2008 Rancher Randomly Dies
 

Of course this is as far away from the house in the field when checking cows; it randomly dies. Leave it for a while, come back and it starts. We used to call this vapor locking. Wonder what my problem is? I am not a good fixer but rely on someone else, but I often give leads. Perhaps fuel filter? Battery is new.

Incidentally, it just returned 3 weeks ago from its last visit to the ATV doctor (it would not shift back into N after I shut it off; he said it was the motor; I think he just cleaned the shift motor and polished as noted in a previous thread. It seems each time it goes to him it comes back and a few days later, another problem. Next time it goes to the ATV doctor I will take it to a different one perhaps????

First thing to check is the tank breather. If, when the fault comes on, you slacken the filler and get an instant, re-start, the breather is blocked. If it isn't that, check the plug colour, if it is black and sooty after a good long run, the engine is running rich, this means it "chokes to death" then, once cool, can cope with the richer mixture for re-starting. If it is this, a clogged air filter or, most likely, a sticking choke mechanism is usually the culprit. If it doesn't have a sooty plug, electrical issues may be the cause. Take a spare plug with you when you use the bike. If it dies, remove plug cap, connect it onto spare plug, lay plug on head and press starter, if you get sparks, the electronics are probably OK, if you don't, you have an intermittent electrical fault, always the most difficult to sort out.