96 big bear 4x4 no neutral light

[Josh Cornelius]

hey guys, new to the forum, need some help.. got a 96 big bear 350 4x4 I'm bringing back from the dead and can't get the neutral light to come on to save my life.. both neutral switches are good and registering in neutral and relay is good but still no light and no fire.. any other ideas to try?

[Ajmboy]

Welcome aboard! Check these fixes to see if it helps..

 

[Frank Angerano]

Hey Josh. Welcome to Quadcrazy. There are a few different relays on that bike. One is dedicated just to the neutral operation that brings the light on.  Have you checked that relay? Also the relay brings in a few other relays as well so you have to make sure that all relays have a power supply 12v going in and a ground going in as well   Power to the relays allows them to close and complete ignition and starter circuits. So if your handy with a tester I can help you through it. 

Also you said you tested the neutral safety switch? There is a wire on that switch. Take a look at the diagram it’s indicated as “Sb”. That wire essentially is grounded when the bike is in neutral bringing on the light. Put a jumper from ground to that wire and see if the light comes on. And then go to all the relays and see if you have a 12v feed and ground wire going into it.    Also have you tested the stator coil?

[Josh Cornelius]

@Ajmboy I watched that video and had already checked the grounds and added a new fusible link (the factory link was gone).. I wish he had gone a little further than just common problems cause his video was the only one even close to mine.. 

[Josh Cornelius]

@Frank Angerano I'm assuming the neutral relay is Workin because I could hear it clicking when I touched the ground to the switch while in neutral.. I used a volt meter on both neutral grounds and both had a closed circuit while in neutral and broke it when shifting out of neutral.. I haven't tried a jumper wire yet, was tryin to get everything to work on it's on before I had to force it, but that's definitely a good idea.. one of the other relays is reverse and I'm assuming it works because it clicks when I shift to reverse and the reverse light comes on.. I replaced the ignition coil and stator tryin to see if I could get it to fire, but no luck without neutral light.. I also used my volt meter on the neutral grounds and they were both good grounds to the battery and motor.. and by testing the neutral switch I just read continuity from the switch to the end of the wire while circuit was opened and closed.. (no reading opened and got a reading when closed circuit).. I will try a jumper tomorrow and check the other relays and let you know what I find.. if you think of anything else to try feel free to add.. all help is greatly appreciated..

[Josh Cornelius]

also, this could be a cdi problem right? neutral, and firing are both tied into it..

[Josh Cornelius]

ok, update: tested all relays, all are working, used a jumper and bypassed the neutral switches and got the neutral light to come on but still no fire.. also found a blue and white wire coming from the headlight, start, run\off switch that apparently got really hot as most of the coating was burnt off of it but didn't burn any others.. according to the wire diagram that wire runs from the run\off switch and goes straight to the cdi and is basically a ground because it connects with a black wire while in the "run" position.. I'm guessing that may have fried the cdi but the black wire isn't burnt.. any ideas? could the cdi be ok? maybe I could just ground the blue wire coming from the cdi and see if it fires? thanks for all the help.. that diagram was extremely helpful @Frank Angerano.. appreciate that

[Josh Cornelius]

ok, scratch that blue wire, it goes to headlights and taillights lights.. not affiliated with cdi.. 

[Ajmboy]

2 hours ago, Josh Cornelius said:

ok, update: tested all relays, all are working, used a jumper and bypassed the neutral switches and got the neutral light to come on but still no fire.. also found a blue and white wire coming from the headlight, start, run\off switch that apparently got really hot as most of the coating was burnt off of it but didn't burn any others.. according to the wire diagram that wire runs from the run\off switch and goes straight to the cdi and is basically a ground because it connects with a black wire while in the "run" position.. I'm guessing that may have fried the cdi but the black wire isn't burnt.. any ideas? could the cdi be ok? maybe I could just ground the blue wire coming from the cdi and see if it fires? thanks for all the help.. that diagram was extremely helpful @Frank Angerano.. appreciate that

Maybe that on/off switch is shorted?

[Frank Angerano]

So yes the cdi coul have  taken a hit if that wire is burnt up.   Most likely a momentary cross of the battery terminals or someone cranking the hell out of it while jumping it with a car.  One or the other.   It would suck if someone had put the battery wires on the wrong spot.  They may have changed the main fuse after there mistake so you may never know. 

Have you tested the stator coil ? Ohm meter? Test? 

[Josh Cornelius]

I have not ohm tested it because I just replaced it yesterday.. do you think I should with it being new? also, how could I test if it's sending signal to the cdi? the cdi is getting a good ground to it but nothing is coming out so I figured if I could test to see if something was goin in the cdi then I figured that would narrow it down to the cdi.. my key switch is acting funny too, if I barely turn it towards off, it kicks out the relays before it's even off, and sometimes I have to play with it to get it to kick them on.. seems like the whole electrical has taken a hit from something.. might as well replace the key switch, cdi and whole harness, by then it should work.. lol

[Frank Angerano]

Lol, new everything !!!! yea something catastrophic has happened.   Hopefully it was limited with the damage.  I would def replace the ignition switch.   Unfortunately there is no way to test the cdi. And they can be costly. I would continue testing everything before you pick up a cdi as per the repair manual specifications and go from there. 

I didn’t realize that you replaced the stator coil.  

That ignition should be replaced to rule out the neutral light.  Or any other contacts inside the switch aren’t making proper contact. 

Have you double checked that the neutral light bulb is good as well as testing of your wires leading to the bulb ? 

[Josh Cornelius]

yeah, they on up there.. I have 200 in the bike and a hot shot cdi is 195.. lol.. key switch is only 9 bucks tho and a full harness is 100.. so even if I replaced it all 500 bucks ain't bad at all.. but yeah, so far I replaced stator, ignition coil, carb and intake.. yeah, the neutral bulb was bad so I swapped it with the reverse bulb temporarily because it was working and it still never came on until I bypassed the neutral switches.. so I'm assuming one of them is bad also.. but jumped, the light does come on now..

[Frank Angerano]

So that light comes on when you jump or by pass the switch ? 

[Josh Cornelius]

yep..

[Frank Angerano]

Ok, how close to the switch are you jumping it out? Reason I’m asking is maybe the wire is broken inside some place ? May not be seen to the naked eye because the conductor is broken inside and the outer vinyl jacket is fine?  ESP if there were burnt wires. And if your jumping it right at the switch then the switch def has something going on. You may get a closed circuit when you test it but it may be a poor connection.  

I’m not sure how that switch works I am   going to look into it out of curiosity.

I just replaced  one on a Kawasaki where the switch itself was not bad but the part that touches the switch was.  The spring loaded contact that touches the contacts on the neutral safety switch  is what was causing the problem.  It was on the engine and part of the shifter mechanism.   But still no spark which leaves me to believe the cdi May be your problem is something was burnt up like you said. So that may solve the spark problem. But that neutral safety switch seems to have a problem.  

[Josh Cornelius]

I jumped it at the end of the wire where it plugs into the switch, so it's definitely the switch.. well there are 2, one on top of the motor and one on the bottom by the shifter.. the top one triggers the relay so I believe it's good, but the bottom one does not trigger the relay and I didn't test it, but I'm pretty positive it's the neutral light culprit.. and I recon I'm gonna spring for the cdi and key switch and see where that puts me.. plus at least at that point I'll know they are new..

[Frank Angerano]

Good idea.   Is it an oem cdi? Aftermarket cdi boxes have had a lot of problems.   

Also have you stripped the plastics off of the bike to expose the entire harness ? It’s always a good idea.  This way you eliminate any further problems of identifying anything else that burnt up. 

[Josh Cornelius]

it looks to be the factory cdi.. and yes, I have all plastics off it for that exact reason and it looks pretty good except a few broken coatings I fixed already.. just haven't fixed that burnt wire to the headlights..

[Frank Angerano]

That’s great.   You can also (if you have time) you can test some wires from point A to point B. Use a tester and just ring them out to make sure nothing is broken, burnt or shorted. Put a tester on one end to the other.   

[Josh Cornelius]

will do.. I sure appreciate all the help bud.. gonna order a cdi and a key switch within the next day or so and once they get here and I get them on, I'll let you know of any changes..

[Frank Angerano]

Sounds good! Post some pics of you can. As WSU’s good to see some work in progress.  

Good luck and be patient. You will find the problem.  

[Josh Cornelius]

wsu's? and will do.. after this one, I have another bike I bought that's supposedly out of time.. but the big question is why.. also, with the other bike, I don't know what it is or the year model.. that's another problem.. no stickers and it had a like a paint stamp serial number and that thing is long gone.. I do know it's either a Timberwolve or a wolverine 250 4x4.. I'll post pics of it too and see if anyone can guess what it is.. lol.. I got it and the big bear together for 200 bucks.. so even if they needed new engines they were worth it.. but both are complete bikes and all plastic is in good shape so I couldn't pass em up..

[Frank Angerano]

Lol typo. It’s good to see progress photos is what I meant tontupe lol . 

Tyere is a vin number on the frame of the other bike . Find it and clean it up. That will tell you the year make and model. 

[Josh Cornelius]

ahh.. gotcha.. lol.. and yeah, I know where it was suppose to be and cleaned it up but those models weren't stamped in to the frame.. it was just some type of ink and it's gone.. done been rubbed off from sticks and grass or whatever..

[Frank Angerano]

I’m not so sure about that.  Where did you look. Not saying your not wrong but I have an 82 and 85 machines .They have stamped vins 

[Josh Cornelius]

I looked in the same spot as the big bear.. on the left side of the frame right around the back of the front tire.. that's where I was told they all were..

[Frank Angerano]

I am surprised. Some of the older machines had riveted on tags. Keep lookijg I have a feeling you will find it. 

[Josh Cornelius]

the bike should be somewhere in the middle to late 90's.. a youtube video I watched is what told me about the ink stamp on the frame.. but maybe I'll get lucky..

[Frank Angerano]

Post a pic of the bike of you can.  I’m interested in seeing if we can identify it. 

I bet your anxious on the new parts to come for the other bike.   I always hate waiting for parts.