do not work on Honda ATVs. We can't diagnose the Ignition system and we can't fix it either, if any china knockoff parts are on it.

 

First step is to verify that ya got a neutral light on while the ignition is turned on and the trans is in neutral? The battery must be in good condition and fully charged.

 

Then check for battery voltage through the ignition switch and the handlebars kill switch with a multimeter. You'll need to turn the ignition off (never unplug or plug in a component while it is switched on), unplug the CDI (mounted on the right-side front of the frame), switch your multimeter to DC volts mode and poke your red meter lead into the CDI harness plug where the Black/White stripe wire is and poke your black meter lead into the CDI harness plug where the Green/White stripe wire is. Turn the ignition switch on, kill switch in "Run" position. You should measure battery voltage (12.6v or greater). Now move your black meter lead to the frame ground next to the CDI and verify that battery voltage exists. Turn the ignition off. If you do not measure battery voltage on the Bl/W wire, stop right there and let us know so we can fix that. If battery voltage is present then continue to the next step.

 

Next check for battery voltage where the Green/White stripe wire is in the CDI connector. Poke your red meter lead into the Green/White wire and hold your black meter lead on the frame ground next to the CDI. Battery voltage should be present while the ignition switch is on.

 

Next check that the Light Green/Red stripe wire in the CDI harness connector provides a negative ground while the transmission is in neutral. Poke your red meter lead into the Black/White stripe wire in the CDI harness connector and poke your black meter lead into the Lg/R wire in the connector. Turn the ignition switch on. You should measure battery voltage there.

 

That completes the power & grounds portion, let us know what you have learned and then we'll continue on through the next steps.

 

 

 

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Thank you for this super in depth response I greatly appreciate your time. I just tried the second step where I turn off my ignition key and test voltage from the ground beside CDI and BI/W wire and found there was no voltage. Please advise. Thank you in advance. 

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Did you turn the ignition switch on before you measured voltage between the Black/White wire and Green/White wire inside the connector?

 

On 5/1/2021 at 2:09 PM, retro said:

Then check for battery voltage through the ignition switch and the handlebars kill switch with a multimeter. You'll need to turn the ignition off (never unplug or plug in a component while it is switched on), unplug the CDI (mounted on the right-side front of the frame), switch your multimeter to DC volts mode and poke your red meter lead into the CDI harness plug where the Black/White stripe wire is and poke your black meter lead into the CDI harness plug where the Green/White stripe wire is. Turn the ignition switch on, kill switch in "Run" position. You should measure battery voltage (12.6v or greater).

 

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Yes when I did that and I got 12.6 V

 

When I did the BI/W I got no voltage 

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I'm sorry, I am confused. Which two wires did you measure when you got 12.6 volts?

 

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Ok great, how did the remaining tests go?

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Hmm... the G/W is ground, that sounds impossible.... Lets recap and correct me if I am wrong here: You measure battery voltage between the Bl/W and G/W inside the CDI connector, but no voltage between Bl/W and frame ground?

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Is your Rancher model a TRX350FM, TRX350ES, TRX350TM or TRX350TS? I want to be sure that I am looking at the correct wiring diagram for your Rancher.

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I will verify model shortly but this step Now move your black meter lead to the frame ground next to the CDI and verify that battery voltage exists. Turn the ignition off. If you do not measure battery voltage on the Bl/W wire, stop right there and let us know so we can fixthat.“ resulted in no voltage 

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The ignition must be on when you measure. Turn it off after

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Ok thanks for clearing that up!

 

So... the only way that I can find on the wiring diagrams for there to be voltage between the Bl/W & G/W, but NOT between the Bl/W and frame ground while the ignition is on, is a bad frame ground where the negative battery cable bolts down on the frame. I'll try to explain.... since there is voltage between the Bl/W & G/W wires indicates that the G/W wire is grounded to the motor (through the alternator windings ground - the negative battery cable is connected to the motor providing that ground). But since the Bl/W wire has no voltage when you touch the frame ground indicates that the negative battery cable is not grounded to the frame.

 

Check the ground bolt on your frame where the red arrow in the image below is pointing:

 

rear-ground.png

 

This is an image of the wiring Diagram for a TRX350TE/FE. TM/FM models have the same ignition circuits. If you trace the G/W wire from the CDI to ground you'll see how you can have a ground between the Bl/W & G/W (motor ground) but not at the frame ground.

 

00-02-rancher-te-fe-wiring.png

 

I hope I am not confusing you.... the negative battery cable bolts down in two places: the motor cases and the frame. So the motor can be grounded just fine while the frame may not be grounded. Follow me?

 

 

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When I re did the frame ground on the rear I must not have cleaned it up good enough re did it and found spark. Started right up! Thank you so much for your time and detailed analysis. It is greatly appreciated. Excellent forum 

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Hey, it was a lot of fun! I'm tickled that your repair didn't require any parts and we had great communication! Stick around, we are a friendly & grateful bunch....!

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24 minutes ago, Mbenko said:

When I re did the frame ground on the rear I must not have cleaned it up good enough re did it and found spark. Started right up! Thank you so much for your time and detailed analysis. It is greatly appreciated. Excellent forum 

Glad you got it going -----  hang out , there is about a thread for  every thing  , and if you don't find one you like , start another thread 

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Got any photos of your Rancher?

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It’s really rough looking at the moment. Give me two weeks and hopefully we have something worth posting. 
 

sadly my victory over the spark was short lived. Currently facing another issue...in the last week I’ve been waiting on fuel valve, choke assembly, and carb cleaning. I’ve got the carb in about as good a shape as possible but there’s some rust still prevalent on it. While it will idle kind of just fine but sometimes not ...the moment I put any throttle on it it dies. In addition the bottom drain plug leaks like no other no matter how hard I tighten it. Should I spend the $200 and get a new one before this things catches fire? I would think this would also fix my throttle issue. 

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28 minutes ago, Mbenko said:

. In addition the bottom drain plug leaks like no other no matter how hard I tighten it. Should I spend the $200 and get a new one before this things catches fire? 

the drain plug should have a o-ring on it ---------  can also leak from the primer or the float valve sticking and overflowing out the overflow hose 

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