OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Honda Engines Honda GV400 Wiring

hi i have recently aquired an old westwood wheelhorse b111 which has been fitted with a honda gv 400 motor .the engine runs really nice but it has only been previously started by using the pull starter, there is a starter motor fitted and i have bench tested it along with the solenoid and the ignition switch and all seem to be working fine, the problem i have is that the wiring has been messed about with and i would like to make up my own loom from scratch and get this motor on the start key i have bought a new battery and am ready to start creating a new loom there is no mower deck fitted and will only be used as a runabout/tow tractor,can anybody help me with a simple sketch as how to wire it up please ,battery leads are there ,also i am wondering if this engine has a recharging curcuit to recharge the battery,any help with a sketch and wire thicknesses whould be very helpful many thanks kingy.

Kingy, wiring the starting circuit is pretty straight forward. Battery negative to the frame, battery positive (heavy wire) to one side of the solonoid, other side of solonoid (heavy wire) to the starter motor. Then it is usually the case with the 2 small terminals on the solonoid, one goes to earth (frame) the other goes to the ignition switch. From the other side of the ignition switch you run a wire back to the battery live side of the solonoid.This puts power up to the ignition switch, you turn the key, this powers the solonoid and the motor will crank over. Then you will need to tell us if there is any wires coming from the upper part of the motor and this will be the charging circuit. Good chance the might have been chopped off

hi norm thanks for your reply , i have stripped back the tape wrapping on the loom today to get a better idea of what wires are re usable and most of what you explained are there to re use, there is a green wire from the ignition switch which has been cut off quite near to the starter motor could this be the trigger any clues on this one ? i think i have found the charging circuit wire, there is a little black box with a couple of wires going in & out of it with a red cable coming out with a stiff black protective sheath around it and then a male bullet connector on the end,which was taped up, do you know where this wire should connect to it does not seem to have been butchered, i have enclosed a photo of the area hope you can help many thanks kingy

Hi Kingy, not sure on the green wire, only wire that goes to the starter is the heavy wire from the solonoid. The ignition switch could have 2 on positions, first on is on which doesn't interest you unless you have an hour meter fitted, and the second position is spring loaded and this is the wire that goes back to the solonoid to trigger the solonoid shut to crank the motor. The red wire in the black sheaf can either go to the battery side of the solonoid or directly to the positive terminal on the battery. Once you hook this wire up check that it is charging with a multimeter with the motor running

hi norm thanks for the info will let you know how it goes when i have done it, out of interest does the charging system know when to stop charging the battery like a car whould, is that what that little black box does ? thanks again great help kingy

Hi Kingy, providing the stator is working, the black box should regulate the charging, it also converts it from A/C to D/C for the battery, that is why you need to test it with a multimeter once you have it running

The green wire that has been cut may be the kill wire. There should be an earth wire that goes to the key switch that earths the ignition coil when it is turned to the off position. A lot of later mowers have the headlight switch incorporated into the key switch in that you have two "on" positions, one with headlights on, one with headlights off. Don't know if your machine even has headlights or if it does if it uses the same set up.

Would the Wheel Horse B111 service manual help? It does not specify Westwood but is listed as Wheel Horse B81, B111.

Trev, could be a kill switch wire but that usually goes to the other side around the throttle linkage setup

hi avb i have tried every avenue to get a workshop manual ,without any success any help with one would be very welcome allbeit that the motor is not the original b&s which it whould of came with many thanks kingy

thanks again norm i have tested the wire coming out of the black box and it does light up a test lamp when the motor is running, not sure what to set the multi meter at or what to expect the reading to be also what guage should the return cable to the battery be from bullet connector in the photo thanks kingy

The Briggs is what the workshop has in it but at you would what on the mower end is setup. Drop me a PM with you email and I send you the copy I got of the mower's Workshop manual.

As for Honda all I found was very basic wiring diagram that was barely useful to to anyone. It say you should have a DC and AC leads from the motor with the AC being for lighting and the DC for charging the battery. The starter solenoid (relay) would be something that was added by Wheel Horse or another tech to allow starting by key switch.

Hi Kingy, the fact it lights up a test light just says it is charging, doesn't tell you if it is A/C or D/C, I'm guessing D/C. Only problem if it is A/C it will damage the battery. Only way to test this is with a multimeter and a cheap one only costs a few dollars

Hi, have just bought a Greenfield with the GV400 and a need to jump start as normal start process wont work. Have been told it needs a new 'blocking diode' .... ?

Have found this handy link : http://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/engines/pdf/manuals/3189120.pdf

leemac

hi leemac thanks for the link it was exactly what i needed, i have connected the red wire back to the battery and it seems to be working fine, but i cant see any sign of the white wire, it would be handy to find it then i could wire up some headlights let me know if you know where it comes out from thanks again kingy

Hi Leemac, I have a Honda and a couple of Briggs on ride on mowers and none of them charge, so I just fitted a jump starter pack where the battery fits and that does away with the need for charging. Every six months just put the starter pack on charge. Starter pack is cheaper than a new battery and has its own charger built in.