[BradenJ]

Hey everyone

Been having some trouble with my 250 lately
two weeks ago took it out for a ride and it ran perfectly, got home and washed the bike two days later bike wouldn't start, thought id got water in the kill switch but i still had a dull spark, took the bike to local mechanic and he's assured me i had just gotten to much water through the electrics :s.ive also put a fresh spark plug in, took the bike out this weekend and it ran beautifully no issues starting up whats so ever, tonight i went out to start it up (havent even washed) and it just wouldnt fire up, just kept cranking over. let it sit for five then tried again and it got started up, anybody seen this before? im thinking its the ignition

[JimDirt]

Welcome to the site !!

It could be a couple of things ....... Did you try the enriching knob ?? (the idle knob , you pull it for cold weather starts) , this might tell you if it is a fuel issue or a ignition issue ....... As far as the kill switch , it still could have had moisture in it , and from sitting it has now corroded and that is hampering the starting because of the weak spark .... I would think after sitting for a couple weeks that any moisture that was in a plug in connection would have dried , but that does not mean that the moisture that was in there did not cause damage , if that were the case , then all those that have gotten water in the kill switches could simply have cleaned them and been running again , but ultimately , they have almost all had to replace the switch

A 1 gallon ziploc bag with a trash bag tie will prevent this from being a issue , and is what I do when I wash my 20 450R , i tried wrapping cling wrap and it still allows moisture to get thru , the ziploc bag is heavy enough to keep the moisture out even with a pressure washer spray applied directly to it but I would also use the tie wrap tightly at the opening to completely eliminate any moisture or steam from entering ..... I would still lean towards the kill switch as the issue , simply because it was running fine (as per your explanation) prior to the washing , though it is possible the ECM or Stator has gone bad , I would focus on the cheaper possible "fixes" first , cheapest being replacing the kill switch ( they are not cheap , but far less expensive than a ECU or Stator *about $80.00*) , since you said it ran after the cleaning , I would think that the spark plug is still good , but the weak spark is the main concern and most likely caused from within the switch .....

But that is where I would start , it is a common issue with the new gen bikes .... why a dirtbike can't get wet is beyond me , but I guess that is how they sell parts ...

[Aussiecrf230]

Jim, you are thinking of boats. Boats get wet.
Heaven forbid, next thing you won't be able to get dirt on a dirt bike.

[JimDirt]

Yea Ray , but at least its only about $75 for the switch , but yea , its kinda strange when you can't wash the dirt off a dirt bike ...