shrek18 8 Posted March 25 (edited) Hey there, Newbie to this page but not Hondas. I have a foreman 4x4 es that is in my shop my buddy was having trouble with. It would start and run fine then die and not restart until some time would pass. He brought it over and it fired up and idle then died after about 10 min. It wouldn't restart. I pulled it inside and still no start. I pulled the plug and it had fuel. Put a new plug on and grounded it to check spark and it had none. Since they use this machine 3 times a day to push feed up he said to get it up asap. I saw regulators were a common issue on these and this unit had a factory one so I changed it out along with a coil and ICM. I put a new plug in and those parts and I still have no spark. I need to get a peak voltage adapter for my meter to test but is there anywhere else I can check and troubleshoot further? I didn't see any bad wiring anywhere or obvious issues. I'm starting to wonder if it's in the alternator brushes not having any output. Also I noticed the regulators are quite different in appearance. I uploaded a pic of them side by side. Also the machine is tore down so any ideas are appreciated as now is a great time to trace out wiring. Thanks everyone Edited March 25 by shrek18 Add pics and more details Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 25 3 hours ago, shrek18 said: Hey there, Newbie to this page but not Hondas. I have a foreman 4x4 es that is in my shop my buddy was having trouble with. It would start and run fine then die and not restart until some time would pass. He brought it over and it fired up and idle then died after about 10 min. It wouldn't restart. I pulled it inside and still no start. I pulled the plug and it had fuel. Put a new plug on and grounded it to check spark and it had none. Since they use this machine 3 times a day to push feed up he said to get it up asap. I saw regulators were a common issue on these and this unit had a factory one so I changed it out along with a coil and ICM. I put a new plug in and those parts and I still have no spark. I need to get a peak voltage adapter for my meter to test but is there anywhere else I can check and troubleshoot further? I didn't see any bad wiring anywhere or obvious issues. I'm starting to wonder if it's in the alternator brushes not having any output. Also I noticed the regulators are quite different in appearance. I uploaded a pic of them side by side. Also the machine is tore down so any ideas are appreciated as now is a great time to trace out wiring. Thanks everyone china junk ^^ !. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 25 41 minutes ago, shadetree said: china junk ^^ !. So the bigger one is the original one to the atv since I've worked on it in the last 12 years. It may have been changed out prior but the new one is OEM honda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 25 9 hours ago, shrek18 said: So the bigger one is the original one to the atv since I've worked on it in the last 12 years. It may have been changed out prior but the new one is OEM honda i looked your yr/model up, that is the correct reg/rec. but if you got it from amazon ?..then its china junk..china parts don't like honda atvs..lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,611 Posted March 25 Yep, first thing I'd do is get an OEM regulator on there. Even if you have to order a used one. The aftermarket electrical stuff never works long on these Hondas, if at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 25 As far as I know it's honda. It came in a Honda oem bag and i ordered it from rocky mountain atv on the oem page. I'm tempted to swap out the coil and put the old one back on instead of the new China one I got from RMATV. But the ICM and Reg are both factory honda parts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 25 3 hours ago, shrek18 said: As far as I know it's honda. It came in a Honda oem bag and i ordered it from rocky mountain atv on the oem page. I'm tempted to swap out the coil and put the old one back on instead of the new China one I got from RMATV. But the ICM and Reg are both factory honda parts if you got it frm rmatv ?, then chances are its oem from honda. i was saying anything you buy from amazon is china. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 25 I did go out and put the original coil back on but left the new oem icm and reg on and still no spark. I don't know what else I can do until the peak voltage adapter shows up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 26 1 hour ago, shrek18 said: I did go out and put the original coil back on but left the new oem icm and reg on and still no spark. I don't know what else I can do until the peak voltage adapter shows up. i looked up a 2002 trx450FE, and the reg/rec is square, are you sure this atv is a 2001 trx450es ??. this is very important !. reason: the yr models changed with the last prefix letters on the model number. the '01 is called trx450ES, and the 2002 is called trx450FE, even both are the same design by being 4x4 ?, the eletronics may have changed, hense why you got a odd shaped reg/rec, where the old reg/rec is square. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 26 At one time I had found the vin number. It was stamped into the frame. I couldn't find a tag for it. I wrote it down best I could. I will go out and double check in a short bit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 26 So the sticker on the front left frame is long gone. Is there somewhere else I can find a number ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 26 These are both pictures out of the factory service manual. I can try to see if there's a frame serial number on here but i have no idea if that would do me any good. Is there any other way to find it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 26 19 minutes ago, shrek18 said: These are both pictures out of the factory service manual. I can try to see if there's a frame serial number on here but i have no idea if that would do me any good. Is there any other way to find it? in the front, very middle of frame, under front fender, is a flat steel plate, this is where the vin# is stamped, 17 digits, from left to right, see what the 10th digit is ?. more that likely the plate is under that winch !. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 26 478TE224034423189 IS What I'm seeing.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 26 21 minutes ago, shrek18 said: 478TE224034423189 IS What I'm seeing.. lol..that is a 2003 trx450FE !!. 10th digit, my cheat sheet says its a 2003 trx450FE. this explains the c.d.i. , reg/rec not working !. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 26 7 minutes ago, shadetree said: lol..that is a 2003 trx450FE !!. 10th digit, my cheat sheet says its a 2003 trx450FE. this explains the c.d.i. , reg/rec not working !. Yea that would. The old registration from 2006 was listed as an 01.... glad the vin cleared that up. I will order another regulator and see what I can do. At least the ICM is the same on the 03 as well. I'm hoping that's the fix. Thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 26 24 minutes ago, shrek18 said: Yea that would. The old registration from 2006 was listed as an 01.... glad the vin cleared that up. I will order another regulator and see what I can do. At least the ICM is the same on the 03 as well. I'm hoping that's the fix. Thank you i hope it does...keep us posted on what happens !. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 28 On 3/25/2024 at 9:21 PM, shadetree said: lol..that is a 2003 trx450FE !!. 10th digit, my cheat sheet says its a 2003 trx450FE. this explains the c.d.i. , reg/rec not working !. Ok so the correct regulator is now installed. I cranked it over and no spark still. I swapped out the coils and ot made no difference. Now I'm back to head scratching Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 28 8 minutes ago, shrek18 said: Ok so the correct regulator is now installed. I cranked it over and no spark still. I swapped out the coils and ot made no difference. Now I'm back to head scratching try putting old c.d.i. back in. check for kill switch not centered ?, make sure neutral light is lit on dash ?. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 28 Kill switch is centered and it was replaced 6 months ago. Swapped the cdi and no diff. Neutral light works as it should Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,611 Posted March 29 Welcome to the “no spark” club with me and @rich250rracer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 29 Do we at least have matching jackets? lol 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 29 5 hours ago, shrek18 said: Kill switch is centered and it was replaced 6 months ago. Swapped the cdi and no diff. Neutral light works as it should have you tried a new spark plug ?. have you ohm'ed out the stator ?. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shrek18 8 Posted March 29 I hav put 2 new plugs on it. I have not Ahmed the stator. I'm currently checking the yellow wire between generator and the icm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shadetree 5,869 Posted March 29 2 minutes ago, shrek18 said: I hav put 2 new plugs on it. I have not Ahmed the stator. I'm currently checking the yellow wire between generator and the icm you need to just ohm the stator with a multimeter. and where did you get the left switch from that you said you replaced 6 months ago ?..plz don't tell me amazon !. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
