I have a 2003 eiger 400 and when every i give it gas it just dies. It don't matter if it is in reverse, neutral, high or low the engine will die. And if you just hold the gas in half way it will die and backfier.

Please Help

 

Sounds like trash in the carb.

 

Clean the carb thoroughly, especially the main jet and float bowl. Also, rig a filter to the end of the vent line that runs up under the seat. Same exact thing happened to my Eiger when it was only a couple of months old. It's a common problem on the Eiger(really the only one) and they all seem to be affected by it sooner or later.

 

Same year machine here (300 miles on it) but slightly different situation. If I let off the throttle while riding to point of coming to a quik stop it likes to die. It doesn't like to restart then either. Choking the machine all the way stops both problem. Machine does ride ok with lots of power once it kicks in... I mean it perhaps seems abit rich/earthy toned and unresponsive off a start due to the choking I am doing to it. If I baby the throttle starting off only sometimes does it die.
I guess I clean carb and check that vent tube also... Went through half tank of gas on about 10 miles of fairly rough ohv park trail. That not normal right?
Silly question- If a measure stick in the gas tank shows half full is it actually much fuller due to the tank shape? Oh and this fuel petcock issue I've read about..apparently I am to have it in the 'on' position rather than the 'prime' position?

 

Any luck with your machine Tforward?
Mine is one fickle dog that currently has me down...
I need HELP GUYS!!
Here's where I am at..
I read most threads on here and ref links they contain to understand the carb first before I set about cleaning the thing meticulously over a couple hours on a work table. Adjusted the floats to lower the gas a couple millimeter. Prior to it was a tad above where the bowl meets the body. Used the clear tube method. Reinstalled carb with the idle mixture set at 1.5 turns out and the thing started right up with like 2 seconds of cranking with no throttle or choke even. Idle was low and the exhaust seemed black and rich so I set about adjusting the throttle up a tad first by doing a few turns to both the throttle adjuster at the handle bars and the idle cable that comes off right side of carb over towards the pull starter. Was sounding good and all without dieing. Just before it was warmed up I went ahead and rotated carb and adjusted the idle mixture from 1.5 out in to .75 out (that is what I found it at..someone took the plug out apparently). It didn't fix the richness coming out the exhaust. So I am standing there scratching my head and just fine tuning the idle speed a little more and giving a little throttle here and there testing the revs and deceleration. All sudden like it starts to not idle down right and I begin to hear what sounds like a little internal detonating or valve ping. I give it gas and the thing is pumping way rich with lots of black smoke before backfiring and dieing. Only thing that I can think is it warmed up and something responds to change the mix drastically or something is blown. I say that as after I went ahead and immediatly dropped the bowl to run carb cleaner through all the jets it did same thing after a couple more minutes of run time. Ran fairly rich then got really rich..
Anyone know if it could do this if it is getting too warm. The fan never did come on during adjusting things. Don't know if that means much though as when I rode it last week I don't recall it coming on until maybe a good 45 minutes of riding. Does it sense the heat by way of that clear tube that runs off the back of fan over towards the exhaust pipe or by electrical sensor?. Tube isn't plugged into anything btw..is just open tubing sitting next to the heat. That sound correct??
Not sure how to procede other than to stick an inline gas filter in and hope for the best upon cleaning carb once again. Don't have much confidence that crud is problem though as I haven't found anything visable in jets or bowl for a couple cleanings now. It went from being so lean that I was running with choke on over to being a tad rich after a partial first cleaning (with carb on machine) and now to a sporadically rich and then really rich after a good cleaning. Really thought I had things under control after the thorough clean and just thought a idle mix adjust was in order.
Could this motor be on its way out after only 300 mi on it?? Could the valves be in serious need of an adjustment already? As I said in my first post I went through a half tank of gas from riding about 10-12 miles only..assumed the choke was causing such though. It seemed to be running pretty strong with only the idle die problem. Can't say if it was putting out as black an exhaust that I seen today as I was moving too fast and looking forward when riding.

Jet (122) and slide are stock and I clipped an inch off the slide spring.
Running oiled foam filter. Looks good with no excess oil or gas in the airbox.
Spark plug comes out black but not overly caked.
Am at about sea level and but plan to run mainly at 5k-8k' so I don't want to be this rich or stick in a larger jet.
HELP PLEASE!!

 

Well let it be known or rather the truth be said that Suzuki really screwed up in designing the Eiger to use a vacuum based fuel petcock!!
Yes no filter on the carb vent line allowing trash in the carb or it being able to be kinked are colossal mistakes and likely major problems that people experience but I see the fuel petcock as probably the main source of many, if not most, too lean or too rich symptoms that lead people to have mixture adjusted so much different then the next machine. Basically the 'on' selection is acting like a mixture adjustment based around carb vacuum/performance. I took petcock apart and nothing is wrong or clogging it. Nothing really can get in there..screen filters in tank seem suitable to keep anything of particle sized nature from entering system. Cleaned it and blew it out and all I can say is that when I suck on the line I get no change to the gas flow level. I did take the advices and installed inline filter after the petcock to help prevent any kind of sludgy type trash from settling out in the carb bowl or jets and rigged an air filter for the vent line. Regardless, on my machine it is plainly clear that the 'on' position does not allow enough gas through compared to the 'prime' position and results in a starved condition that might be overcome by any number of conditions through normal operation like machine vibration or movement, how much gas is in it, uphill or downhill facing, float level, etc,...who knows. I wouldn't doubt if the whole issue of the Eigers being claimed as or showing as being lean from the factory is based around the petcock issue I am seeing. When my machine is on 'prime' it runs strong but way rich. Turn it to 'on' and as the fuel line from the petcock to the carb builds vacuum the engine picks up and leans out perfect for a few seconds before going too lean and cutting out maybe a half minute or so in. Since I had lowered my float a couple/few millimeter and the idle mixture screw was set lean when I got the machine at only 3/4 out it is apparent that the problem has been an issue for previous owner as well. They probably ran on prime and sold it to me based on poor mpg. Perhaps if I boost the screw to like 3-4 out and raise the float I can find the perfect mixture for the machine to run in the 'on' position. That said, it is still the stupidist thing I ever run up on as then of course it will never actually run correctly on the 'prime' position which gives a more natural gravity fed pressure to the line and bowl. I mean in what world would it be a good thing to allow a vacuum to develop above yer float bowls gas? So anyways, I contend that probably most everyone is adjusting their idles and their jets based on a faulty system to begin with. To check yours just see if it runs different between the different petcock selections. Problem I see in adjusting everything around the 'prime' position is that I think the 'reserve' may run off the same vac/'on' situation as well hence you loose .7 gal of usable resrve tank.
Maybe I'll figure out how to modify mine to where the 'on' equals off, and the 'reserve' and 'prime' equal gravity feed.
Also, part of the proof that the two positions are never an equal flow (least on mine) can be seen when you have a see through inline filter mounted..air bubble in the filter changes size..can you say poor fuel supply design?

btw, one of my intake valve had no clearance and the other was about .002 too much. Exhaust were at about .007 which s fairly tight. Results of adjusting properly is that deathly emissions don't swamp the garage all the way into the house during this testing and adjusting I been doing...
Might want to note that different tollerances are floating around the net for the Eiger exhaust valves. Seems I read .009-.011 being mentioned for an 06' to 07' machine but someone else mentioned .007-.009 for earlier machines..anybody got facts on what would be correct valve adjustment figures?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Eigerbeaver: I had the same problem, checked plug checked float bowl. It turned out, not enough gas in tank. Remember the Eiger main fuel pickup tube sits high in the tank. Because mine would only sputter and backfire, and stall with the petcock in the ON position, when in RES or PRI it would run fine </end quote></div>

Update: Based on logic of what I realized from an Eigerbeaver post I can't claim that the flow is always different between the 'on' and 'prime' positions of the petcock. Is possable that the flow difference rears it's ugly head for a good stretch while it is about to run out of gas between using the main tank screen/tube and the lower reserve tube. It would be correct to assume the prime position takes from the lower reserve tube correct? That said, I don't remember my inline filter flling up more just like the 'prime' postion when I had flipped it over to 'reserve' neither.
I'll fill her up tomorrow and report back with whether or not the 'on' position or 'reserve' flows close to the 'prime' amount. Regardless, whether it does flow same or it is situation of running too long into a lean state before forcing a reserve switchover I call foul play by Suzuki on this. I simply don't want a fuel system that runs good one second and then tricks you into thinking there is a carb clog/problem. (although the Eigers are susceptable to that as well)
No way in hell there would be a recall this late in the game. If there is flow difference at certain fuel tank amounts provable as too lengthy they would have to install proper petcock as well as clean out and readjust the mixtures on many Eiger carbs.

 

So after filling tank both petcock position seem to flow..machine is just a cruel beast running as long as it does before emptying main tank...lol..

Lowered float even more and stuck mix screw at 1.75 out. Although it still puts out too rich all stages it isn't as bad as it was. Mainly when I hit throttle hard it dumps abunch out back. Wouldn't warm up enough to take choke off so I'm still pretty muffed. Guess I need to stick a new needle kit in.

 

sounds like the main jet has trash in it or stopped up, clean the carb

 

Hi eddie, I assume that suggestion is for tforward's problem? I would think he is clogged being there no mention of any cleaning done yet...
I'm all filtered and cleaned out several times now. Even though I don't see it, doesn't it seem like my issue would be wear to my main jet and needle?
I've read references to and seen blowups of the keihin carbs that show a dedicated needle valve/seat that goes up in there for the slide needle but I'll be damned if I see one in mine. One fella said he lost his and ordered one up but I don't recall if he replied back on his results. Although these are Suzuki's I asked a yamaha service guy about it yesterday and he said that not all carb have a dedicated seat for the needle besides the brass airtube that the main jet screws into. That sound like a load of bull? All I know is I was running about same before I ever cracked it open. And that is to say real rich especially when I throttle.