I keep my HO in a heated garage. The last few times I ran it, I had been running on reserve to help keep the water out of the gas. However, I still had a bad experience with it not starting after sitting for a month. I even replaced the plug, but it would not even fire. I tried the full choke and full throttle suggestion and still not even a fire. Then after reading what the dealer told SlimChiply, it got me to thinking. Wasn't sure if the dealer meant float bowl from SlimChiply's comment, but I drained it, since it does have a drain screw there. Still would not fire. Then I decided to pull off the reserve hose below the gas tank and drain it all. Upon inspection of the fuel (little over 1 gallon), I could see what appeared to be a water bubble. I refilled the tank with fresh gas. Did not fire up. Waited the next morning and it fired up fine and starts every time. Go figure. Perhaps what little water I had in the gas from sitting over a month without running it is what the problem was, but I would have thought that from running it on reserve my last few times would have gotten that water out.

Next time I will try the hand over the intake suggestion.

SlimChiply also indicated that the dealer said that starting will always be a problem when sitting for a while. That is interesting as, this is not the first time I've had trouble starting my HO after having it sit for a month or so, despite the fact that it sits in a heated garage.

I did not look out to see if all the stars were properly aligned the night before it started, but that may have helped. LOL

VG

 

VG, water in the gas isn't all that uncommon. I think in the last 4 or 5 years the quality of the gas I have been getting has gone down. Not so much lack of octane or that, but I seem to be finding more contaminants. Our farm gas barrel has a water seperator on it, and I find it needs draining pretty often, and the filter clogs to the point of barely letting gas through every now and then (it is gravity flow).

When water gets in gas, it can cause all sorts of wierd problems. The water bubble will try to 'float' in the fuel system wherever it finds a spot it likes. Sometimes it is the filter, sometimes a connection, etc. It is very common to attatch to a screen or elbow somewhere (tractor carbs have big enough jets they just use a fine screen instead of filter cartrige). When this happens, gravity alone is sometimes not enough to push or pull the gas through it. Think of it this way. Water & gas don't mix. A drop of water has a 'form'. Put a drop of water on a dish or something, it has a sort of elastic 'shape' that is strong enough to somewhat defy gravity (notice the little drips that hang off your pop can in the summer without falling down). If one of those little 'drips' gets wedged in a fitting or elbow, it can block the flow of fuel. Remember, the water can't dissolve in the gas, and air can't get there to evaporate it. It just basically 'sticks' there. It can't hold very much pressure, but it CAN be enough to keep fuel from getting down the line to the carb, gravity flow. The hand over the intake will produce vacuum through the entire fuel system, usually enough to break through that little bubble.With the 4 stroke Polaris machines I have tried this on, it worked. Never tried it on an HO, though. Just some 425s and one Mag 325. I think it gives the fuel pump just that little extra 'oomph' it needs to get the fuel started. Also, sometimes the check valves in a pump work great when 'wet' but can vapor lock when allowed to run 'dry'. Because of this, I recommend switching to reserve as quick as you can, give the gas a few seconds to hit the pump, then try cranking. The hardest to start machines seem to be the ones that run dry, then the guy has a beverage before pouring more gas into the tank, allowing the diaphragm and check valves to 'dry out'. This can cause loss of prime. Blocking the intake helps re-prime it.

Sorry for such a long reply, but sometimes you just gotta flaunt your ed-U-Kay-Shun.

Farmr

 

Farmr123,

Everything you say makes sense. And, it's quite possible that no matter where you buy your gas, sooner or later you'll get water in it. I know sometimes people tend to feel like they've got that special station down the road where every time they buy their gas it always appears to be fine, but who truly knows.

You can never have enough of that ed-gi-kay-shun!!!

VG

 

VG,
One comment you made I find amusing. You said that everyone has their favorite station to get 'good' gas. Here is a teaser for you.
One guy I know goes to station 'A' because station 'B' gas will have contaminants that plug his fuel filter.
Another friend has exactly the opposite luck, station 'B' has the better gas for him.
Turns out the first guy fills up in the morning, before work, and the other, after work in the afternoon. Station A fills its tanks in the afternoon, station B in the morning. I think you have it figured it out already, but for the sake of any who don't get what I am meaning. Right after you fill a tank (especially a big steel barrell) you stir up all the water & rust that settled to the bottom. If you go to fill up your car before that has time to settle, some of that goes into your tank. The bigger the barrel, and the faster they fill it, the more potential there is for more rust, dirt & water to get stirred up.

 

The problem is most likely due to the fuel pump not filling the carb due to it being dry. My 500 scr is a pain to start if it sits and the carb is dry due to the pump not having enough vacuum to pump the fuel to the carb. A trick that works for me is to take the air filter off and fog the carb inlet with WD-40 and the bike will try to fire this will usually get the pump enough vacuum to get fuel to the carb. I think the 2 strokes are all gravity fed so this is a 500 issue I am unsure about the other 4 strokes.

 

when i switch to reserve on the scrambler, the engine seems to be running weaker off the start, and making a different noise, slightly higher pitched,
I think the reserve line is a smaller line then "On"
is this true?