no start, help!

bluelightning

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Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
151
Age
40
Location
bristol CT
hey all, thanks for all the help in my previous thread about my speedo problem. gonna be taking off the track to stud it anyway, so ill take a look into the problem then. but heres my most pressing dilemma. i listened to you guys, and havent been starting it every day like i was before. we got our first snow today, only a few inches, but i was so excited that i at least wanted to ride it around the yard ya know? it is my first sled. was cranking it over for like an hour, and it wouldnt start. tryed full choke no choke half choke and nothing. and yes, there are new plugs. ended up shooting a quick blast of starting fluid in each cylinder and it fired up first pull, with no running issues at all. any ideas here?
 

Its not uncommon for fuel to start and run a sled in the shop but fail to light when outside in the cold. I have seen it tooo many times and it can be really embarasing. Work on a customers sled and all is well, push it outside for pick up the next day and then pull your guts out trying to start it.....in front of the customer. First thing we do is syphon out last years fuel and splash in a gallon of fresh. Let it sit outside running for a while to be sure the carbs are full of new fuel and the problem goes away. BTW, this has become an accepted fact for me. Sleds that have been put away with premium fuel and stabailzer don't seem to develop the same dirty carb issues as those stored with stabalized regular.
 
if it was stale gas, wouldnt it be running pretty crappy even once i got it started? because once it lit up, it was running fine, and i was able to take it for a good blast before the snow started melting. i had syphoned the old gas out of the tank, but was hoping i would be able to get away with not draining the carbs...i was hoping that i would just be able to burn it all out....
 
i ran into that same problem last year....in my case there just wasnt enough fuel in the tank on first start up.....was pretty embarassing when i took it to the shop and all they did was top up the tank and she fired up right away.
so i would suggest topping the tank up with some fresh fuel....
 
it could be just that there isnt enough fuel going through and once you get it started itll run through just fine...
 
little bit of an update. today i started it up (with starter fluid again), and let it run for a while. drained all the gas out of the tank, and ran it till it died, then filled it up with fresh 93 octane. hopefully it will start up first pull tommorow, but i will keep you guys posted
 
bluelightning said:
drained all the gas out of the tank, and ran it till it died, then filled it up with fresh 93 octane. hopefully it will start up first pull tommorow, but i will keep you guys posted

If you actually did that in the order you typed it, the bowls are empty and its going to take more than a couple pulls to re-prime the system.
 
every fall, when i go to start up all three yamis.... well not so much with the electric start on the vector... it seems i have to pull them forever.... fuel system must lose it's prime.... but then after that they seem ready to go... i always use sta bil and premium.... then usually first ride is to the gas station for a fresh load and wala....
 
crewchief47 said:
If you actually did that in the order you typed it, the bowls are empty and its going to take more than a couple pulls to re-prime the system.

yea yesterday when i did that, i pulled the hell out of it till it started again after running it empty, so there is fuel throughout the system again. just hope that getting rid of the nasty gas will eliminate my problem
 
bluelightning said:
yea yesterday when i did that, i pulled the hell out of it till it started again after running it empty, so there is fuel throughout the system again. just hope that getting rid of the nasty gas will eliminate my problem

Ahhhhhh! ;)!
 
alright guys, im stumped. just went out and was pulling it over for about a half hour and absolutely nothing!!!!!!!!!! stale gas has been ruled out...now what? ugh!
 
ok, heres a checklist of what to check:

1.) does the sled have bright blue spark when you place the plugs in the caps and pull the engine over with the plugs on top of the heads? (if so, move on to step 2)

2.) Is the choke cable being applied to full choke and not half choke??, there is 2 pos. on the lever, you should have it almost actually bent backwards to be in the full choke, when it is here, the sled should fire up and then you can flip the choke off and back on to the first pos. only to keep it running, dont touch the throttle lever during this at all. (If so move on to step 3)

3.) If this has not gotten it started yet, are the choke plungers being pulled out with operation of the choke lever, have the hood open and look to see if they are being pulled out, and then they go back in again when you release the lever, see if you can push them back in again after releasing the lever, if you can move them back in, they will most likely need to be cleaned and the choke cable readjusted. Have the carbs been cleaned on the sled yet? It may be dirty pilot jets and there is no fix except taking the carbs apart, cleaning out the jets, flush all circuits with carb cleaner till it comes out unrestricted and blowing them clean with aire, reinstalling them. (let us know.)
 
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Okay, have you actually had the carbs off and apart to clean them? Do you spray the start fluid into the carbs or through the plug holes? If you have cleaned the carbs, then my next suggestion would be to make sure the choke is adjusted correctly, then inspect the reeds for cracks/chips or weakness. How much mileage on the beast?

Carb pics
http://www.totallyamaha.com/snowmobiles/aaTECH/carbs/Carbs.htm

Check the jetting with stock and post the jet sizes and your location. did you buy it local?

Stock jetting link:
http://www.totallyamaha.com/snowmobiles/AAATuning Chart/Specs.htm


And what he said!

:yrules:
 
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choke seems to be in working order. it slides back and forth no problem. 2700 miles on it. bought it parked on the side of the road in my town. no, haven't cleaned the carbs yet...probably my problem then right? jst doesnt seem to make sense, because once it is started it runs fine. i've just been weary of cleaning the carbs because it seems like a very daunting task for a sled newbie such as my self, and i was hoping it would be a simple problem like stale gas...
 
I think you mentioned something about dealing with dirt bikes or something didn't you? The carbs aren't really that big a deal if you've got some tinkering under your belt. Don't try to seperate them from each other, You just have to take the bowls off and maybe remove the jets to clean them. Do one bowl at a time or take two or three off and leave all but the one you're working on together so you don't forget where/how everything goes. Or take lots of pics while you're taking it apart. Call a friend over that may have had a couple of carbs apart already, they are all generally the same. You'll have to learn how to do this or have to pay/bribe someone else to do it for you. After you've done them or been shown how to do it, you'll be surprised how easy it was. Of course, if you're one of those guys that is cursed by "Murphy's Law", then I'll wish you luck. ;)!

Ohhhh, and on a serious note, the last time one of our group neglected to clean his carbs at the begining of the season(and maybe more than just one season), the sucker burned a piston when a piece of crud floated over the main jet on a WOT lake run. :o|
 
so cleaning the carbs at the begining of the season is a part of regular maintainance? i really dont mean to be ignorant im just askin lol. all my dirt bikes were thumpers so i never really had to do anything with the carbs, only took the bowl off my 86 dr100 to get all the crud out of it. it just seems like a very daunting task now given the fact that there are 3 of them! im just really worried about putting it back together and it not running at all! but first things first, how hard it it gonna be to get them out of the sled? and even after that, all im gonna have to do is take the bowls off and give them a good cleaning?
 


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