another kinda dumb question....

bluelightning

bluelightning

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Nov 15, 2005
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hey all,

like i've said, im a newbie here, and have another kinda dumb sled question.........

how do you know when a plug is fouled? i've heard it thrown around all the time, and know it has somethin to do with too much fuel or somethin lol. but what exactly does it mean? and what are the symptoms of it? just so i know in the future ya know?
 

Power goes way down, the plug will refuse to spark enough to ignight the gas. Basically you begin running on only two cylinders. The sound will also change. Stop and pull the plug it usually will be very wet, gas soaked. The bad cylinder will usually be colder than the others since it wasn't firing. Usually happens on start up, trying to warm the sled up. Put a new plug in and usually your all set. If you pull the plug and it is damaged or has alumimum sprayed all over it you have a piston problem. Pull the belt off and tow it home.

If you foul a lot of plugs then you probably need to clean the carbs. Its easy to do, and being new at this. You should pull them and clean them anyway. There is a section in the Tech that will help you through it. Not hard to do and will help insure your running strong and safe.
 
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I was fouling a ton of plugs on my Viper and somebody told me not to use the kill switch, to turn engine off with key. Ever since, no fouled plugs. Coincidence or a fluke, it worked for me.
 
The biggest thing on Yamaha's in order to not foul plugs is starting procedure. Start the sled on full choke, as soon as it starts go to half choke for 5-7 seconds, then turn it off. If the sled begins to sputter after a few seconds give it another shot of half choke for a few seconds. Do this until the sled runs on its own. Under any circumstances DO NOT TOUCH THE THROTTLE until the sled has been running for at least 5 minutes, or you will foul a plug for sure.
 
yamaholic22 said:
The biggest thing on Yamaha's in order to not foul plugs is starting procedure. Start the sled on full choke, as soon as it starts go to half choke for 5-7 seconds, then turn it off. If the sled begins to sputter after a few seconds give it another shot of half choke for a few seconds. Do this until the sled runs on its own. Under any circumstances DO NOT TOUCH THE THROTTLE until the sled has been running for at least 5 minutes, or you will foul a plug for sure.
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I concur.
 
Red_RobbinHood said:
I was fouling a ton of plugs on my Viper and somebody told me not to use the kill switch, to turn engine off with key. Ever since, no fouled plugs. Coincidence or a fluke, it worked for me.
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coincidence ..... turning off the key and hitting kill switch, ground the same wire to CDI, shutting down the engine.... true for most Yamahas.....
 
TJ500 said:
coincidence ..... turning off the key and hitting kill switch, ground the same wire to CDI, shutting down the engine.... true for most Yamahas.....
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that's what i was thinking, didn't know if i was just missing something or what...
 
I run 1024 Autolites & they also helped. They run about a half a heat range hotter from what I've been told.
 
yamaholic22 said:
The biggest thing on Yamaha's in order to not foul plugs is starting procedure. Start the sled on full choke, as soon as it starts go to half choke for 5-7 seconds, then turn it off. If the sled begins to sputter after a few seconds give it another shot of half choke for a few seconds. Do this until the sled runs on its own. Under any circumstances DO NOT TOUCH THE THROTTLE until the sled has been running for at least 5 minutes, or you will foul a plug for sure.
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yeah these things are cold blooded for sure. the viper needs some playing with to start it. im use to starting with full choke then flipping the choke off after it starts on my polaris's. heck, i can rap the gas all i want and its crisp! i have never fouled a plug on the viper but have came really close! is there anything to do to get it to start better or is it the nature of the beast?
 
David where do you have your fuel screws set? Stock on the screws is too lean and makes it worse for starting and warm up, they are better at about 1.75 turns out from lightly seated.
 
Vipers don't call for the expensive ecs plugs, the br9es or eya is good enough. Maxdlx
 
maxdlx said:
Vipers don't call for the expensive ecs plugs, the br9es or eya is good enough. Maxdlx
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That's what i was thinking too Paul, but then i realized i think he was talking to the guy with the srx who started the thread
 
thanks for all the input guys i appreciate it! like i said, i just wanted to know exactly how i know when a plug has been fouled. and fyi yes im running the ecs....thats another question...solid top or screw on top? is there a difference? and on the fuel screw, i've got them out 1.5 turns...should i back them out a bit more?
 
yamaholic22 said:
David where do you have your fuel screws set? Stock on the screws is too lean and makes it worse for starting and warm up, they are better at about 1.75 turns out from lightly seated.
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ill check them. the carbs have never been off. i need to clean them anyways. it had a bog when i punched it from a dead stop this weekend, i assume its the pilots.
 
Run the solid top plugs, the screw on type never stay on, they get stuck in the spark plug cap, and they don't make as solid of a connection as the solid terminals.
 
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