No Spark (Electrical Problem)

Ok, so the key switch is operating and connecting as it should be. But I tracked it down to the green/red wire gets grounded as it gets connects to power. The main fuse is grounded on both ends, so I checked and the red wire that connects to the "+" of the battery... it is sometimes(?) grounded. Or maybe it is grounded with resistance. I'm not an electrician, but I don't get how the + of the battery is grounded w/0 blowing the fuze or draining the battery.

I guess this could be the drain that keeps enough juice from getting to the headlight and spedo, but enough resistance to keep it from flowing straight out? I'm just having a hard time tracking things down from the schematic w/o having it laying out on the floor, and I really don't want to rip out all the wiring to that point. Any tips or help are appreciated.

you need a test light and ohm meter.

and a little helper to hold the leads. There arn't that many wires to check.

__________________
Ride tough, don't be a pussy. 5150 bitches...

Make sure you have a good ground to the frame, touching bare metal. Take both handlebar switched off, if you have painted bars, sand of(steel wool) were the outside band touched the bar. That is your ground. The chrome covers over the wire are sometimes to long and pull on the very thin wires, can break or touch inside the bar. Pull as much wire as you can out of the handle bar as not to stretch it. Make sure the wires are properly placed in the socket and screw them tight. Reinstall the two switches. The horn has a brass screw that can be adjusted to get sound. Make sure the kick stand switch is removed and not plugged together. Engage both brakes, turn on the key (lights should come on) and start the engine. Good Luck and knock on.

__________________
"One Man's Ceiling, Is Another Man's Floor" Rock On! Knock On!

I've got a super basic radio shack voltage meter that can also tell if two pieces of metal are grounded to each other by beeping, is this enough?

And to update, I pulled the red wire off the battery, and the "sometimes" that it is grounded depends on how long I leave the connection meter on for. If I keep the meter on the red wire, and touch the frame, it will say it's connected for ~5sec or so, then say it's not connected anymore. Even if I take it off, then put it back on, it will not show it's connected. I have to check the wire to the + of the battery (not connected) but then checking the wire to the frame, it will happen again. I have no idea if this even says anything, I really don't know much about electronics aside from simple "make sure the wire goes from here to there" sort of stuff.

I think the meter is confusing you. Start by checking that from the battery you have it grounded to the frame. Check your fuse making sure it is good. Make sure all your connections are tight. Buy or make a test light.(two wire to a bulb, if you touch + to the battery wires (red, Black) & - to black the bulb should light. If you want to buy something(tool) get a continuity meter(omh meter) from harbour fright 3 or 4 bucks. Read the instruction on how to use. You can check the batteries strength, if you have a good connection, etc. Then you can test switches, etc. It is something simple and requires moving from the battery(the main source through the switches. You can do it. Hope this helps

__________________
"One Man's Ceiling, Is Another Man's Floor" Rock On! Knock On!

you got the bike runing yet

__________________
billyhall12@yahoo.com
ride hard or go home vernon tx
the lone wolf knocker #4317
i hate cops every one need to know

Solfish
I want to help, but I really don't understand what you're trying to say. For example the fuse cannot be 'grounded at both ends' and 'the red wire that connects to the "+" of the battery... is grounded'. Neither of these situations can exist for anything to work. Here is the best electrical schematic I have ever seen for the 200. I wish I could remember who made and posted it to give them credit. Take your time and study it. Note: the olive colored wire from the starter in the schematic is the thick wire with the black boot on it. The green wire from the starter with the round donut like connector goes to ground. A good place for all your grounds (2: one from battey negtive and one from starter ) is the rectifier bolted to the bottom of the engine. Hope this helps.

__________________
Dave Carlson

Sorry for some reason the schematic didn't load. I'll try again.

__________________
Dave Carlson

Still no go. Go to my post '200 electrical schematic' and open and print the post from jurand.

__________________
Dave Carlson

Found it!! A great job by tdkarl.
check 200 Wiring Diagram under search.

__________________
Dave Carlson

It's post #7 "Updated with ground to frame"

__________________
Dave Carlson

Dave, that's the problem. My "beeper" will go off with everything hooked up, when I touch one end to the fuse, and the other end to a bolt on the frame. This was my first clue that something bad was happening. I took the fuse out, checked both sides (everything else still hooked up), and both sides beeped. I chased it back to the battery, and put on end on the + of the battery (with wires and fuse still hooked up), and one on a frame bolt. It beeped. I took off the red wire going to the +, checked it against a bolt on the frame, and it beeped, for about five seconds, then stopped.

I can totally get or build a light meter or ohm meter (my radio shack volt meter might even have one built in, I just need to read up on how to use it. I'm just stumped how a red wire that should not be grounded at all, seems to be grounded with power attached.

My knowledge can check if a simple switch connects two wires or not, or whether or not one end of a wire is grounded or connected to another end of a wire. But (as of now) I don't get what happens when the wires go into the boxes in the oil can, or how to check if any of them have gone bad. I'm sure it's probably something stupid like my signal wires being crossed (which two of the four were, and I had to reverse them.) I just can't tell on the schematic what orientation the wires should be going into the boxes. Maybe I just need to sign up for a electrician class at the local community college so I can wrap my head around this stuff.

Your fuse is grounded through the light bulb filaments.
Get a decent multi meter and read the directions.If you get a good one it will last forever.Flaps has cheap ones for 20 bucks.I like Fluke brand meters you can get a good one that will do everything for less than $100.
Electrical contractor supply stores sell "Ugly books". Absolutely everything you ever need to know about electrical is in there.There are a lot of instructional vids on utube about how to use a multi meter. I think you probably got something simple that you are making complicated.

Solfish
Does your Radio Shack meter have a digital read out? If it does set it to ohms (a greek Omega symbol), should have numbers like 2M, 200K, 20K, 2K, 200 in that region on the dial. Turn your selector to one of them, like 2K. The meter should read 1 which means no continuity. Touch the black and red leads together, the meter should drop to 0, this is complete continuity. If you put the leads across a wire and it reads 1 then there is a break in the wire. If you put the leads across a wire and it reads 0 then the wire is good, complete continuity. Do this on a wire that goes into a connector and it reads 0 (good continuity) and the same for the wire on the other side of the connector and it reads 0 (good continuity). Now put the connector together. If it reads 1 or anything above 0 you've got a bad connection in that connector. Print out tdkarl's 200 wiring diagram [b]in color[b] and start checking. You've got a short (wiring touching metal when it shouldn't), bad wire ( no continuity) or a bad connection in a connector someplace. If all else fails, give rickroll a call. You can find him on the forum. HE IS THE MASTER on all things electrical on our Knocks. I know you're frustrated. Hang in there. With the help of the forum, you'll get it figured out and get a great education in wiring for free

__________________
Dave Carlson

Ohms is not just a good idea,it's the law.