I't will not start!!!

R

red700rider

New member
Joined
Feb 4, 2004
Messages
6
Location
Western Canada
I have a 97 SX700 that I just ran for the first time this year. As usual it took an hour of removing plugs and putting fuel in the carbs (Is this normal???). I had it running and rode it a bit and later on in the day I started it again but did not ride. The next day I went to ride it and it would not start till I put fuel in the carbs again two times. Again the next day I went to start it and now it will not start. When I put fuel in the carb it runs till it burn up then dies. I thought it might be a faulty fuel pump but I talked to to tech guys who both say it is plugged needle jets. Is it not odd that all jets would plug at once? Are they telling me this because if I took it in to them they would get to charge for more shop time? Also, I had started it about six weeks ago (in anticipation of snow) and after I started it I took the carbs out and cleaned the float bowls and looked into the carbs and they looked very clean. At the end of last season I ran the sled till it was virtually out of gas and added new gas when I started it. If I do have to clean the needle jets is there anything else I should do at that time?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Your pilot jets are probably clogged, and you should have run it until it was completely out of gas or drained the gas out of the float bowls. There are many places in the carb which get clogged if gas sits in there for long, pilot jets are usually the first, then the mains, then the passageways in the pilot circuit, also check the air jet and passageway in the mouth of the carb.

What I do at the end of the season is drain all gas out of tank, run sled to get fuel out of lines, then go thoroughly through carbs. At beginning of season I take the carbs off again just to check, they are usually Ok and then put in fresh fuel. I have really never trusted putting fuel stabilizers, I have seen may times when they just did not work and the carbs were clogged. And it is easier when there is no chance of fuel mucking up the carb at all, because when they get really bad they are a pain to get completely clean.
 
Could be water in the fuel

I have a 1997 SX nd it is real difficult to keep it running when starting it up for the first time of the season. I have to pull the plugs and prime it about ten times before it will run on its own. Once I get it to stay running, it will start up every time even after it has been sitting for several weeks.

One time I had a problem when it was really cold. It would not stay running. The 1997 did not have heated carbs. The carbs could get iced up, especially if you have condensation (water) in the tank during the summer.

This could be your problem, too difficult to tell. When I had this problem, I put dry gas in the tank and then pulled it in the garage and put a hair dryer on the carbs. Once it started and warmed up, I never had the problem again.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the help. I took the carbs off to clean them and found that they were iced up. We had a storm the day before with strong wind and I think snow got into the carbs :oops: . I am going to check all the jets while I have it apart.
 
check your pump

if it was carb freeze due to water, check the pump, it might also be froze. Just pull it over a few times with the carbs off, if it doesn't spit fuel its frooze. maxdlx
 
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