Ha.. The other "mechanics:.. They had a spare washer so just tossed it in there.. Good spotting. Well done finding the wiring problem.. It's funny how often people start throwing expensive parts at things without even checking the wiring or switches..

Good you found it, and the stray washer also.

I want a Big Bear because it was manual shift and geared lower than others, seems to have more pulling power, its not as fast as others, but I really wanted one to do work, haul cars, boats, and tasks around the yard, plus go in the woods.

1 Hour of chipping away, and my first gimps of the circuit board. it would be ten times faster without all those mixed in white plastic bits.

There ya go..

Thanks!

Ha.. I think that's normal. I don't have one either. It's to stop us patting our own backs.. But don't worry Gw.. I see you're getting plenty of the thumbs up..

Now I have a really dumb question, every body else that posts except for me, has a little thumb at the bottom of their post, do I have a setting wrong or what's that all about. Just noticed that.

The biggest problems I know of are wiring and electronics, the engines and transmissions are very reliable.

Eugen, if you test the stator and the trigger coil resistances from right at the cdi they you are also checking the wiring at the same time. Then check for power and good earths right at the cdi. If all those are good then check for output from the cdi when it gets triggered. You could use a test light with a bulb.. the bulb will probably blow but as long as it's not glowing all the time, but just flashing brightly(and possibly blowing), then it is charging the cd and it is triggering. If you have a read in "looking for a cdi... ", I've just posted some general notes about diagnosing faulty cdi/wiring/stator and triggers, and some other things that can cause it besides electrical faults.

This might be helpful: Not a grizzly but a good diagnostic video

Need to follow the voltage. You said you checked resistance but didn't mention voltage. Have to get a wiring diagram and follow voltage from the battery all the way to the CDI then back to the coil. As well as the pickup coil voltage.

When the cdi discharges normally it's going through a coil with nearly no resistance anyway.. And, once that wire shorted the engine stopped, so apart from your cranking it over it shouldn't have fired many times. It might be ok still. Repair the wiring and try it..