2000 no spark

[Adam500]

Put together my 2000 XC300 basket case.
Got it started easy enough. It ran very well for about an hour and a half ride time.
It then became very hard to start and when it was running it was breaking up a bit at mid range rpm. Now will not start at all.
First thing I did was check for spark and I have none.
Coil I suspect? took my kill switch out of the mix all together, its not that.
I sanded the fresh powder coat off both mounting points of the coil to bare metal. Also sanded the voltage regulator ground mount to bare just behind the headstock.
Is there any test I can do with a multimeter to test CDI? coil resistence? stator?
Where should I start and where can I get replacement parts?

 

[(F5)]

My most likely guess is the stator. You might even find spark comes back occasionally. Wire breaks down insulation and internally shorts esp when hot.
Mine gave exact same symptoms.

Later ones use ktm stators which are readily available aftermarket. I'd guess the early ones do too, but do some searching on aftermarket sites for comparability.

Attached to loom so you have to cut, crimp and heatshrink loom up near airbox, but there are very few wires.

 

[Zman]

It can also be the CDI or ignition coil.

 

[gasgasman]

I sanded the fresh powder coat off both mounting points of the coil to bare metal. Also sanded the voltage regulator ground mount to bare just behind the headstock.

Did you sand off the powder coat at the engine mounting points?
If not, you can run a ground wire from the engine to the frame. See if that fixes your problem.

 

[Adam500]

thanks for the info guys.
I did not sand the motor mounts. I'll try running a jumper wire off the headstay mount to the coil ground.
Are there multimeter test I can do on the coil and CDI?
New OEM coil is 100 bucks from my local gasser dealer.

 

[(F5)]

No test for cdi with meter. Stator can be tested but not really as it might change when warm. Coil from any cdi bike will do for a test. Does it spark now when cold?

 

[Zman]

thanks for the info guys.
I did not sand the motor mounts. I'll try running a jumper wire off the headstay mount to the coil ground.
Are there multimeter test I can do on the coil and CDI?
New OEM coil is 100 bucks from my local gasser dealer.

You can also use your multimeter to measure the resistance between the frame and engine. It should be close to the same reading as you get when you tough both leads together. (Multimeters almost never read 0.00 ohms due to lead resistance and calibration.) If the resistance is more than 1 ohm I would either sand one or two of the mounting points or add a jumper lead from the frame to the engine. I would use at least a 14 awg wire for that.

 

[Neil E.]

I'm not sure what stator is on your bike, but newer machines have a winding that is "different" than the others. This is the winding that powers the CDI. You should be able to put a voltmeter set to AC across the winding and get a voltage reading when you kick the engine over. Take the plug out so it spins faster (ground the plug on the cylinder or head). The AC voltage is grounded out by the kill switch so it's important to be sure there are no shorts in the wiring.

 

[Adam500]

thanks again for all the help guys.
I had no spark when everything was cold.
I found a service manual someone posted on this forum. It had resistance values for the stator and pick up. I tested it and everything passed.
I have to put it back together and figure out how to test the CDI and coil.
I will check for ground continuity to the engine and also run a jumper wire of the head mount to the coil mount.

 

[Adam500]

Tried running the jumper ground cable and still have no spark.
I took a good coil off a 2015 300 gasser and still no spark. The CDI on the 2015 is different so I couldn't try it. The coil wasnt exactly the same either so I'm not sure if that proves anything.
The stator and pick up tested good on the multimeter and the lights worked great so I think its good.
I think its the CDI but still not 100%........

 

[(F5)]

It's the stator. A meter cant find shorts, it can find opens.