How do you figure out what is causing no spark?

[VenomRS4]

I have a 79' YZ250 with no spark. And I dont know what part (or parts) are bad. How do you figure out what part is the problem?

After searching, I came to the conclusion that I probably need an ohms meter or something like it (which I will pick up). But I dont know exactly what to do with it. How do you use them and what wires, etc do you test. And what do the results mean?

 

[Moose]

check your parts in order from most cheap to deathly expensive.

-spark plug
-spark boot
-check your kill switch
-all your connections, to and from the stator and CDI.
-then test your stator
-check your CDI
__there are some others that i'm forgetting, i'm sure, someone else will surely chime in and bring those to your attention.

make sure you check all parts to ensure they're in the proper places and connected properly.

 

[VenomRS4]

Is an ohms meter the same as a multimeter?

I was thinking about picking this up:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...tomotive+Testing+Equipment&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Or would this be just fine:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...ers,+Testers+&+Accessories&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Ohms is one of the measurements that a multi-meter provides.

for what you need any multi-meter would be fine. That first model looks nice and could come in handy for tuning up your car but you won't be using the extra features on your bike.

On a digital multi-meter the ohms measurement is very simple. It measures the resistance between two points. No connection at all is "infinate" ohms, which will generally be indicated by a flashing display. A really good connection will be close to zero ohms. If you touch the two leads of the meter together it should read something less than 2 ohms.

One thing to be careful about is to make note of the "scale" that the meter is reading. The numbers 160.0 could be 160 ohms (a very small amount), 160 thousand (K) (a fairly high amout) or 160 million ohms (M), which is probably what it is getting through your fingers. The display should have a "K" or "M" displayed for Kilo-ohms or Meg-ohms

Rod