87 warrior no spark. CDI?

[mototrig]

Hi all.
New member here chasing a no spark issue. The motor cranks fine.

Is there any ohms specs for checking if the CDI is working properly? Apparently the 87 is electrically different than 88 and newer? CDI's for the 87 are very hard to find and pricey, mostly used on ebay. Before I spend the money I wanted to make certain if possible.

I've followed my service manual. The spark plug, coil/cap, pickup coil, source coil & magneto all OHM within spec. The manual does not have specs for the CDI. I've also checked the harness for any broken wires or bad connectors which there are none. If I've missed anything please let me know.

Short description is I bought it for my son & it ran fine. We took the plastics off to clean it up a bit, nothing electrical was replaced other than the starter motor. Plastics back on, new seat and all cleaned up, no spark. We have been chasing this for several weeks now, any input or specs on the CDI would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tom bauer]

87 is one of the models that HAS to have a genuine OEM ignition switch as there is NO aftermarket that will work. The Black/Red wire to the CDI has to be grounded to turn the spark on. I have new CDIs for this model it that turns out to be the problem.

 

[mototrig]

87 is one of the models that HAS to have a genuine OEM ignition switch as there is NO aftermarket that will work. The Black/Red wire to the CDI has to be grounded to turn the spark on. I have new CDIs for this model it that turns out to be the problem.

Thank you for the information, much appreciated.

I went through the switch again and found the problem!!!!!

The Black/Red terminal was push out not making contact in the connector.

Wouldn't have checked it again without your input.
Thank you sir!!

 

[Gearhead-warrior]

Thank you for the information, much appreciated.

I went through the switch again and found the problem!!!!!

The Black/Red terminal was push out not making contact in the connector.

Wouldn't have checked it again without your input.
Thank you sir!!

I also have a 87 Warrior with no spark issue. Got the bike from a guy and he had put a new stator in it. I looked up the original part number for the CDI and searched it up on eBay. I did find some used ones and one new one. I also came across some CDI boxes for a Yamaha big bear and moto 4 350 in the same year model. All the plugs are the same but one plug has one different color wire. It was only $20 so I decided to try it. It sparks one time then quits. Do you think the CDI isn’t compatible or is it another issue? The big bear CDI was one number difference than the warrior CDI. Thanks for your input.

 

[tom bauer]

I also have a 87 Warrior with no spark issue. Got the bike from a guy and he had put a new stator in it. I looked up the original part number for the CDI and searched it up on eBay. I did find some used ones and one new one. I also came across some CDI boxes for a Yamaha big bear and moto 4 350 in the same year model. All the plugs are the same but one plug has one different color wire. It was only $20 so I decided to try it. It sparks one time then quits. Do you think the CDI isn’t compatible or is it another issue? The big bear CDI was one number difference than the warrior CDI. Thanks for your input.

Very few CDI for yamaha the only difference is the length of the wires. If ALL the wire colors are not the same it is not compatible. A $20 CDI is certainly not reliable, I make NEW ones and they are $245 with 10 year wtty. Be sure if it has black/red and green/white wires are grounded.

 

[Want2ride247!]

I am working on a 87 warrior and it also has not spark. The pick up coils ohm out according to service manual. Everything according to the service manual checks out with meter. I have also changed the plug numerous times with a new one each time.
I seen above that there was mention of the black/red has to be grounded. According to the service manual print it is connected to the clutch switch and the shut off switch but it does not show a connection to ground. They all go back to the CDI box. Are they all supposed to be grounded?
Nothing I do to this machine will give me spark so far.
I also seen that Tom makes CDI for the machines, do you make full wiring harnesses?

Any help would be appreciated

 

[tom bauer]

I am working on a 87 warrior and it also has not spark. The pick up coils ohm out according to service manual. Everything according to the service manual checks out with meter. I have also changed the plug numerous times with a new one each time.
I seen above that there was mention of the black/red has to be grounded. According to the service manual print it is connected to the clutch switch and the shut off switch but it does not show a connection to ground. They all go back to the CDI box. Are they all supposed to be grounded?
Nothing I do to this machine will give me spark so far.
I also seen that Tom makes CDI for the machines, do you make full wiring harnesses?

Any help would be appreciated

Your manual must be wrong then. The black/red wire only goes to the ignition switch. When the switch is on it grounds that wire. It is a very common problem when someone replaces the switch thinking it may fix their problem. In fact it does not fix the problem but it guarantees that there will never be spark again!! The ONLY ignition switch for a 87 is only available at a Yamaha dealer, there is no aftermarket. There is also a black/white wire that goes to the kill switch on the handle bars, that wire is grounded to kill the engine and will prevent the starter from operating.

 

[Want2ride247!]

I attached the diagram I have. The black/red from the CDI have a common wire (black) to the engine stop (black/white) and the clutch switch(black yellow). It does not show the connection to the ground. It crosses over the ground wire in the print but doesn’t show a connection point. Is this the wrong print. This is directly out of the clymer service manual.

Thank you for the help so far.

I tried just grounding the black/red wire straight to the battery ground and still no spark.

 

[tom bauer]

I attached the diagram I have. The black/red from the CDI have a common wire (black) to the engine stop (black/white) and the clutch switch(black yellow). It does not show the connection to the ground. It crosses over the ground wire in the print but doesn’t show a connection point. Is this the wrong print. This is directly out of the clymer service manual.

Thank you for the help so far.

I tried just grounding the black/red wire straight to the battery ground and still no spark.

Wiring shown is wrong. The main switch is 2 parts, not one as shown. That would blow fuse and may damage CDI. 87 is a very simple system, you need exciter coil and 2 pickup. Black/red and black grounded, black/white not connected. Orange to coil and coil grounded. B?Y, Y/B, W/b are only for starter interlock and have nothing to do with spark. Battery is not needed except for starter.

 

[Want2ride247!]

So I am going back through everything. Pulled the stator out and I attached pictures of the pickup coil resistance readings.
Source coil is not pictured but it was 307.8 ohms
Pick up coils are pictured charging coil was 1 ohm across the board. Pictured.

CDI - orange wire to ignition coil
Ignition coil - newly purchased from Ricky stator.
CDI- black/red- through switch grounded. DOES THE BLACK WIRE FROM KEY SWITCH NEED GROUNDED?

Brand new spark plug.

NO SPARK STILL.

Does the pick up coil position matter? I mean which one goes on top of the other. The targets on the flywheel are different size so does this pickup coil and specific wire colors mean anything?

I’m at a loss and cannot figure out what I’m missing. Thank you for the help. Could the CDI be bad?

 

[tom bauer]

CDI- black/red- through switch grounded. DOES THE BLACK WIRE FROM KEY SWITCH NEED GROUNDED?

YES!! VERY important. Also black wire from CDI grounded all the time.
Each pickup coil is 200 ohms.
Pickup coil position is VERY important as is the polarity of the wires. You will need an oscilloscope to check them, positive pulse must be first on both.
If original CDI it could easily be bad.

 

[Want2ride247!]

The pick up coil that is connected to the green and yellow wire on the top or bottom? Bottom would be bolted into the case first.
Is the 367 ohms reading to high? Yamaha has said 300 -500 should be ok.

One pick up coils is green and yellow wire. The other is blue and gray wire

Thank you for all the help

 

[tom bauer]

green and yellow pickup lines up with the first bar on flywheel to go by. blue and grey line up with last bar to go by. flywheel turns anti clockwise. yellow and grey are the 'ground' side of the signal. no matter how wrong it is you should have spark but may not run.

 

[YamahaNutz]

I hate to say it, but there may be frayed or broken wires in the harness. If this started when you removed the plastics, its likely an issue. It takes a little time, but ohm test as many wires as you can from end to end(ignition related). You might try to wiggle or twist the harness while you test each one. It helps to focus on tight bend areas of the harness. I had an '87 that turned into nothing but an electrical nightmare. I ended up swapping the harness, components, and stator off a newer one. Even my '07 Raptor 350 had a lot of harness damage and I replaced it.

Reminds me of my high school days of trying to find issues in '80s vehicle efi harness's. Old wiring does not age well.