GTR 250 Electrical System Dead

[PyroDoctor]

So me and my son are out cruising down a back country road tonight, climbing a gradual hill and the power seems to be decreasing slowly and you get that sinking feeling it's going to be a bad night. Then 4-5 seconds later, the engine dies. Go to restart the engine and nothing. No electrical at all, no lights, no winch, no odometer, no turn signals. Nothing. Everything is dead.

After calling the wife and loading it up on the trailer, we get back to the garage. Battery is carrying a full charge. None of the fuses were blown. Wiring up and down the underside of the frame seems intact. I check the connections to the CDI, starting relay, and rectifier. They seem intact. Pull the dash out and check connections using the "wiggle" test. They seem intact.

I jumped the starting relay and the engine will fire. I took the relay out and tested the contacts with a 12 v source and the solenoid appears to be working fine.

Could this be the start switch? What wires to I jump to test this? Could this be a safety switch that is stuck? Where would I look for this? What in the heck makes the whole cart go dead?

Any suggestions?

[BuggyMaster]

Does it fire and stay running?

[PyroDoctor]

No, the starter turns over.

[BuggyMaster]

Well that's a little different. When you jump the solenoid, you are simply providing the juice that the starter needs. Not a lot in between there.

Generally speaking, there is a lead off off of one side of that solenoid that provides power to the machine. Sometimes it is on the battery positive terminal itself.

I would start by checking for power at the ignition switch. Power runs from to it, and then based on your key position sends juice to other parts of the machine.

In addition, there is usually an in line fuse near your electrical box. It is usually inside a plastic housing. It is whitish in color and opens up. Inside there you'll find the fuse.

[PyroDoctor]

Got it fixed. The problem was me. I connected a winch to the system a few weeks ago. The power wire for the winch was shorting across the power coming in to the ignition. I simply crammed the wire into the 6 prong connector. Bad choice. Always take your time and install things properly.