2000 Kawasaki Prairie Help!

[Jameya]

You guys are my last resort. Got a 2000 prairie 300. Brand new battery, neutral switch, aftermarket carb, spark plug, silenoid, key switch. Fuses are good. No neutral green light, will crank if cross the silenoid, but won’t start. No power at the ignition switch or regulator. I’m thinking cdi box or starter relay. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Gwbarm]

If you are not getting power from the key switch to starting motor, i would look for the starter cutout relay that would keep it from turning over when you press the start button.

[Jameya]

Thanks, I may need to replace the relay. It seems like I’m getting no power from the battery forward so might be the problem. Should I have posted this is the Kawasaki forum? I new and just realized there was one….

[Gwbarm]

No this is fine, most generally look at all the new posts to see if we can help. Welcome! 

[Mech]

You need to get a service manual which will have a wiring diagram in it, and you need to use a test light to check wih the diagram that the electricity is getting through the wires to the places it's meant to be going. There's every chance that there is a broken wire or a bad connection in the wiring,  and not some electrical component.

Wires mostly break right where they go into the metal terminal on the end of the wire, and they often break inside the insulation with no visible evidence, but if you wriggle the wire gently it will feel too floppy because there's nothing but plastic holding it. The other problem they can get is dirty connection where the wire's crimped into the metal terminal.

Some wiring looms also have wires joined internally, inside the taped up loom, and some of those connections are crimped and can get bad connections. Those you just have to deduce are bad connections by noticing there is power on one side of the connection and not the other side.

Connections in wires are shown as a black dot where the wires cross in the diagram. Wires that cross without a dot aren't connected.

You need to start by checking the earth wires are connected and making contact, then start at the battery and follow the wiring diagram to the switch and reg etc checking there is power as there should be. Use a test light because highly sensitive electrical gauges can deceive you.

If you have any trouble reading the wiring diagram let us know and I'll explain it to you.

Edited October 24, 2024 by Mech

[Joeguy]

I actually just went through this with basically the same quad and my problem was that the person before me had the white wire that goes to key switch spliced in the middle and going to some other wire instead. So ya like these guys are saying just check all wiring and atleast get power up to the key switch.

[Jameya]

I actually do have a service manual but not a very good multimeter. I do have a Tesla light that I can use though. so the best thing to do is to remove all the plastics so I can get to the wiring harness and just chase hot wires.? 

[Mech]

Yeah taking the body work off will help a lot.

The problem with a gauge is that they will show full voltage even if there's a real bad connection sometimes, and the voltage will only drop once the electrical load comes on. If you look up "voltage drop test" it will explain the proper way to use a gauge to find bad connections. It's easier to just use a test light with a regular old hot wire bulb in it because that will put a small load on the circuit and if there's a bad connection the light will be dull. If the tesla light has an led or something that doesn't draw a bit of a load it might not show up bad connections.

[Jameya]

Thanks for all the help on this. Really appreciate it! I will check and let yall know what I find. 

[Jameya]

Had no power to key switch, so I used the Hotwire from the rusted out 12v outlet. Got a neutral light and electric start works. Problem is I replaced the oem carb with a aftermarket zoom zoom carb. Plug has spark but will not start. It was running w the oem carb before but idled rough.   Should I try rebuilding the oem carb and ditch the aftermarket? Thanks again for your help!

 

[Gwbarm]

You can probably get it to run on the aftermarket carb by doing some adjustments, some times you have to adjust the throttle cable, it wont let the throttle plate go all the way back to closed to get full choke, also the choke plunger could be a little different, did you put the choke plunger that came with the aftermarket carb on or or you using the original one. 

With all that i think i would still clean up the OEM carb and use it i think you will get better performance from the original carb.

[Mech]

Yeah I'd try to get the original cleaned and set. They set them up just for the bike they are going to put them on. If you set the float height just as the book says and clean and check all the jets are the right ones for that very specific carb number, not just cv24 cast on. but something like two letters and two numbers stamped into a flat part of the carb body, then you know it's all set for that bike and it's carb angle and engine and everything.

If you fit a carb that's made to sit flat onto an engine that mounts it's carb at an angle, then you are looking for problems.

[Jameya]

Gentlemen, I used the plunger that came with the aftermarket carb. Mech, I have noticed this carb sits at an angle compared to my Honda’s carbs, which are level. The carb seems flooded to me. At one point gas overflowed into the breather box. I did try adjusting the float and may have bent the tab the wrong way. Thanks again for the help! 

[Mech]

Yup well find the numbers on the original carb and look that specific carb up in a genuine service manual and it will tell you what and how to set the float to and what size every jet and needle should be.

Not all engines are the same and carbs are made and set up for very particular engines. The after market carb they sell you might fit on the bike, but they are never set up and tuned for any particular model.

[Mech]

i just had a quick look in the two manuals i have for models similar to your's and I see they don't mention the stamped in numbers I say it should have, so you'll just have to identify your model carefully then set the carb as the book says.

 And I see they only give a fuel level, not a float level.. That's a complication because you need to check the level with the carb still fitted to the bike, and you have to choose where against the carb body they mean when they say to set the fuel 2mm below the carb body.. The carb body's bottom surface is going to be on an angle. I'd measure the fuel level where it would be around the main jet I think, then adjust it by trail and error till it seemed right.

[Jameya]

That sounds like good advice. 
My experience is on Hondas. 
They are carb friendly compared to these. I’m about to get on it right now and I’ll report back. 

[Jameya]

I’ve had no luck with getting this carb set. Now instead of hard to start, it is easy to start but as soon as hit the start button the bike runs wide open til I turn off the handle bar switch. like the throttle is wide open and stuck but it isn’t  Any idea why it’s doing this?

 

[Jameya]

Anybody know what would cause it to run wide open upon starting?

[Gwbarm]

Look at the throttle plate inside the carb make sure it is not jammed open or stuck also check the cable make sure its not sticking.

[Mech]

It can't rev if no air is getting in, so, yup, check the throttle cable first, that's the most likely, then check the butterfly is actually closed off and not either bent or being held open by the idle speed screw.

If the throttle/butterfly is closed then check the inlet manifold isn't leaking.

[Jameya]

Just turned idle screw down. Running good atm. Never did get the aftermarket carb to work. I did use a jet and pilot screw from the Chinese carb in the oem carb. Appreciate the help guys. 

[Mech]

All good. Have fun.

[Gwbarm]

Thats strange the aftermarket never worked they usually start with them and need adjusting, must have been way out of adjustment. Anuway glad you got it running.