86 250R electric, cdi, stator questions?

[Daddydune]

My 86 250R started to fail me. It's run great for years and years. So ridding at night in the dunes last weekend it ran great and then quit. Did the spark plug thing and it started, ran and a few minutes it quit. So discovered if I just waited for a while it would start and run a few minutes and die.
Plug would be a little wet. Kicking would product a backfire in exhaust every few kicks but no start.
Thought it was stator so replaced it and no go!
How do you test the CDI and coil? Any suggestions? It has fuel, just in case you wanted to know and it flows so no obstruction in fuel line.
Thanks.

[bigbadktm]

according to the clymer manual there is no safe way to test the CDI aside from replacing it with a known good one. In the operators manual there is some measurements to take with an ohm meter, but in doing so may ruin the unit...don't ask me, i just went through the same exact thing with my 85 R. Replaced the CDI, stator and coil and my baby runs sweet. there is also a measurement to take on the coil, but it's also cheap to replace with a new one, much cheaper than a stator. hope that helps and that my info is correct

[johnborthayre]

There are a bunch of guides out there on troubleshootng ignition issues. Try to do a google search with your specific keywords.
Try http://www.off-road.com/dirtbike/feature/atv-electronics-series-part-1-ignition-systems-13064.html , for example.

I would first check every connection physically before doing anything else. Unplug every connector on the wiring harness and clean them up a bit and reseat everything. The would include taking the handlebar switch and checking all soldered connections.

Like BigBadKTM said, troubleshooting a CDI can be tough. If you have identified that you do have a spark issue and all other connection are okay (and you don't have a buddy with a working CDI and coil) then it might not be a bad idea to get a new set. A new CDI, Coil and plug wire will run around 120ish.