mk2dubbin Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Hi guys. I have been lurking on the forums for about two months ago and bought my first banshee from a friend about 6 weeks ago. the night i bought it, i wrecked it due to a strange combination of conditions and a 1/4 turn twist throttle that got the better of me. i basically fell off the back in a 2nd degree wheelie and the bike rolled over on itself. i have been putting it back together slowly due to the fractured vertebrae i received from the incident and am now to the point i want it to run and it won't. i am new to banshee ownership but have ridden several over the years. my main hobby is vw's and consider myself technically savvy so don't be afraid to speak intelligently to me. with the background information out of the way, i have determined i have spark while kick starting - though it seems weak. prior to the accident, it started fine and usually on the first kick. it is mostly stock with a nology coil, aftermarket wires, .020 head shave, fmf pipes and silencers, and i think 280 jets off the top of my head. there are currently NGK B7ES plugs in it and i bought new plugs for it which are NGK iridium plugs which were supposedly the factory replacement plugs since the factory plug is no longer made. testing back to back, i have spark on the used plugs but no spark at all on the new plugs. as soon as i put the used plugs in, i have spark again. i am assuming that since the bike sparks at all, the stator is working properly. i swapped out cdi boxes with a friend and it made no difference. is it possible that the coil is bad or not not working efficiently enough to fire the plugs? any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated. i will admit that the banshee electrical system is new to me but if i can do complete engine and electrical swaps in cars - i should be able to get this toy figured out! as it sits now: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheesrtoys Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 any broken wires? maybe a bad ground?since its twist grip the tors system is removed did you plug in anything after the wreck. look on the left side of the frame behide the raditator. you might have to remove the gas tank but their is a little box mounted to the frame on the left side if it is plugged in without the tors system working then it would give a weak spark that will not start a motor. if it is unpluged well i don't know then. my brother plugged in mine and it took me two days of swapping parts from his shee to mine to firgure it out.lol fun times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2dubbin Posted October 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 all wires seem intact and the insulation is in good condition. i did not plug anything back in that i didn't take apart myself when fixing the quad. the tors system was removed with the removal caps and cable, and i have changed it back to thumb throttle with a new cable. i did not see the little box you describe, however there was a small 2x2 box with a single white plug in my box of spare parts. i am sure that is the tors box you are referring to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheesrtoys Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) man that sucks hope u firgure it out .did you maybe crack the coil in the wreck a small crack can cause bad spark or weak spark. or the plug wires r bad or a bad ground wire connection, if your freind has a banshee try changing coils and wires, Edited October 12, 2010 by bansheesrtoys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustydemon Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 If you know you have spark I would concentrate on the carbs first. If its been sitting for any amount of time they will need a good cleaning anyway so it wont hurt anything. If by chance you had ethanol in it you could very well have a stuck needle i the seat or plugged up circuits . Its worth a check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry's Shee Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 On my son's 'shee I ended up pulling flywheel , cleaning poles on stator , lugs on outside setting p-up gap. Check your grounds. Might try trimming plug wires 1/4" reinstall caps. Double check wireing plugs. By chance did you wash it just before wreck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2dubbin Posted October 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 i printed out the electrical FAQ in this forum and started going thru some of it last night. i am cleaning the wiring and retaping the harness with friction tape as i go thru the system. below are some things i have found so far. the stator ignition circuit ohmed out correctly, the pickup circuit ohmed out correctly, but the lighting circuit was at 0.6 - well above the acceptable range. not worried about that at this point because it has nothing to do with the ignition. the primary side of the ignition coil was within spec, but couldn't get a reading thru the coil to the end of the cap like the FAQ said i should. it has a nology coil though and NGK race wires on it so i imagine the FAQ specs don't apply. i have no continuity from one end of the wire to the other, but maybe these aren't copper-strand wires like i am used to? the wires ohmed out within the specs. the kill switch wasn't operating correctly because it wasn't giving me continuity with the switch on 'OFF'. i cleaned the switch parts and determined the spring in the thumb button for the copper contacts was broken so i fixed that and it works properly now. i doubt this had anything to do with my issue though since i believe this just meant that i couldn't kill the ignition with the switch. there shouldn't be any way that it was grounding out my spark - but i feel better knowing things are done right and are working properly. the key switch checked out okay but when i took the connectors apart - the wiring came out of the connector. the connectors for the key switch are not factory, but they are quality parts. the crimp just wasn't done well on this terminal, so i soldered it together and shouldn't have any issues with it. to answer the input you guys have offered - it is possible that the coil is shot and i have wondered that myself. i just want to rule out everything i can prior to throwing parts at it and unfortunately my buddy lives an hour away so i don't make it down there too often. i doubt i will get a chance to swap coils and wires. the carbs SHOULDN'T be an issue since it's only been like 6 weeks since it was ridden/wrecked and it was ridden just prior to me buying it as well. i am getting fuel during cranking because i can smell it both with the choke on and the choke off. our gas around here has 10% ethanol in it but that shouldn't be enough to cause any issues. i did read yesterday about people often trimming the plug wires a bit for a better connection - does this apply to aftermarket wires as well? i dont believe they work the same way as far as the connection style goes. hopefully tonight i will get the harness finished up and eliminated as a culprit, and i will then gap the pick up on the stator and go from there. thanks for the input so far guys, i appreciate the ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheesandrider Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Why are you running B7ES plugs. ALL Banshees except those on alchohol should run a B8ES, BR8Es, or equivalant. I would switch to the B8ES and make sure the jetting is correct, someone may have been trying to correct the wrong jetting with a incorrect spark plug. The factory plug is still made it is a B8ES or BR8es and that is the most poular 2 stroke plug in the world. Iridium plugs should work but I have never seen the need for them in the 21 years that I have owned a Banshee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2dubbin Posted October 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 i don't know why those plugs were in there unless he was trying to run it a little cooler than normal. i bought new plugs as a maintenance precaution and when i got them they said they B8ES were not available so i got the iridiums because they were the replacement. they apparently were misinformed because i have seen them online all over the place. since i have them i will run them once i get the quad running. the jetting should be fine as a friend was running the same setup just fine on his before he went to a single carb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry's Shee Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Did quick scan of your posts ,one thing I didn't notice was if TORS is disconected or if you have parking brake saftey switch ? Also I think Iv'e read that the test procedure for coil is wrong , ohm thru both plug wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burhead Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Well sounds like you have something strange going on but I will share my experience anyway. The first time I tore my banshee down I failed to reinstall the tube between the carbs that connects the choke circuit. I battled with it for a few evenings because when I tore it down the tube fell off on its own and I didn't even know it was suppose to be there. The bike wouldn't even think of firing, intalled new piece of tubing and it popped on the second kick. Something quick and easy to check for I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Madd Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Take off the filters and make sure a slide isn't hung open. One slide can hang open and the throttle will still have tension from the other carb, leaving it un noticed. It'll never start like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2dubbin Posted October 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) Did quick scan of your posts ,one thing I didn't notice was if TORS is disconected or if you have parking brake saftey switch ? Also I think Iv'e read that the test procedure for coil is wrong , ohm thru both plug wires. the TORS box is removed from the frame and the tors tops are removed from the carbs. the parking brake is removed completely as well as the oem clutch lever. it has a magura jack hydraulic clutch setup on it. i removed the twist throttle setup and put a chariot performance thumb throttle on it now so there is no wiring on the handlebars except for the kill switch and light switch wiring, oh and the key switch. with the TORS box removed, the carb tops removed, the throttle switch gone, and no parking brake - this thing should have no spark modifiers left. thanks for the heads up on the plug wire testing. i did ohm them out by themselves to be in the range listed in the tutorial and pretty close to one another. Edited October 12, 2010 by mk2dubbin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agt002 Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 hi, i have had a banshee for years and have had numerous problems, one of em is i used the be7 spark plugs that you mentioned u have in it at the moment, those r the worst spark plugs i have ever tryed on the shee. and i had a very hard time getting it started ond would run like crap, only one cyl most of the time. have you actually tryed to start it with new diferent spark plugs? now i know this is unqalified, but i have found out that just any regular motorcraft sparkplug that will fit the shee works best for me, lasts long and quick startup. i have an 05 shee and i can kick start it using my hand on first try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2dubbin Posted October 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 hi, i have had a banshee for years and have had numerous problems, one of em is i used the be7 spark plugs that you mentioned u have in it at the moment, those r the worst spark plugs i have ever tryed on the shee. and i had a very hard time getting it started ond would run like crap, only one cyl most of the time. have you actually tryed to start it with new diferent spark plugs? now i know this is unqalified, but i have found out that just any regular motorcraft sparkplug that will fit the shee works best for me, lasts long and quick startup. i have an 05 shee and i can kick start it using my hand on first try no i have not tried to start it with the new plugs. simply because when i was testing for spark - i had weak spark with the used plugs and nothing with the new ones. i had no reason to think that the new plugs would fire the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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