No neutral light, no spark issue

[Flyingw]

The diode terminal block is probably about 1/2" square made of white plastic with only two wires going in to it on a plug. Look at the attached pic. I have circled what I believe is the diode terminal block. Its fairly close to the CDI.

[Atc70noob]

Okay, that is what I remember with mine, definitely clearing it up for me. Appreciate it greatly, I am going to go ahead and order the diode thingamajig and have my brother try it out as he is much closer to it than I. Hopefully we will make some progress on this.

[Flyingw]

Ok cool. Keep us posted.

[Atc70noob]

Finally got around to replacing the diode block, no neutral light but it e-start cranks over. No spark. So now I am thinking to disconnect the key switch to try to isolate that, disconnect the kill switch...if the light still doesn't come on then replace the CDI...does that sound like a good plan to diagnose? Anything else I can try? Please help, this big red is my workhorse and I am forced to lamely ride my riding mower around LOL.

[Atc70noob]

Okay, I still have not been able to figure this out. I have a used CDI on the way to my house that I am going to try. I am hoping that I can get some riders to chime in on what I am hoping will help me diagnose if it is not my kill switch.

So when the trike is "key on" and the kill switch is on "run" the neutral light should come on. What happens if you turn the kill switch to "off" but leave the "key on". Does the neutral light shut off? What about the reverse light if you put it into reverse?

I cannot remember what happens during all this in my several years of riding my big red. I am hoping it will tell me that it is or is not my kill switch.

I am pretty sure my ignition switch works fine because I can get my reverse light to come on when I put it into reverse. I just cannot get the neutral light on.
My brother is convinced it is the ignition and I am convinced it is not.

[jakep53]

any time the ignition is "on" the neutral light should be on

[Flyingw]

You need to put a meter on the neutral switch down on the clutch cover and see if you are getting a ground when the tranny is in neutral. Of you don't, then there is a problem with the switch probably a worn tip. If you do get a ground, then trace the wiring from the switch connector all the way up to the light. Remember, positive battery power is always sitting at the light. Its the ground from the switch that completes the circuit and turns the light on.

In post 19 you said the estart works but no light? The same ground from the neutral switch also goes to the starter solenoid so is the estart works but the light doesn't tells me the neutral switch is working. Perhaps the bulb on the dash is bad or the wiring between the switch and light is bad.

Its also possible you have a bad pulse coil or the exciter coil may be bad. Have you put a meter on those to see what the resistance is? The key switch only energizes the main harness with battery power but in the off position, it also kills the CDI in the same way the run/stop switch does by providing a ground to the CDI to keep it from charging.

[Atc70noob]

Yeah I think the neutral switch works fine cause I can ground the wire itself on the frame and get nothing for neutral a light for reverse. I will check the pulse or exciter coil. Does the neutral light stay on when the switch is on off? Not the key but the off or run switch on the left side of the bars?

[Flyingw]

Yes, the light stays on. The key switch is what switches power on to the main harness so as long as the key switch is on, the light should work and the light should work no matter what position the run/stop switch is in..

[Atc70noob]

Yes, the light stays on. The key switch is what switches power on to the main harness so as long as the key switch is on, the light should work and the light should work no matter what position the run/stop switch is in..

Okay that narrows it down somewhat. I have an extra coil from a parts lot, I'll check the resistance of that and see what I get. I do not have the bike at my house right now so I've gotta diagnose as much as I can before I get back to it at my cabin. It's really stumping me. I am convinced it's the cdi because it acted so weird before it died. Almost like losing power and the neutral light flickered on and off. Then bam no spark and no neutral light. I checked every wire and fuse. Once I get my cdi in, I'll get back up there and mess with it some more.
Thanks so much for the input, I'm usually pretty good at fixing these things as long as it's got spark and is a carb issue. I once chased around a spark issue on a atc70 and I ended up just buying a whole new cdi and stator to avoid the points.

[Atc70noob]

Okay update time:

No neutral light, no spark. Starter spins fine but something is not quite right there, is not turning the engine.

Pulled starter, and voila stripped gear. Dug into starter reduction gears and more stripped gears.

Where have the broken teeth gone? Pulled the flywheel case and of course the flywheel and stator is trashed. Replaced the flywheel and the stator with ebay units. The weird part was the replacement stator had two wires at the pulse generator while mine had two. Still had the same plugs at the end to hook up to the wiring harness so I installed it.

Replaced the reduction gears and put the cover back on the case. I had to get creative with a ratchet strap around the flywheel and I hooked it up to the front motor mount hole to hold it in place while I torqued it down.

Checked for electric start and all I get is a buzz at the solenoid. Of course the battery is low.

Kicked it over and I now have spark!!!
Still no neutral light....weird.
Took about 15 kicks for it to start, started much easier after those 15 kicks. It had sat for half a year not working so 15 kicks is not bad in winter at 32 degrees.

We decided to track down the neutral light issue and it came down to a loose wire at the back of the bulb socket rubber. It was not visible until we tugged at the wires and a wire popped right out.

The light and the no spark issue were unrelated and finally the issue is resolved. It has been running really well and I am so glad to have it running!

One issue that we ran into was after I rechecked the schematic for the flywheel cover, I had realized I did not remember a washer going on the shaft before the bearing for the flywheel gear. Do you think it would cause major issues if it were not there? I do not think it fell out when I replaced the flywheel but I cannot say I remember seeing it either. I did notice there was a little in and out play at the gear when I pushed it in and out away from the flywheel. I already have it all back together and I am thinking about pulling it back apart if I need to.