No spark 97 Kawasaki Prairie 400

[Kansasprairie400]

Was riding my prairie 400 the other day started to miss out and then just died no spark I pulled the seat off. The battery was swelled up. I replaced the battery would not start no spark pull the control unit and there was a round quarter inch hole broken out of the Gel coating on the back. I figured it was an internal issue and ordered a new module still no spark, replace spark plugs and coil still no spark. I’ve checked all the wiring and cannot find any issues. I am not that tech savvy and really need some help. Anyone have any ideas? thank you.

[Gwbarm]

The only thing you havent replaced is the stator and pickup coil i might look in that direction something caused this wheather it was a loose ground poor conection somewhere or voltage spike. Check to make sure your CDI has good voltage supply and ground . battery swelling up sounds like a  charging problem might also check the voltage regulator.

[Kansasprairie400]

I’m not even sure where those items are at. I will have to do some investigation and see if I can find a Parts manual. Thank you

[Kansasprairie400]

https://a.co/d/aVVmF2i
 

I assume this is what I need? Is the pick up separate from this?

[Gwbarm]

There is a service manual for it in the manuals section on this site

[Gwbarm]

Thats the stator, the pickup coil is attached to it on some bikes, but not yours. It appears to be separate. That part is for battery charging. The pickup coil causes the plug to fire when the magnet on the rotor goes past it. It is under the crankcase cover but before you tear into that there are tests you can do with the meter to determine if it is bad. It tells you in the service manual the correct resistances for a good coil, its possible neither are bad.

 

This is the pickup coil:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Pick-Up-Kawasaki-1997-2002-183-2065-59026-1110/dp/B084RJ952X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=39CT0V21SUK9M&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bFaF7gjMjq2Jdo4FwLE89SGxsiS7hiv5zZ5QUztKizbTm_nsJ_f5nbiAM5rQm_UcHDVAMP70mJF9ERZB4uZ7780IqPo-Dv9ow25V5ZOFpKdWe7E0BEsMw6LwTz2H5r4fQgUPknEJTBeYzayE5267y9YABFdPS6gzYKYx4Yj-oZ0pbGkqLc6jdLZVOw5wGQ_tsTi_wHXxwJ5O0nhyltMg-iqR2Pu0MRtq8OGWGwz7zxpfH7u9z9YWXaRrP9C74GK-TsWZMMduDnx8Fe4DD9NEykTspOvSq2ooX0toGtq-c8c.rOhv1-yXT8aF1L9Ydu7GudOkQ_6yC8_98g9JmnItCos&dib_tag=se&keywords=97+kawasaki+400+pickup+coil&qid=1747796344&s=automotive&sprefix=97+kawasaki+400+pickup+coil%2Cautomotive%2C114&sr=1-3

 

You can unplug it from the harness and check the resistances and also check to make sure its putting out voltage as you rotate the engine, that is best done with an anologue meter the needle is more sensitive to small voltage spikes but its fast you have to look closely or you will miss it.

[Mech]

The original breakdown sounds like a battery and charging problem. Was it the voltage regulator you replaced ?

Have you checked the fuses ? I'd be checking the charging.. the bikes earths and power wires. 

Check the cdi has a good earth and a power supply if it is meant to have one.

Get the service manual and it will say how to check the charging, and the ignition..

[Kansasprairie400]

I thought the stater may be malfunctioning due to the battery being swelled up. Is there also an external regulator somewhere? I’ve been watching some videos on how to check resistance. I will do that first before I tear into the side case. I assume there are probably some gaskets I would need also, if I did do that.

[Mech]

#1 "I replaced the battery would not start no spark pull the control unit and there was a round quarter inch hole broken out of the Gel coating on the back.".

What was that "control unit" ? I'm guessing that was the voltage regulator. If the cdi unit had blasted a big chunk out of itself, then I don't think the bike would even start to idle..

Start the bike and let it idle then turn the headlights on and see if the bike dies. If it doesn't die then try revving it with the headlights on, and then with them off, and see if the headlight makes a difference to how many revs it can get to..

[Kansasprairie400]

No spark. It will not start. I replaced the CDI unit and coil/splug wire and splug

[Gwbarm]

This is the voltage regulator should be attached somewhere close to the battery.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Caltric-REGULATOR-RECTIFIER-KAWASAKI-Prairie/dp/B00KOR3JXY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=27BKH1Y3WPA0N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Mq6Eg3h1J_je8whkUrN6dwAzcF5Qf_kHQP171pYHemg-l3gKjB9c5Pe9QGfR9GBSWBnYiUn2glWcq7Diy6aJKs--SKZRJ8q1QNxSOgDNRZUj3lC7OhNCPCV1CCAhyA44ZbGra_iqFhc2rFaOLDLfj9qjEGjfG4UWalygLMlILa6Xhr44xA6Smw9he_53GlSMbwpizuibaZj73qMuYMD0mjzJVj9PwDMAui4s8SMfH2wuXdqSamZ39DNXRi_1YrgLkwDg-SCmeC4xsNIxQ2Bfk5Wg7gd-qYk9-gpY4LDjIng.KyPXdGVHDTH2GtpMI6_zf2JYX9R33BqmOQZuFcDKing&dib_tag=se&keywords=1997+kawasaki+prairie+400+voltage+regulator&qid=1747844997&sprefix=1997+kawasaki+praire+400+voltage+regulator%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

[Kansasprairie400]

OK, thank you I will look for it. Trying to download the manual from the site however it is really confusing. I haven’t figured out how to do it yet.

[Gwbarm]

Go to the downloads tab, chose ATV repair manuals, go to the right and chose Kawasaki, find your manual , click download and it should go into your download folder, then click on it and it will open up, or thats the way it works on my Mac.

[Kansasprairie400]

I guess I have to have 10 posts and I currently only have eight so that’s the reason I can’t download the manual

[Kansasprairie400]

I’m skeptical ordering Chinese replacement parts from Amazon. Are these parts adequate quality or should I attempt to find OEM?

[Gwbarm]

I agree completely OEM is always better if still available, i only sent the link to show you what it looked like, but parts like that i have used and have not had a problem with, but i shy away from Carbs and CDIs i prefer to fix my OEM carbs with OEM parts. I have seen aftermarker CDIs not work right out of the box.

[Mech]

Ok, I'd still be checking the charging system very carefully. Something bad has to happen to make a running quad suddenly get a swollen battery. It takes something serious to make a cdi blow a chunk out too. The two could be related. Something as simple as a broken earth wire could cause these problems and you could end up replacing more parts without fixing the problem.

Have you checked the fuses ? Have you used a gauge to check the wiring for continuity ?

[Ant-Knee]

Hi. Did you ever figure this one out? I also have a '97 Prairie so I am curious. Thanks