Honda ATC 200 spark

[robbie]

I have a Honda ATC 200 that I picked up for cheap from a couple of kids who appeared to not know much about mechanical things. They said they believe that the engine had no spark when it was left a few years ago. But that's about all they could tell me. Also, the starter cover is missing, so it's hard to test anything right now.

If I'm not mistaken, this type of setup has an internal coil as well as the external one on the frame, right? What are the minimum requirements to get the engine to run? Is it just one wire from the engine to the coil, the plug lead, and good grounding all around, or is there more complicated stuff involved? I'm intending to use the engine and rear axle for a go-kart, so all I need is hot spark and a kill switch.

I also bought a second engine in a larger lot of 3 wheeler parts. The guy said it runs. It has a starter but it's just the engine without the spark plug coil. I'd like to mix parts until I get one engine to run.

I need to know how to test the coils. Does anybody here know if the primary and secondary of the main coil have a common ground? Any other words of wisdom?

 

[mike75925]

is the stator cover missing? the starter is a self-contained unit. normally there is a stator, which has 'x' number of poles for charging/lighting and a slightly different looking one called a source coil. outside of this ring of coils, there should be what looks like a tombstone with wires. this is the pulse coil. of course this setup only applies to cdi equipped vehicles. if points and condensor it is far easier and cheaper. for the most part a coil is a coil as far as the actual ignition coils go. just make sure it has the the right number of plug wires and the appropriate connection points for your harness. minimum requirements are spark, fuel/air and compression.

 

[robbie]

Thanks for the tip. It has a cover toward the top of the engine (at the end of the cam) that says CDI. I'll look for the primary coil in there tomorrow.

I'm thinking of taking the starter assembly off the extra engine to see if it will make a spark when I turn it over.

To be clear, when I said minimum requirements to run the engine, I meant the minimum amount of wiring to get the ignition system to work. I can always shoot some gasoline into the spark plug hole to make sure I have fuel. I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking some complicated wiring in the coil system. Thanks!

 

[mike75925]

i am by no means an expert, but from a points standpoint all you needed was the igniter coil, points/condensor, ignition coil plug. the cdi is supposed to be a simplified version of this system. according to the manual, this means you need source and pulse coils, cdi, ignition coil, spark plug. the pickup may be situated near the cam, but i believe the cover was just an ad.

 

[Kevin Noah]

There are 2 coils behind the flywheel. Primary and secondary and the one bolted the neck of the frame. I have had the same problem and replaced the primary($15 part here in mo.) and the old girl started right up.