No spark on 80cc snowmobile (snoscoot)

[Mustonen]

Trying to get this thing going for my kids... It's an electric start Yamaha snoscoot. A few weeks ago we got her going. We couldn't find the key to begin with, so i just unplugged the harness and kick started it. Got nothing, nothing, nothing...pulled the plug and clipped the wire back on, no spark, no spark, no spark and then suddenly blam, lots of spark, put the plug back in and we were off to the races.

Since then, though, no dice, and my 5 year old is at me DAILY to get the thing fixed.

I've disconnected the kill switch, replaced the plug, etc. it doesn't even pretend to spark. There does seem to be some juice getting to the ignition coil... My crappy little pocket tester showed between 5 and 12 V of electricity being put to the coil, though maybe closer to 5 (it's really crappy). I don't register anything coming out of the wire, though, with the plug connected and disconnected. It does seem to click when I try to start it - just once right at the beginning of turning it over.

So is it fairly safe to assume that the coil is the problem? Or is something else more likely that I should run down first? A new one isn't terribly expensive.... But I'd rather not throw $50 away.

[P_McPoser]

tech talk

[Alaskan Rover]

You might very well have a bad plug wire....hell of a lot cheaper than a coil. I'd check the plug wire with a continuity tester (put your tester on ohms reading, in other words) before I'd order the coil. When you check the wire, make sure you move the wire around. Plug wires get old and cracked, especially if they haven't been used for a while. You can probably purchase the plug wire at the same store that you purchase some sense of humor, killing two birds with one stone, as you'll probably be needing both.

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[Mustonen]

tech talk

Disagree. 80cc snowmobiles are def off topic, I don't care how literally technical it is.

You might very well have a bad plug wire....hell of a lot cheaper than a coil. I'd check the plug wire with a continuity tester (put your tester on ohms reading, in other words) before I'd order the coil. When you check the wire, make sure you move the wire around. Plug wires get old and cracked, especially if they haven't been used for a while. You can probably purchase the plug wire at the same store that you purchase some sense of humor, killing two birds with one stone, as you'll probably be needing both.

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I Think the wire and coil are all integrated on these guys, or that would be my first choice. I can't figure how to detach the wire without breaking it. It doesn't snap, pull, or otherwise come off in any kind of organized way. Probably missing it...

[MTT]

Before you replace anything, go though all electrical connections. Especially grounds. Start at the Battery and move out from there. Disconnect clean reconnect nice and tight. (Its always) a lose or dirty ground / connection somewhere.

[Mustonen]

Would I still get current to the coil if there was a bad ground?

[myles long]

I would definitely check the grounds...it sounds like if you were not getting spark then getting spark it is from a loose or dirty ground. Coils very rarely go totally bad on these things.