Lifan 200 Swap Troubleshooting

jackson · 12-21-2016, 05:55 PM

Hey there everyone, long time lurker here, but recently registered with the hopes of getting a bit of mechanical advice. (I apologize in advance for the long post) In the beginning of the year I bought my first motorcycle, a 77 Xl100. I had a blast riding it for a few months, but I've got this terrible habit of "fixing" things that aren't broken and bought a new Lifan 200 to swap in.

This is the engine FWIW: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I started the swap back in July, and mounted the new engine in an afternoon. Figuring it would be better to leave the wiring to a pro, I bring it to a shop to finish the wiring harness. The shop can't get the bike to run, saying there is a weak spark while kickstarting and no spark with the starter motor. After a month or so, the shop later says they figured out the problem and I just need to buy a different harness. (This is the new harness https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
The shop puts the new harness in along with the new electronics and still has the same problem. Eventually the shop tells me they are stumped, and to just come pick it up.

I bring it to another local shop, these guys have had it for a few months and have the same problem and can't figure it out. I've called PCC Motors (The Amazon seller) and they couldn't help, and at this point it's been too long to get my money back through Amazon.

Both shops say they have checked the obvious, (fuel, compression, battery, wiring and grounds etc) and we had the same problem with either wiring harness, and with both coils and CDIs.

At this point I don't even know where to start troubleshooting. My best guess would be the pickup coil, simply because I think that's the last electrical/ignition part that hasn't been replaced. Maybe a neutral safety switch or something similar that both shops somehow missed? Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

TL;DR Brand new Lifan 200 won't start. Weak spark with kickstart, none with electric start. All obvious parts and causes checked.

Merlin · 12-21-2016, 07:10 PM

A lot of people are been having trouble with these wiring harnesses, a few of the pins are in the wrong place. hope this helps:

humanbeing · 12-22-2016, 12:24 AM

What's the ohm & volt reading?

===
coil: http://sanxin.com.cn/info5/index.asp?id=20

wilserchinarider · 12-22-2016, 08:27 AM

https://www.kazumaracing.com/trouble...s-p-13392.html

kill switch?

jackson · 12-27-2016, 09:24 PM

Thanks for the suggestions y'all. We did move the pins around after watching the video. I just picked the bike up from shop #2 this afternoon, so I'll check out the kill switch and get the volt readings from the coil tomorrow in the AM.

jackson · 12-28-2016, 07:05 PM

So I dug into things today and found the large gear on the engine that the starter motor turns was bent which was causing the engine to bind up and stop turning... Don't know how/why that happened, but I managed to bend it back so everything is turning freely. Spent the afternoon playing with that and checking things with the multimeter and didn't have any luck until I pulled the black/white wire on the CDI. Pulling that gave me a nice bright spark and then all of a sudden, my starter motor stops...

Probably a loose connection somewhere that I'll chase down tomorrow and start working on finding the killswitch fault.

jackson · 12-30-2016, 03:00 PM

So the next day, I tried to kickstart the bike and was back to no spark again. The starter motor was off, because it was tied into the kill switch somehow in the harness. There were some other weird things in the harness that I *think* I cleaned up. When re-doing the harness didn't work, I replaced the stator/pickup and that didn't change anything either. I've got pictures of the harness, CDI, and both sides of the plug where the engine connects to the harness. Maybe you guys can spot something I'm missing?

Ariel Red Hunter · 12-30-2016, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackson

So the next day, I tried to kickstart the bike and was back to no spark again. The starter motor was off, because it was tied into the kill switch somehow in the harness. There were some other weird things in the harness that I *think* I cleaned up. When re-doing the harness didn't work, I replaced the stator/pickup and that didn't change anything either. I've got pictures of the harness, CDI, and both sides of the plug where the engine connects to the harness. Maybe you guys can spot something I'm missing?

Bare feet! There's your problem, bare feet.

jackson · 12-30-2016, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ariel Red Hunter

Bare feet! There's your problem, bare feet.

Hah. I missed that. Guess I set myself up for that one

jackson · 01-01-2017, 03:27 PM

So I pulled the harness off the bike, unplugged the rectifier, battery and solenoid. With the coil and harness off the bike, the coil and sparkplug get power while kickstarting the bike. As soon as I connect the coil to a ground,the CDI stops sending power to the coil. Also, with nothing plugged into the engine, the red/black wire from the stator(gives power to CDI) is showing no resistance when I connect the other probe on the multimeter to a ground on the bike. Is this correct?

Merlin · 01-01-2017, 03:59 PM

Doesn't sound right to me. That would mean a short in your stator. Are you sure that red black wire isn't ground?

jackson · 01-01-2017, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlin

Doesn't sound right to me. That would mean a short in your stator. Are you sure that red black wire isn't ground?

I believe the green/white wire from the engine is the ground. The black/red was giving me around 70 volts while cranking.

culcune · 01-02-2017, 01:22 AM

We haven't discussed this company for a while--see if they are still in business, or at least communicate with you. Hooper is all Lifan, all the time...

http://www.hooperimports.com/

Merlin · 01-02-2017, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by culcune

We haven't discussed this company for a while--see if they are still in business, or at least communicate with you. Hooper is all Lifan, all the time...

http://www.hooperimports.com/

Just missed it:
Good-Bye and Thank you!
Hooper Imports will be closing December 31st 2016 and the website shuttered. We appreciate all of the support from fantastic customers over the last 14 years. All orders placed will be shipped. You may be able to get limited remaining merchandise by emailing HooperImportsDan@hotmail.com or eBay's seller: xr50-stuff after closing. Happy Holidays!
Bummer

Mudflap · 01-03-2017, 06:44 AM

I bought a few engines and other parts from Larry Hooper, always good service. Sorry to see him close up shop.

12-21-2016, 05:55 PM	#1
jackson Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 9	Lifan 200 Swap Troubleshooting Hey there everyone, long time lurker here, but recently registered with the hopes of getting a bit of mechanical advice. (I apologize in advance for the long post) In the beginning of the year I bought my first motorcycle, a 77 Xl100. I had a blast riding it for a few months, but I've got this terrible habit of "fixing" things that aren't broken and bought a new Lifan 200 to swap in. This is the engine FWIW: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I started the swap back in July, and mounted the new engine in an afternoon. Figuring it would be better to leave the wiring to a pro, I bring it to a shop to finish the wiring harness. The shop can't get the bike to run, saying there is a weak spark while kickstarting and no spark with the starter motor. After a month or so, the shop later says they figured out the problem and I just need to buy a different harness. (This is the new harness https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) The shop puts the new harness in along with the new electronics and still has the same problem. Eventually the shop tells me they are stumped, and to just come pick it up. I bring it to another local shop, these guys have had it for a few months and have the same problem and can't figure it out. I've called PCC Motors (The Amazon seller) and they couldn't help, and at this point it's been too long to get my money back through Amazon. Both shops say they have checked the obvious, (fuel, compression, battery, wiring and grounds etc) and we had the same problem with either wiring harness, and with both coils and CDIs. At this point I don't even know where to start troubleshooting. My best guess would be the pickup coil, simply because I think that's the last electrical/ignition part that hasn't been replaced. Maybe a neutral safety switch or something similar that both shops somehow missed? Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated! TL;DR Brand new Lifan 200 won't start. Weak spark with kickstart, none with electric start. All obvious parts and causes checked.
	0

12-22-2016, 12:24 AM	#3
humanbeing Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2,436	What's the ohm & volt reading? === coil: http://sanxin.com.cn/info5/index.asp?id=20 __________________
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01-01-2017, 03:59 PM	#11
Merlin Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,107	Doesn't sound right to me. That would mean a short in your stator. Are you sure that red black wire isn't ground? __________________ Bashan Blaze Mods: Alloy Rim's, Muffler, Mukuni VM26 Carb, Foam Filter, Tachometer, Volt Meter,LED Headlight, LED Blinkers
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01-02-2017, 01:22 AM	#13
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,035	We haven't discussed this company for a while--see if they are still in business, or at least communicate with you. Hooper is all Lifan, all the time... http://www.hooperimports.com/ __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
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12-21-2016, 07:10 PM	#2
Merlin Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,107	A lot of people are been having trouble with these wiring harnesses, a few of the pins are in the wrong place. hope this helps: __________________ Bashan Blaze Mods: Alloy Rim's, Muffler, Mukuni VM26 Carb, Foam Filter, Tachometer, Volt Meter,LED Headlight, LED Blinkers
	0

12-22-2016, 08:27 AM	#4
wilserchinarider Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 380	https://www.kazumaracing.com/trouble...s-p-13392.html kill switch?
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12-27-2016, 09:24 PM	#5
jackson Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 9	Thanks for the suggestions y'all. We did move the pins around after watching the video. I just picked the bike up from shop #2 this afternoon, so I'll check out the kill switch and get the volt readings from the coil tomorrow in the AM.
	0

12-28-2016, 07:05 PM	#6
jackson Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 9	So I dug into things today and found the large gear on the engine that the starter motor turns was bent which was causing the engine to bind up and stop turning... Don't know how/why that happened, but I managed to bend it back so everything is turning freely. Spent the afternoon playing with that and checking things with the multimeter and didn't have any luck until I pulled the black/white wire on the CDI. Pulling that gave me a nice bright spark and then all of a sudden, my starter motor stops... Probably a loose connection somewhere that I'll chase down tomorrow and start working on finding the killswitch fault.
	0

01-01-2017, 03:27 PM	#10
jackson Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 9	So I pulled the harness off the bike, unplugged the rectifier, battery and solenoid. With the coil and harness off the bike, the coil and sparkplug get power while kickstarting the bike. As soon as I connect the coil to a ground,the CDI stops sending power to the coil. Also, with nothing plugged into the engine, the red/black wire from the stator(gives power to CDI) is showing no resistance when I connect the other probe on the multimeter to a ground on the bike. Is this correct?
	0

01-03-2017, 06:44 AM	#15
Mudflap Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 1,873	I bought a few engines and other parts from Larry Hooper, always good service. Sorry to see him close up shop.
	0