davefrombc

That is the way it is supposed to be . Starting in gear is a safety issue and all quads are not supposed to start in gear. If yours was , there was a safety switch that wasn't functioning , possibly because it was very slightly out of alignment and is now operating properly. Cars or motorcycles, and other motorized equipment like riding lawnmowers all have the start in neutral only feature, unless the safety lockout has failed or someone has foolishly defeated it .

Spraying carb cleaner into the intake only cleans the throat of the carb and the manifold some .. To clean the carb you need to disassemble it and clean out all the jets and passages .. Especially look for some tiny drilled holes in the jet tubes that likely need to be cleaned out with very thin wire or a welder's tip cleaners .

Check the light bulb itself.

That sounds like a problem in the starter itself. Most likely the brushes are worn and the commutator is dirty. Brushes don't make good contact so several tries may be needed to get it to spin over at times and other times it spins over right away. You can eliminate the solenoid by running a wire directly from the battery and touch the positive post on the starter. If it spins up every time , it can be in the solenoid but if it doesn't spin up every time you do it, it is definitely in the starter. Brushes aren't hard to change. No special tools needed.

You should be able to power the light bar without any problem. You should be able to find the connector you want to tap the light bar relay into the high beam circuit in many hardware stores or electronic outlets. Look for a "T tap" to connect the relay circuit. The wire is likely 16 gauge.

Here is the wiring diagram for that machine. It'll help you trace out the fault. You say there is continuity on the start button , but is there power to it when in neutral and ignition on ? If not , trace back from there, if there is then check switch to relay and beyond until you find the break. Honda TRX 200 service manual 1984 - B. 1984 TRX200(1).pdf

You can tap into the high beam power by using it to trigger a relay to actually power the light bar from a line to the battery. That would turn the light bar on and off with the high beams and no overload the high beam lights wire and fuse. The only way to tell how powerful a light bar you can use is to know the output of the charging circuit, the demand put on the system by the ignition and light circuits when they are on and a little extra to charge the battery. The ignition would likely only use a couple of amps at most. If the owners manual only lists the demand of the lights and any accessories in watts, you can get the amperage draw by dividing the watts by 12. When you know the amount of draw on the alternator the system itself draws and the output of the alternator then it only requires you to choose a light bar whose draw is a little less than the power available after all normal running demand is satisfied. I hope I didn't overly complicate the explanation of what is really fairly straight forward in doing.

When you find out why you couldn't bleed the rear brakes please be sure to post up the solution

Do you develop pressure in the master cylinder to operate the front brakes with just nothing going to the rear? If so , there has to be a blockage somewhere in the line. I'd start at the rear cylinder.. Remove the line from the cylinder and see if you have fluid under pressure from the hand brake. If so, then the trouble is in the caliper. If no fluid, reconnect it and go to the splitter where the fluid is divided between front and rear. If you have fluid there , then go to the next connector and see if you have it there. The blockage will be between the last place you had fluid and the caliper on the rear. I can't find a diagram of the hydraulic circuit for the brake system so I have to make simple guesses and suggestions for things you've probably already tried.

No idea on the plumbing on that quad's brake system , but some of the older cars with a single master cylinder feeding both front and rear brakes had sliding valves to block the line to the brakes on front or rear if a line was damaged . The sliding slug needed to be reset after repair . Have you tries "reverse bleeding" the rear brakes.... Pump fluid from the bleeder back to master cylinder to see if that works ? Otherwise either the line is crimped or blocked somehow between the master cylinder and the brake cylinder.

Did you check to make sure the bleeder hasn't been plugged by dried mud? You may have to remove it to clean it out. With the bleeder screw out you should see fluid come to the cylinder. If not there is a problem between the master hand operated cylinder and the brake cylinder.

That sounds like the transmission might be stuck in both forward and reverse at the same time. The motor will bog because the clutches lock up and the transmission won't let it move. It could be something came loose on the shifting forks allowing both forward and reverse to be engaged at the same time. I don't know your machine so I can't say whether it is an external adjustment or if you'll have to open the transmission to fix it .. Likely an inexpensive fix, but a PIA to do . There is a service manual in the downloads section that should cover your machine .

I am a Honda guy, but in my opinion you can't go wrong with any of the machines made by Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki in any of their 2 or 4 WD versions. Looks like a great find if the internals are as clean as the exterior.

You only need a small ruler to measure the float height although gauges are easier to use accurately .From your description it still seems to me to be running out of fuel ( way too lean) at higher rpm.. That can be because the floats are too low not allowing the fuel bowl to fill to the proper level, a restriction in the fuel coming into the carb, a partial plugged passage or possibly undersized jets. If you still have the OEM carb for the bike try comparing jet size between it and your new one. Sorry I can't help more than offer those suggestions to check.

Check the float level. It may be set too low, and make sure there is no restrictions in the fuel line or possibly in the fuel valve. Your description indicates to me it is running lean/ out of fuel at wide open throttle.

My guess is a wonky temperature sensor. Like all electronics / electric relays and switches , they can go intermittent---- work one time and not the next, then work and fail again at random times. I'd replace it and see. I'm not a Honda dealer or service mechanic but I can't see their thinking in replacing the fuel pump and filter when the bike runs fine until warmed up to the point the fan should come on. That's not a fuel starvation issue that should show up well before the motor reaches operating temperature. That points far more to a sensor/ fan circuit problem to me.

Rather than suction , pushing fluid back from the wheel cylinder bleeds to the master cylinder can clear an air lock if that happens to be the problem. Used that a few times on old auto systems that didn't want to clear trapped air through normal bleeding.

I read through the problem posts and try to offer help when I can. Not a lot of help to offer on any particular machine since I'm only familiar with my own , but I can try searching for free manuals and answer some or make suggestions when searching out carburetion or electrical problems. I have no experience with the new electronic systems . I'm from the carbs,, points and coil days of old.

I searched and like you didn't find a great video or instructions for adjusting your carb , but this exploded view parts list will help you identifying the parts. The idle adjustment looks to be the screw by the fuel inlet. The coughing , backfiring and uneven running is most likely caused by running lean. It is either a setting out of adjustment or there is still a partial plug somewhere.. I hope this helps. https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/atv/1989/moto-4-yfm250w/carburetor

Yes definitely clean the tank too. Get all the old gas and any sludge that settled out of it out .. I have an ol tiller that gas was never drained out of and it sat for years . There was still liquid in the carb but a sticky goo had settled out of it .. The seat for the float pin was plastic and swollen up as well as jets and passages were plugged .. I ended up replacing the carb. I had to completely fluch the fuel tank because it also had that sludge in it .

That's a strange one indeed. Does the battery read the full 12v + with the motor off and just that lower reading when it is running? Turning lights or other accessories on with that low a voltage should kill it rather than make it run better .. I'm wondering if maybe there is a bad diode allowing AC to cause false readings on your voltmeter. What are the readings with everything turned off , when ignition on but nothing running and is it always that low a reading with the motor running? Can't help more than to just suggest those checks to help you diagnose or someone more knowledgeable than me to use to help you diagnose it further .

THe small jets being plugged are most likely the reason it's not running at all. The big jet is the main one for large throttle openings . The smaller jets and holes are for idling and part throttle.. You can use welders torch tip cleaners to poke out the clogged jets. Blow the passages out with "canned air" like they use for dusting out computers .

The first digit represents the country of origin. The most common are: 1 or 4 = USA 2 = Canada 3 = Mexico J = Japan K = Korea E = England W = Germany Z = Italy 2nd and 3rd letters signify Arctic Cat 4th and 5th are model year 6-8 are type (SNW snowmobile, ATV, MPV prowler etc) 9th is a check digit 10th is the last digit of the year (9 = 2009, A=2010, B=2011, C=2012 etc) 11th is a "T" This one I don't know why, just that its always a "T" 12-17 are the "serial number" Your Cat was made in 2010

Glad to see the site back up. I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend.

If I read the schematic right the neutral light (19) and the path to ground for the starter button relay (11) should only be on when the neutral safety switch ( 20) is closed. That would indicate to me the problem is in the mounting of the neutral safety switch. For some reason the switch is open when in neutral and closed when in gear. There is either linkage not set right or is it possible to mount the switch turned 180 degrees? Disconnect the wires from the neutral switch and check for continuity in the switch .. In gear it should be open ( no reading on the meter) and some value close to 0 when in neutral. YFB250 Service Manual - 7a894ceb-c5b6-4f18-a285-6e8cf99f52fd.pdf