Hello everyone,

I am having an issue with my 700H1 (68 miles and out of warranty). The main symptom as the thread title states is the bike will not run. In other words, the bike will not even attempt to start.

Little background here. I have the bike out last weekend, no issues what so ever. This morning (3/13/11) I started the bike up (yes it did start once), and it idled for about 5 minutes and died. I proceeded to start the bike back up and it would not.

What I have done so far.

-Fuel tank has fuel.
-Bike has spark
-Bike is getting fuel (spark and fuel should equal combustion, but that doesn't seem to be occurring)
-Cleaned the spark plug
-Checked air filter for clogs or anything out of the ordinary.
-Dry fuel put into the tank to absorb water if any exists

After all of that, the bike still will not fire back up. With the air filter out, I shot some starting fluid, but that doesn't help matters at all. So here I am, looking for any theory someone might have. My first cat (2000 250) was notorious for valve issues (bike would build compression then start) until cat finally warrantied the entire top end to fix the issue. I am kind of leaning towards a valve issue, but I am not entirely sure at this point.

If anyone has some thoughts, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Chris

-'10 Arctic Cat 700H1
-'05 Arctic Cat 500 Manual

 

Does your instrument pod light up when you turn the key on? Any codes flash on the pod like,"volt" or "EFI",or anything? Does it crank over? I have some thoughts,but need to narrow them down.

 

The pod shows the speedometer and gas gauge as normal. The only time I see volt is when my battery dies. I put my AC 500 battery in just to check and it lights up without issue. Now EFI on the pod that I have seen. Bike cranks over fine, it just will not ignite the fuel and start.

 

Take your seat off. Unplug your ECU. The wirng harness going to the ECU most likey has black tape around it,but unwrap it and look at the connection of the wires going into plug itself. You may have a wire coming out or has come out. Look hard, there are alot of wires going into it. One wire will do exactly what your saying but I cant remember the color. If you see one that came out,push it in and try to start.

 

Well, I did as you suggested with the ecu, but to no avail. Did not see any loose wires or anything such as that. I double checked I had spark and fuel and that is a yes. At this point, I am a little perplexed as to what the issue is. What other thoughts might you have?

Thanks

 

Well ,i was hoping the wire was the issue. I just got my bike back 2 weeks ago b/c off that issue. only took them 8 weeks to figure it out and alot of parts interchanged. If EfI flashes(which is what mine did after trying to start it),then it could be other things like,ignition coil,tip sensor(its in the rear under your tail light) If you flipped anytime this could be it.

 

Is your injector wire hook up.If your engine is flooded hold the throttle wide open until it starts.If it starts let off the throttle.go to your dealer and buy the code connector that you hook into the harness under the seat. I think they cost about $10.00. when you get your code connector check your throttle position sensor and make sure on your dash gauge the line is in the middle not on the upper or lower line. I have seen some bad tps and some of them just needed adjustment

 

Right now, I don't have anything flashing on the pod. Holding the throttle wide open will not allow it to start. I have tried. I have shot start fluid right into the throttle body and even down into the cylinder to try and fire it. It will not even attempt to start. No combustion occurring what so ever. If there was a TPS issue, I would assume the bike should want to try and start, but just die. Similar to TPS in a car or truck. You will just have to stay on the throttle to keep it going.

At the moment, I am leaning towards valves being stuck open. This was a common occurrence with my first cat.

 

do you have good compression.yes i agree i would check the valves some of these engines have shims instead of adjustment screws to adjust valves.

 

I can answer your compression question with a yes, but keep in mind, I did not put a compression gauge in to see exactly what it was doing. The bike has been running perfectly fine up until this past Sunday.

Maybe I have been working on cars too long (i.e. plug in an obd/programming computer for diagnostics and tweaking) and have forgotten some old tricks, but is there a way to test that the ECU is working as intended. I suspect the easiest way would be to plug the ECU into another 700, but is there any thing else that can be done. I want to try and eliminate other possible issues.

In the meantime, I am going to get a new spark plug in the bike and get everything on an even Kiel. I have good spark out of the current plug, but I will change it just in case.

mud: Forgot about your question regarding flipping the bike over or anything like that. I have not flipped or rolled the bike. The most that has occurred is the bike was on 2 wheels when I slid into a snow bank riding on my local lake. The was 2 months or so ago.

Thanks