Hello Everyone, I am new to the forum and could use some help from you guys. I have a 2002 Polaris Magnum 500, I took this in from my father in law which had been sitting in his barn for two years. The fuel smelled a little like tarnish so I drained all the fuel and took the carb apart cleaned al the jets etc and reassembled it. It does run and seemed to run well last summer but since winter has started it runs for about 15 minutes and then starts to die after it warms up. A little more info is I did put a winch and plow on it this winter to plow my driveway and I pretty much always have to leave it a little choked to stay running at a higher rpm so it doesn't die. Can anyone help me out? I did add some sea foam to the tank on the last fill up but there is no change so far. Thank you for any help!

 

Welcome! Sounds like you still have problems in the carb if you have to have the choke on. Could be trash in the main jet or pilot jet,sticking needle and seat. Plus with todays gas best to have a good fuel preservative in the tank year round such as marine Stabil,Star Tron,etc. Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Honda, Arctic Cat & Polaris OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse Best to post future questions in the Polaris section or utility atv section.

 

Thank old polaris tech. Looks like I will tear it down again and see what the deal is!

 

One more question.. Would the carb needing cleaned or the needle not seated would that be the problem when it gets warmed up? Bc it only stalls like 15-20 minutes after it's started.

 

I'd still start at the carb and eliminate it as a problem.Plus you can pull the fuel line from the carb and see if it still pumps fuel when this happens. Just crank it over and fuel should pulse out.Plus check the tank vent line and make sure it's not kinked which could cause vapor lock problems. If it's not carb,venting or fuel related,then it could be an electrical break down after it gets warm. Just take it one step at a time.

 

Ok cool.. Thanks!! I did install a snow plow and winch but the winch pulling power from the battery shouldn't cause it to stall should it? It honestly started to stall after I put new fuel in it. The first tank after I cleaned the carb I put a fuel booster in it and it ran out so I put 93 octane in it again but no additive.. That seemed to be when it started to stall. I will pull the carb off tonight and take it into work and clean it out again. Thanks for all your help! I had to replace the fuse under the front cover initially too in order to get it running. It was rusted out big time!

 

Carb does make sense to start with though due to having to keep it choked.

 

Depending on what boosters,cleaners,etc you've added,could have affected the fuel pump,plus 93 octane isn't needed. 87 should be fine.Just make sure the fuel pump is working ok. Actually too high of an octane can cause one to run crappy. Learned that on the small atv's years ago.

 

Ok old polaris tech... Let's say I'm a...idiot and didn't see the idle adjusting screw at the bottom of the carb. After adjusting that so it runs with the choke off... Could that be my issue? As to why it stalls after warming up since it's choked the whole time? Seems like it's getting plenty of fuel from the pump. I was wondering if that could have been the issue due to the very cold temps I have been running it in(below freezing)

 

Sometimes it's the simple things right under your nose if idle adjuster solves the problem,plus make sure you have only 1/8" slack at the thumb throttle also. Hope you found the problem.