Expert: Bill Silver - 6/26/2009

Question
the last time that i was riding my 2003 Honda recon it suddenly died on me and haven't been able to start it since. i changed the spark plug twice with factory recommended ngk plugs and i also took the carb off and cleaned in carburetor dip for about 2 hours and put it back together. i tried using starting fluid to start with no luck either. it has spark but i don't think it has enough. please help me with this question if possible with possible causes of the problem.

Answer
Honda ATVs are not one of my main interests, but they still have the same parts and pieces as other models, other than a lot of safety items and accessories.

First, check the valve adjustment, so you know that you have compression in the cylinder.

Did you remove and clean each carburetor jet while you were soaking the carburetor body? If the little idle jet isn't clear, the bike will be very hard to start.

The pulse generator starts the whole spark firing sequence, so measure the resistance value with an ohm meter or check the AC Volt output when cranking it over. CDI sparks tend to be kind of wispy when you see them.

If all of the safety switches, the KILL switch and pulse generator seem okay, then probably the CDI module is failing.

Bill Silver