Can't get a spark, do I need the kill switch?

[dunne]

So I've tried with 2 different CDIs and stator coils with 2 different NGK B6HS and still cannot get a spark. I soldered blue to blue and black to black both times, capped the white and didn't connect the kill switch. I read somewhere that a faulty kill switch can kill your electrical connection.

However, the kill switch is the only electrical component that I haven't replaced, and logically this could've been my problem all along instead of everything else that I've replaced. Do I need it wired in in order to spark the plug? I'm also going to go by an ohm meter and test my magneto / CDI on the off chance that I've gotten 2 faulty ones in a row.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Purple Haze]

Sounds like a bad ground. Sand or file clean the mounting side of the magneto, that's always been a problem area. Make sure you have a good clean connection on the ground (black) wire. I've never had a CDI box go bad, but have had lots of mag coils go bad, especially the older type with the white wire. The newer style with 2 wires is much more reliable. These will run without the kill switch wired in, but I've never had a problem with them, they are spring-loaded and make a connection when pushed in. One other thing to consider; the plug wire on these kits is notoriously cheap and many times faulty. They screw off of the CDI, get a good solid or spiral core wire and replace it. Hope this helps.

 

[crassius]

you do not need a kill switch to run

if could happen that 2 CDIs are bad, less likely that both mag coils are bad

you may have a spark that you are not seeing when you look - in this case, you need to hold plug in your hand and hand against a good ground on motor and run the bike quickly - if there truly is no spark, you will not feel anything

 

[dunne]

Thanks a lot for your help guys!
Magneto is fine per the multimeter, and I took it off and sanded the back. Chopped off the white wire as well.
My stock CDI was dead.
However when I tested my Jaguar CDI, it showed no current too. Then I reversed the connection (red multimeter to black CDI, black multimeter to blue CDI) and got a reading. Anybody think there's a chance the Jaguar CDI was wired backwards?

Thanks in advance.

 

[crassius]

you were probably just reading the charge that was put on the capacitor in there, or one leg of the rectifier - testing a CDI with a meter is iffy at best

hook it to a good mag and turning the motor will tell you if it is dead