wiring help on a 200es

[odysseyjunk]

hey man....find the black wire with a red tracer going to the ignition switch......unplug it....itl run then...but i dont know if itl charge the battery, or if the lights will work.....but that wire is grounded to the green one when the ignition is in the "off" position. the run/off/run switch does the same thing with the black wire....as long as it isnt grounded out, the thing should run....

[dzzy]

Wow!! Never delved into the ATC forum before but this is right up my alley. I worked on ATC's til I was bleeding them in the 80's and I still love em. Maybe I can help a little. You can think of the ignition and lighting\charging circuits as being completely separate on the venerable old 200ES. The black\red wire is the exciter coil and powers the ignition, got nothing to do with your battery or lights. The ignition is disabled by grounding the black\red wire via either the ignition switch, or the emergency kill switch. The two yellow wires supply AC for the charging system. What I can't remember for sure is if the lights are AC, I'm thinkin they're DC and just run directly off the battery through the ignition switch and lighting switch, at least on this model. The starter cellunoid receives DC battery voltage on the yellow\red wire which comes from your starter button. The green\red ground for the cellunoid runs through the neutral switch (therefore no ground and no start in gear unless you're in neutral). Whew...and always remember, solid green is always a ground on Honda's. If you can tell me wire colors, I can probably tell you what they're associated with. Also, I may be able to dig up a complete diagram at work.

[sugco]

whoever can help.

I just restored my 84' 200es and have wiring problems. after i put it back together everything worked except the headlight (only worked sometimes - and when it did work it would blink dim when the bike was running). a couple of day later, it didn't want to start. the green neutral light comes on when i turn the key on, but nothing when i press the start button. if i jump the solenoid it starts. checked all plugs, connections, and contact on start button (and switch is on run). is solenoid bad? how can i check it? does solenoid have anything to do with the lights? any help would be appreciated so i can quit scratching my head and start back riding. later co

[odysseyjunk]

i believe the main relay back by the solenoid is tied into to lighting circut....its also controls the starter solenoid itself. you can check your solenoid by making contact on the smaller wires going into it directly to ground and power....the solenoid should click loudly. it will probably be easier to do this with the solenoid out of the rubber boot that holds it. the solenoids on these things must be decent...because mine sat caked in mud and corrosion unused for maybe 5 years....and still worked when i hooked it up. the main relays however, appear to be junk....i fitted a relay out of a dodge caravan to mine. the plug on my main relay was destroyed also.. when i go home(at work now)...ill look at the color of the wire you can test to see where the problem is. just post some pics so we all can see your project..

[sugco]

thanks odysseyjunk, problem solved. i also posted some pics for ya. later co