neutral/reverse light questions

[Homeless Dave]

To start with, the machine im working on is the 1987 250es with a china cdi. If you go back, i have posted about it before. I recently purchased the machine and am trying to make it slightly nicer. Anyway, to make that cdi work, the neutral safety wire had to be directly grounded. This makes the neutral light always be on. I was wondering if anyone could help me find a way to make my neutral and reverse lights work properly again. If i am not mistaken, the switches in side the case create a ground, thus letting the lights come on.Would it be possible to do some extra wiring to make that system work correctly while still allowing the cdi to keep it's ground? I am not worried about having a proper neutral safety, i just want the lights on the dash to work right. My starter is not wired up (wires cut to the starter button and missing the solenoid) so i am not worried about that yet either.

[MrConcdid]

Hi dave,
I followed a link here and changed the round plug and went square Chinese CDI as well on a 200es I was selling. It ended up costing just shy of $50 parts and shipping (cdi/coil).
I must say, that I just replaced another CDI $13 and Coil/wire $12 free shipping on another bike I am selling a 200m, from ebay. I ordered two of each to keep some in stock. I flip bikes for fun and always need a spare.
My point is the ebay replacement is cheaper, fits directly in the round plug and does not screw up the indicator lights.
I will not be switching out any future bikes to modern CDI.

MrC.

[Dirtcrasher]

Yes, the switches create the ground, are you sure the engine switches were working??

[Homeless Dave]

I know the switches inside the case work, the cdi I have is causing the issue. It was a cheap China one, it needs another ground, so I unplugged the neutral and reverse plugs from the side of the engine and permanently grounded the neutral wire. If I reconnect the wires to this correct location the neutral and reverse lights work correctly. If left plugged into the case switches, the cdi will not spark once I put it into gear. I am going to try a few solutions I have thought up to see of I can get it right.