Guys,

I just came back from my garage and both of my ATV's which have been sitting all summer, wont start. They crank thou.

My best guess is the gas has gone bad and probably gummed up the Carbs. I called the 2 dealers and both are out 2-3 weeks. Is there any shops anyone can recommend or guys working out of there garage that want a side job [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Im somewhat mechanical inclined, but have never ripped into either ATV, so I have no idea what Im getting into.

Ken

 

This is a very busy time of year, lots of guys are getting theirs fixed before hunting,

Theres a few things you can try....first check for spark, by pulling out the old spark plug, reattaching it to the wire, hold the body of the spark plug against the motor(to electrically ground it), and crank the motor over. If it has spark....youll see it. If the plug looks questionable, then replace it now.

Next is gas, and this is probably the problem. The pilot jet is usually what gets gummed up, and this controls the fuel at idle. Try starting the motor at full choke. If it still doesnt want to start, try cranking it over, holding the throttle at 1/4 open. This will bypass the idle circuit and gas will come in thru the needle circuit. If it fires up...but dies when you let go of the throttle...the pilot jet is plugged.

If you still cant start it, it might be low on compression, maybe the valves are staying open a bit too long...then the valves will need adjustment.


When you put the quad away, and its gonna sit for awhile, its important to shut the gas at the tank, and run the motor til it dies. This will completely dry the float bowl, and you wont have to worry about starting it in a few months. The reason the carb gumms up, is because the gas is left on, the gas evaporates in the float bowl thru the vent, and the float keeps refilling the float bowl and the cycle goes on for months. All the solids, condense out of the gas, and the smallest pasage in the carb is the pilot jet, so its the first to plug.

What quads do you have...its posible to bump start most of them, and this might be your easy way out.

 

Hondabuster,

There both Autos,

01 Arctic Cat 500 Auto with 150 miles on it. (It is stricly used for snow plowing). It hasnt been run since April. Usually we start them up monthly and run them around for 10 minutes, but not this year. Im quite sure it is fuel related on both machines.

Actually I did get this unit to start yesterday and run for about 4 minutes on Full choke, then I moved it off of chocke, it stalled and hasnt restarted since

The 2nd unit is a 00 Polaris 325 Trailboss that sees even less use than the 500. This one I believe was run for about 10 minutes early this summer.

If I could get either one started, I would try adding some fresh gas and sea foam. Im sure its not lack of compression as it takes 4 boys and a gorilla to pull the rope start

How do you bump start them?, both of them being Autos.

I also see people mention starting fluid, where do you inject that from, pull the plug and shoot some in there or thru the air box?. I also tried starting it with 1/4 throttle with the choke off, still a no start

And any other ideas

Ken

 

You wont be able to bump start the polaris, because of the way the cvt works...the belt goes slack at idle.
But the a/c should start, by putting it in high, and go key on. Then have someone hook up a tow strap, and have them pull you around, at about 7mph or so. You should hear the motor bump over. If the back tires want to skid, go to 4wd.
I would definetly say the piot jet is plugged on the a/c/ It did start on choke, but when the choke comes off, it dies. Classic symptoms of a plugged idle jet. Bump starting it would work, but as soon as the choke and throttle go off itll die again. Chemicals usually wont work at this point, but it doesnt hurt to try. Did any seafoam or stabil get added to the gas before storage? If not, then adding it now, wont bring it back. The gas stabilizers need to be added to good gas, to keep it good...but once the gas has gone flat...it wont come back. Id drain both tanks, you can use the float bowl drain, and put it in a gas can, and then burn it up in your car...cars arent as finicky as quads on gas quality. Then add new gas, and if posible use only pure gas, dont use the ethenol blended stuff. In a pinch the ethenol works, but be sure the float bowl is dry before leaving it sit.
I think youre gonna find the only thing thatll fix the a/c is to remove the pilot jet and clean it out. You need o be able to look down it, like looking down a straw, and see light coming thru the center hole...then you know its clean. Sometimes youll need to use a small wire, like one strand of a 20 gauge stranded wire, to dislodge the blockage. If it wont clean out, just get a new pilot jet. they are like 5 bucks.
Most likely, the polaris has a plugged pilot jet too.
Heres a couple of sites which might help you decide if you want to tackle this yourself. If youre somewhat handy with a wrench, you should be fine.

carb

carb clean

 

I did get the Polaris going with a fresh hot battery, and adding SEa foam triple strength while it was on choke. It wouldnt idle off of choke, but kept at it , and within 5-7 minutes it was idleing fine w/o choke. I let it idle for about 30 minutes, all seems good with that unit now.

I will try the bump start on the AC this evening, If I can get it running again, I will try the same sea foam and see if we can get it cleaned up in there.

Whats odd in my mind is since I was able to get started on Sunday on Choke(easily) why I cant get it to pop off again.



Ken

 

Try a new spark plug on the a/c, the one thats in there may be old and glazed and have high resistance now. And while youre pulling it , remember the idle circuit probably isnt providing any gas, so youll either need full choke or 1/4 throttle.

 

I did throw in a new plug, pulled the air filter and squirted in some starter fluid. It would run for 1 sec and quickly die, even on full choke. I did that repeatedly for 3-5 times and said enuff. I took out my 12 Guage and put the machine out of its misery [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Actually I found a dealer about 40 minutes that wasnt backed up in service. So I winched the unit up on the trailer and sent it on its way.

 

Well, at least you got the polaris running.
Remeber to leave the float bowls dry, before storing them for longer than a week...and this wont happen again. Also try to avoid ethenol blended fuel before storage. If you can use the entire tank, with in aweeks time, then ethenol is ok, but dont store with that stuff in there.
The mn street rod asso. website has a list of gas stations in mn that sell pure gas.
Where do you go riding?