Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

87 KX500 No Start Questions

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BrantSFGDS:
Greetings all! New member from KY here. So, let me bring everyone up to speed on my new "project". An old friend recently gave me an 87 KX500 as payment for getting his Bobcat running. The last time he rode the bike was 4 years ago at which point it ran great and the engine was fresh. He was involved in a serious accident which led to the bike being stored until 2 weeks ago. I brought the bike home and started all the normal maintenance along with rebuilding the carb. So, I got everything ready to go and didn't have any spark. I tested the electronics by the manual and found the ignition coil was toast. I scrounged up a good coil and now I have spark. At this point, the bike should run, or, at least, pop, fart, backfire or something. Nada, nothing! I can't come up with any mechanical reason why this bike shouldn't run. Compression is good, no blowback through the reeds and no obvious air leaks. Here's what I need to know, since I'm not a CDI guru; will a bad CDI box fire the coil, but at the wrong time? I ask because the spark I'm getting doesn't look normal to me. I'm a mechanic, just not a CDI guy, and everything I've ever spark tested before has a single spark across the plug at the appropriate time. This thing looks like a taser across the plug. I'm talking about grounding the plug on the head and pushing the kicker through by hand. Does this sound normal or do I need to start looking for a CDI box? Thoughts?

Foxx4Beaver:

--- Quote from: BrantSFGDS on April 29, 2014, 11:58:58 AM ---This thing looks like a taser across the plug. I'm talking about grounding the plug on the head and pushing the kicker through by hand. Does this sound normal or do I need to start looking for a CDI box? Thoughts?

--- End quote ---

1st, welcome to the site!
I'm not totally sure I'm following completely right....but I had a similar experience with a 250, and it ended up being a cracked plug cap.

reklessj:
Hey Brant, welcome!! Try reading "having electrical problems on your K5?" By sandblaster. That article had me up and running in no time!! Listen to these guys most everyone knows their sh!t and I've gotten all the help n info from this forum

sandblaster:
It may be a bit simplistic for you but it wouldn't hurt to review it:

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=163

BrantSFGDS:
Thanks for the welcome guys! Sandblaster, I read the entire thread and found it to be very informative. I'm still at a standstill though because I don't know what to check next since I actually have spark. My first instinct is to look for something else since I have spark, but something doesn't look right about it. I checked the timing on the stator and it's fine. There is a procedure in my manual for how to test the CDI box. I had to go buy the required resistors and I hope to give it a go tonight or tomorrow. I wouldn't even be looking at electronics if I was only getting 1 or 2 sparks when I pushed the kicker down but this thing looks like a constant arc.

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