My daughter has 2009 phoenix 200 that ran great last season. This season a problem has occurred in 2 of our longer rides. On both occasions we drove roughly 30-40 miles without any issues. We fished for a couple hours, then headed back without any problems until about 1/2 way back. The quad gets a stutter or a miss at 3/4- full throttle. It also has completely died out as well. The first time I could not get it to start again. I added gas as a last ditch effort and still wouldn't start. I thought for a bit and put the fuel valve to reserve. It fired right up and idled perfect but had the stutter/miss above 3/4 throttle. We made it back and I assumed it was a fuel related issue, I checked over and cleaned the bike (connections and carb) the next day and it ran fine around the yard, so I figured it was fixed. The second time (this past weekend) as she pulled up beside me it stalled half way home. She mentioned it was starting to run funny again ( It was fine the entire morning and half way back). I added gas again to be safe (there was lots in there) and tried to start it once and it wouldn't. I put it on reserve and it fired right back up and idled fine. Then I immediately put it to on position to see if anything changed and it didn't, it idled just fine. We took off for home. The bike had the miss again. This time I drove it for a few miles changing from reserve to on to see if there was an issue here, but it wouldn't get rid of the upper end or hard acceleration miss/stumble, so it was a slower ride home. When we got back I pulled the plug and it visibly looked good. I left it overnight and the next morning went to play around with it, and it runs just fine???

So this is hard to test as it takes a long run before any issues, It now doesn't seem to be gas tank related, it was coincidence that putting it to reserve got it to fire I think. Also after a long cool down it runs fine again?? Any ideas?

 

Rule out simple things first like a new plug.. You can't tell by just looking at one. Replace the inline fuel filter and if the fuel valve has a cup(can't remember if it does) drain and clean it and any screen.Clean/replace the air filter if needed,plus how long has it been since the valves have been adjusted? This itself can cause problems if they're too tight to begin with and as an engine gets hot clearances can further decrease and can cause an engine to run rough. If you need a service manual here's one for 5 bucks.2009 Polaris Phoenix 200 Service Manual PDF Download

 

Agree on the plug, I was just stating it wasn't black, wet, or white. I haven't done the valves on this yet, but will. Strange that it completely died a couple times though? I'lll strip the fuel valve apart too. Any way to test an intermittent coil?

 

Best way is with a coil checker that I had at the shop and a lot of cycle shops have. One old fashioned way to tell if the problem is ignition related is with a timing light. Hook it up when it starts running bad,give it throttle while in neutral and if the timing light flickers in sync with the miss/limiting,it's more than likely an electrical problem. If the light stays steady,then the problem lies else where. Even some thing like clutches or a belt can cause problems that can mimic a fuel or electrical problem if they need repair.That's why I mentioned eliminating the easy,obvious things first,then if that's not it proceed further on tests.That's where the manual comes into play.It's just a process of elimination.