Uh... Could Electrical Be A Big Problem?

[tomogchi]

aight.. for my suzuki lt230s..... i had ut a crap load of new parts in to it, and i was wondering something..
There is a gray-ish/black wire, and a orange wire that comes for the headlight... one is run to the on/off switch... and the other i have no clue were it came from..... coudl this be the reason why my baby wont start?

PLEASE!!! someone help me.. lol... i can even locate the stupid wires in the clymer (clymber???) manual for the suzuki 230..... man...... i feel so lost bout this
thanks for any help you guys cna give me,
Bill

Would have to think that since the electrical circuit for the headlights is only a loop that is completed or disconnected by the headlight switch and then runs thru the bulb itself both causing it to light and run to ground etc it should not have anything to do with starting, BUT if you suspect it then you should either put a tester to it or hook up the lights to eliminate this as a possible cause.

You may be better off taking a totally different approach by tracking the potential problem causing part(s) backwards.

Since you didnt say if its elec start or not (sorry but I have no real experience with the older zuki) I will start with saying itwould be a good idea to look at the starting first and then the running etc.

Actual turning over of the engine by a starter can be something as simple as a fuse or bad connection on a switch.

Not running or "firing" can be from either the fuel, spark, or internal engine issues. When this is the case it seems easiest to start with checking on fuel delivery since it cant run without gas, then move on to the spark issue and be sure you have a new plug with good spark, then as a last resort if everything else checks out to be 100% you can look into checking compression and engine timing.

I know it can be frustrating at times so hang in there and try to give up more info if you can.

[tomogchi]

i dunno... i know the engine it self is in good shape. it does fire, andyou can smell the exhaust outa the non-stock pipe. I dont think its internal, but i wouldnt know about the timing.... but even if the timings off alost 300 * (the star indicates degrees) (worst case scenerio). How would i set the timing back to wares it should be? i dont beleiveit say anythign about that in the booklet. And there is no electric start, its deffinetly a kick sart.... i havent located any fuses on this 4wheeler, but i did wonder abotu the cdi coil and etc, so i hadda freidn come over, and i had stuck a little idiot lite tester into the plug of one end (the set of wires coming out of the stator case (?)(it says suzuki on it)) and cliped it ontothe frame (instant ground), and had my freind kick start it. *shock* yeah.. so in anyrate... its got atleast a little spark, even tho the shock was actually pretty strong. and, the rear light works, and the bulb fro the front is good, but i have a feeling one wire is for the ground, (the black) but i cannot locate were either of them would go. we searched up and down in the 4-wheeler itself (tearing the gas tank off,) following all electrical connection/wires/etc. NADA!.......and it is a little frustrating, but i could take the easy way, and pay the 70$ an hour to the local garage man, (hesays in 3 hours "hours" hed have it running, but thats 70+70+70.....and im an unemployed teen...lol
anyhelp would be greatfulyl appreciated

much better.

So we know you got spark since you tested it, correct?

I am not actully sure what you meant about it smelling etc so do get into more detail, and maybe to make it a lot easier for anyone to try and trouble shoot on line here etc just type out every little bit of info on what you have done to try and start it and what results you got etc.

And is this the 2stroke or 4stroke suzuki? doesnt make a whole lot of difference but there is a couple little things that could be looked at etc.

[tomogchi]

oh yeah.. i deffinetly tested it.. it freakin shocked me pretty good.. lol....
un.. .as far as the smoke... you know how a car exhuast has that unique smell? its like that and a little bit of an oil smell. this quad is a 4 stroke, so i dunno. when i po start it, because the left side of my house is a big hil, i push it(100 ft head start) i jump on it at the crest, coast till abotu 1/4 of the way down, put it in 2nd gear (or w/e gear i wind up puttin it in..normally 2,3,4th gear) it makes a pop pop pop.. .and then if i nail the gas u hear a vrrrrrraaaammmm (like its takin off (trying to)) and then put put uttttttttt... it dies... there are soooooo many new parts in here. and i had my dad check out the timing. its off by a total of 1 * (the star equals a degree). it seems to want to run better with out the air attachment (form the box to the carb) so ive tried to do that with out, but i have had no luck either way. i am still unable to locate the wires, and were they go (fro the power (im assuming ones a power) and the other wire (the colors are orange wire and a black wire)).
yeap.. .still lost, and gettin very anoyed (lol)
bill

[tomogchi]

okay, another thing, as i was scratching my head, i looked my the tail lights, figureing if the front lights have a high low light, the back should have like a nromal light, then a brake light (the brighter lgiht is normally the brake), but the connections that the plug would use is white/brown, not lke the wires infront that are black/orange...... now i now that that woulnt hurt it starting up, but could the different colors actually go together? and....if they do...... then ihave a new problem....... but heres a list of some of the stuff that got put in here... form k&n air filters, to wiesco piston/rings, to a brand new gasket set expesially made for the motor that was bored 20 over b4 i got it. im running mobiles 10w-40 in there like the motor says i should, and i like to run special in them, like my lawnmowers, cars, my mope, etc. the special (89 octane) seems to help cold motors start better. but i dunno if i screwed suttin up, or if im looking way to hard, and its something simple ( i know its not the switches, i tested em) but now i severioly dunno... (slams head on wall.... ) this gets agravating, btu i cant fork over anymroe cash yeknow? i loose cash if isell it, and i loose cash if i bring it down to the local motor place..
bill

OK take a deeeeep breath chill out a second etc before you let it get the better of you etc.

Just keep it simple and check the basic things that an engine needs to run till you find the one that is the problem. sometimes it can drive you absolutely nuts then suddenly its right there in front of your nose so just be patient etc. ( I know its not easy and we all have been pisssed over somthing like this one time or another).

Is this a kick or elec start? Was thinking it was an elec with a bad battery since your push or jump starting it etc and that could even be the answer if the battery is dead since some models can not run without a certain amount of elec current from the battery.

Not sure if I said this already but in order for an engine to run it will need 1)air & fuel 2)compression 3)spark 4)cam/valve timing and 5) the proper combination of the previous. so look into these one at a time and if in the end you do have fuel, good strong spark, compression, and the valvetrain is working properly then you problem can be as simple as too much or little fuel or air flow(messed up jet size or dirt in curcuit, clogged air filter etc) or even a bad CDI or worst case not enough compression due to an improperly rebuild etc.

Try and detail what and how you may have checked on the 5 different things listed and we can go from there.

[Snafoow]

I think I would take the spark plug out ( I hope it is a new 1 ) and see if it is wet or dry. Recheck the spark it should be blue. If the plug is dry I would put a table spoon or 2 of gas down the spark plug hole and put the plug back in and see if it fires the fuel.

If the plug is wet I would recheck that the cam timing marks are in line. Marks are on the flywheel and cam sprocket, remember to turn the engine the same direction as when its runs when checking can timing, this is very inportant. Also when these marks are lined up make sure there is a small amount of clearance (.004" or so) between the rocker arm and valve stem on both valves. I would also take the cable off the decompression lever for now unless you are sure it is set right.

If all that checks ok I would look into a leaking in. or ex. valve. from reading the past post my guess is the cam timing is off but I am just guessing

[tomogchi]

yeah, it has got a new ngk spark plug, and i tried what you said, with the 2 tablespoons of gas, sounded the same it did b4 i put gas into it (so ithink it fired). i think the timing might be off, but i also found out that im slowly leakin oilout of the bottom (the drain plug), but its just a little drop a day, so i do gotta rebuild, agian.........and my dad says the timing isnt off by much, but how would i check it, as it does not run.... lol, cause y dads a motor head, and got a crap load of parts for tecting, rebuilds, etc.....
i dunno, <_<
bill

[tomogchi]

i ust looked at the post agian... what do you mean the spark plug should be blue? it was black....
hmmm....and its always wet, but i dunoo..