Very confusing and inconsistent behavior... here is the sequence of events...

After doing the work in this thread about my AWD and transmission switch and this thread about my tie rods, I finally got out and did a little plowing in my driveway.

I pushed it out of my basement, set the choke, and cranked it up with no problem. After I let it run for 4 or 5 minutes to warm up (I turned the choke off after about 2 minutes), I climbed on and put it in reverse to back away from the basement door. It immediately quit. I put it back in neutral, hit the starter, and it cranked right up, no problem. I put it in High and Low, no problems... I put it in revrese, and it stopped again. O...Kaaaaaaay.... so I put it back in neutral, cranked it again, no problem, and this time I decided to hold the "Override" switch in while I put it into reverse. It did NOT quit. As soon as I released the Override switch, it immediately quit.

Well, I really did need to plow the driveway, so I cranked it again and decided I'd just hold the override in every time I used reverse, which worked fine. It had no problems in High or Low gear.

I got most of the driveway plowed when I noticed (after about 15-20 minutes of plowing) that the engine no longer quit when I put it into Reverse. Strange, I thought, but okay... maybe it was just some weird kink that worked itself out.

I was just finishing up when the engine kind of bogged and quit, for no reason, in forward (High) gear, while I was sitting still. I tried to start it again (in various gears, with and without the Override button) but it would not start. I checked to make sure I had plenty of gas and oil (I had plenty). So... I decided to have a smoke and let it cool off to see if that made a difference.

After I finished my smoke (about 5 minutes) I tried again... nothing. Then, I tried it with the throttle wide open (which I had not done to this point when starting it, ever) and let it turn over for a good 15 seconds, which is MUCH longer than I usually do... it usually starts in less than 3 seconds with no throttle. At the end of the 15 seconds, I let off the starter and it kinda coughed a little, like it might have been about to start. I tried again, and after a few seconds, it cranked up and started running fine again.

It is a 95 Sportsman 4x4, all stock as far as I can tell.

Anybody have any ideas as to what is going on here?

 

find the rev limiter box and unplug the black wire from it...
look at parts diagrams to locate it.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: eggenz7

find the rev limiter box and unplug the black wire from it...

look at parts diagrams to locate it.</end quote></div>

Okay... but then what? Are you saying that will fix the problem? Or is that a step in the process of troubleshooting?

 

sounds like it will fix the problem. those boxes cause weird things to happen when they start to go out or go out all together

 

Okay, thanks for the tip... only one problem... I can't find the darn thing. Anybody have a clue where the reverse limiter is on a 95 Sportsman? I can't find it in the microfiche... anybody know which slide it is on?

 

its number 41

 

Got it... Thanks!

 

eggenz7,
During my research on this problem, I also found this thread which agrees with your possible solution. Just wanted to add the link here so others that are searching for this problem can find the supporting info. I'll post my findings once I verify that this is (or is not) the cause of the engine dying when I put it in reverse.

 

For anyone that finds this thread, unplugging the black wire from the reverse speed limiter DID fix the problem. I plan to replace the reverse speed limiter, but until it arrives, I will just leave it unplugged and be very careful when going in reverse.

Thanks, eggenz7, for the great advice!

 

no need to replace the unit. just run without it. just remember to watch what your doing in reverse. personally i really dont like the limiters because when i get stuck and need to go backwards but cant get enough momentum because the motor cuts out. by then it usually bottoms out and cant get the dang thing out of the hole.