no spark Yamaha YMF 250 Bear Tracker No Spark

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

Hey y'all. I have a Yamaha ymf 250 BearTracker. I got this thing for free from people whose son tore it to hell. So it wasn't in great shape to begin with. i.e. no indicator lights (neutral light for instance), no ignition switch or key( wires were twisted together to make it run), get the picture yet? 

So when it ran it ran rough and I got it running for a year or two, just something fun for the kids to ride on with me on gravels.

Now just randomly, the start button stopped working so I had to jump the solenoid, then put a temp start switch in. Kill switch would still work. 

However, the thing has no spark what-so-ever. I've check continuity through the start button and it shows the contact is working, ohmed out the stator, everything is in spec, the reg/rec tested fine as well. I've replaced the solenoid on the off chance it could've been bad and the cdi unit as well, along the the little solenoid relay unit. I'm still getting no spark. The spark plugs is new as well and the coils to the plug have been tested and are good. I've tested and trouble shooted everything I can on this quad and no luck. I watched countless YouTube "no spark" situation videos and it's not helped. Does anyone have any tips or tricks I could try? Would really appreciate some input on this. Thanks!

[Frank Angerano]

Hey @Timothy Doerr, Jr welcome to Quadcrazy. 
How did you test the stator if i may ask? 
Reason im asking is i had a bear tracker and did some testing as well.   Just want to make sure your on the right path.   

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

I checked the resistance through stator and made sure there wasn't an open. I rechecked my ignition coil the other day and noticed the resistance was extremely high like 17k through the coil. Ordered a new one, it should be here in a day or two. Still wondering if I'm having issues with neutral switch though. 

[Frank Angerano]

Well the neutral switch when failing will make the dash lights act up and prevent the starter from working.  Some models also has the safety start switch on the left hand brake lever. It had to be pulled in before  the starter would engage.   

[MarkinAR]

test continuity on the plug wire itself and spark plug boot.  I had a boot a while ago that was broken somewhere in the 90, no continuity.

 

 

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

Ya, this thing has no instrument cluster. I but a whole new could on the bike today and still nothing. Went and ground both wires dealing with the safety neutral switch. Still nothing. I just pulled the stator and pickup coil out of it this evening, the pick up coil 325 when testing ohms and wouldn't show much else when testing the other leads for resistance. So I went ahead and ordered a whole new one. Also, the other thing I'm noticed is I'm not hearing any buzzing or clicks coming from the solenoid or the other relay when applying voltage to it. I did before, as well as the start button not working. Could these things have to do with the pickup coil being bad you think??? The solenoid and little relay next to it are both brand new if your wondering.

 

[Frank Angerano]

The pick up coil and stator coil would have nothing to do with the bike cranking.  Thats going to be a power issue to the starter relay or a safety. Have you checked the left brake lever for the wiring? My bear tracker had that feature.   
Take a tester or a test light and see if any of the small wires on that relay have power with the key on. One should have power.  
Expose the ignition switch (key) wiring at the back and test them for power.  One of the wires should have power.  
Start with that. 
 

Stator and pick up coils are both testable and easy to do so. I wouldn't want you to buy new coils if they are good. So if you need any info on testing ask away. 

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

Alright. So I checked the ignition wiring and I have 12 volts going to it and it seemed like I had continuity and power to the other parts to where it mattered so I don't know. 

I did test the pickup coils yesterday though and 1 gave me the 325 that I wrote about previously, the others kept going to OL

Also, like I said in the start of the post, the bike has no ignition key or any original components or indicators, so on some of this I'm flying blind.

[Frank Angerano]

Ok so why not start by possibly getting a new/used OEM ignition and splicing it in.
This is probably one of the reasons your not getting a start by the push button. 
One of the wires thats at your ignition gets power when the ignition is turned on. If thats not happening then the start relay is not getting power to work. 
Have you tested any of the start relay smaller wires for power ?  If not look at the colors of all the wires at the start relay, one should match the color at the missing ignition switch. 

As far as dash lights that can wait OR go look on ebay for a used dash with the lights and you might get lucky and find one with an ignition as well. 
As far as testing the stator you should be getting a reading (listed in the manual)  between the 3 phases of the stator wires and no continuity from each of the phases to a ground. Any continuity from any one of the 3 phases to ground is an automatic fail on the stator. 
 The pick up coil as far as the 325 number your getting means nothing unless its within range thats listed in the manual.  

You have to get this information in front of you and do the testing.   If your new stator is on the way then it is what it is and leave it be I guess. Maybe nothing wrong with the existing one is what I'm getting at. And even if it was bad it would not stop the atv from cranking.  
 

 

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

I agree with you totally the cranking and spark are both seperate issues. But something is wrong with one of the electrical units because of the no spark situation I'm experiencing

[MarkinAR]

The next thing I would try is to check continuity on the wires themselves.  Start at the battery and check each wire on the battery and plug ends and just see if one is broken internally.  Power wire from the solenoid to the switch, switch to start button, start button to relay, relay to solenoid.... it's tedious but there may be an internally broken or shorted wire.

[Frank Angerano]

I agree with you @Timothy Doerr, Jr but you have to tackle one thing at a time. At least thats how i operate. For instance i would locate and get the ignition ordered and while im waiting for that do some testing and research and start solving other problems. 
 

So having said that you should be able to download the manual from our downloads section and lets look at the ignition wires we can safely put together and see what happens and what comes to life.  I will help you along with that.  @MarkinAR is absolutely correct on checking continuity on the existing wiring and he will jump in as well on the wiring.  
This is not going to be as difficult as it sounds. 
 

I find it easier to print the diagram out and  highlight the different wires with colors to make life easier.   

[MarkinAR]

Bingo on highlighting wires @Frank Angerano.  There is really only about 3 current paths on the entire machine, it's just a matter of following each path until it ends and then moving on to the next one.  Not hard at all following the diagram.  Check the downloads section for rules on download availability though, there are some restrictions to make them available.  Air any questions you have, there are a bunch of really smart people in the room at QC.

[Frank Angerano]

Here are some screen shots of numbers your looking for.  If your not clear on testing please feel free to ask.  I will be on the road for about an hour. Check back later to see how you made out. 

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

I've been looking for this manual everywhere! Thank you so much! I'll get to tackling this soon!

[Frank Angerano]

Your very welcome. thats what makes Quadcrazy unique! Pay it forward to the next member! 
 

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

Oh, I definitely plan to! I plan on trading these wires for the starting diagram while this part comes in.

[Frank Angerano]

Good for you. If i get some time i will help out.  

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

Alright, I appreciate it. I'm good at electrical troubleshooting, went to school for it. But my background is more industrial 3 phase. Not working on bikes. But what I'm getting to is, if I have a half decent wiring diagram then I'm good to go. Trying to get one on here I can zoom in on for the starter system. The thing said I have to have 10 replies before I can gain access to everything lol

[Frank Angerano]

Should be everything you need here. 

[Timothy Doerr, Jr]

Really appreciate it. I'll keep you posted of my findings!

[Frank Angerano]

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