Here is a question my Honda dealer could not even answer...so maybe you all can. Per my owners manual and service manual, my Honda Rubicon has a carburetor heater. I do know it is activated by turning on the key, but does this heater have a thermostat and does it help turning on the ignition and keep it on for a few minutes (to activate the carb heater) before starting the machine in cold weather? My Rubicon is great and no real problems except one. Mine is a cold hearted beast and it does not like the throttle opened up when it has not warmed up for a number of minutes without a good choking. I find I have to use partial choke when backing it out of the garage when cold (it will sputter and burp and seems to die off with throttle use), until the machine warms up a bit, but then runs great with choke off. Must be something to do with the throttle sensor. Anyone else having throttle sputter when your Rubicon is not warmed up enough? A minor thing and nothing to get into a twist over. Oh, before I forget....it heard of some Rubicon owners having an "engine rattle" on their Rubicon at low revs. Mine had the same problem, but I fixed it. It seems that part of the exhaust heat shield rattles against the engine case. I removed the left plastic engine cover (two screws), took a flat screw driver and with minimal force, bent up that part of the exhaust heat shield touching the engine case. Reinstalled the plastic cover, and guess what? No more rattle. Let me know about your cold start solutions and carb heater info. Thanks from Michigan.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Yes you are supposed to turn the key for a minute or so and then start it. As far is it being a cold starter, I thought this was the case....then we got out 660. It is a cold starter in 70 degrees!

 

The carb heater is a tiny little warmer, I'd guess always on on the rubi, only one model of rancher, the TM has an air tempereture switch ( the rest are always on.) The switch if equiped is within spec if it comes on between 68 and 45 degrees F. The heater itself should have about 14 ohms resistance.

Best bet is to leave the key on for a minute for various electrics(and the heater) to get going in very cold weather. Honda's standard is ten minutes of varied use to get the motor to full operating temperture.

You already know this but avoid leaving the ignition on too long, it's a good bet the carb heater among other things will eat small batteries alive in the cold in short order. I left mine on for a couple hours the other evening after shutting the motor down, was deader than a nail, and the lights were off. A battery boost from my charger got things rolling again, but iI know that the ICU must not be the only thing draining when shut down key on.

 

Yep, about a min does wonders for mine..but Mine also will not start or run without choke if below 40 degrees out. It is common with big bore single cylinders as they all are very hard to carburate- the bigger the cylinder the more finicky it will be. Mine also has a tiny ping sound when lugging around in D2, have to check that shild.

 

I'd forgotten about this heater. My Rubi is a little hard starting and coughs the first 2 or 3 minutes when I crack the throttle.