The 724 38050 was made for 10 years with minor changes but the wiring stayed the same I believe. The diagram below is from the middle years.
In the center of the engine picture below the carb heater box is a square tab that has two wires running from it. I think the interlocks and on/off switch connect there. Also there is ground and a wire that runs under the cowling to the coil.
If this is a machine you just picked then you may not know the interlocks on the dash and on/off have to be in the right position to start, get spark.
You may have bad points, coil, condenser or a wiring problem.
You can do a quick test for spark by removing the wire running from behind the cowling to the tab. That wire runs from the coil and is what connects the coil to ground by the interlocks or on/off switch. You’ll be bypassing any wiring problem.
That wire may be grounded behind the cowling from hitting the flywheel but that’s pretty rare. You can check it to ground with an ohmmeter.
If you can’t get spark with the wire from the cowling removed then you probably have a points or condenser problem. Coils do go but generally last forever.
If you can start with the cowling wire removed then the wire that is broken may be touching ground. You can look under the dash at the interlock switching and follow the wires to the tab. I think there is also a wire from one or both clutck levers. You can troubleshoot with an ohmmeter or by removing wires from the tab so see who's causing the grounding. The microswitches on the shifter are sometimes a problem.
