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Posted by: Remotruker
For starters, I'm sorry to hear you are having problems. My suggestion would be to try a different board, this board seems to me to be more novice oriented. arcticchat.com and highlifter.com both have some very knowledgeable and helpfull people. Oh and usually less bashing (usually)! Typically engines need 3 things to run: gas, air, spark. It sounds like you have spark. Have you tried some seafoam in the gas to absorb any water? Not having an ATV yet i can't answer to the air gate you are talking about... I'd look deeper into the air / gas issue. Oh and it is always a good idea to repalce the plug. Even if you get a spark sometimes replacing the plug will do the trick. On that note, what color is the plug? That can help diagnose the problem too....
Posted by: Remotruker
Quote
Originally posted by: Remotruker
For starters, I'm sorry to hear you are having problems. My suggestion would be to try a different board, this board seems to me to be more novice oriented. arcticchat.com and highlifter.com both have some very knowledgeable and helpfull people. Oh and usually less bashing (usually)! Typically engines need 3 things to run: gas, air, spark. It sounds like you have spark. Have you tried some seafoam in the gas to absorb any water? Not having an ATV yet i can't answer to the air gate you are talking about... I'd look deeper into the air / gas issue. Oh and it is always a good idea to repalce the plug. Even if you get a spark sometimes replacing the plug will do the trick. On that note, what color is the plug? That can help diagnose the problem too....
Sorry Viper for the repeat information, I didn't realize there was a second page to this thread. As for the other comments all i can say is... Typical.
Posted by: swampyjunior
Anytime a dealer works on any car or ATV of mine I request to see the old parts, and an itemized list of billing fees. I have even gone as far to check before I left the building to ensure the work that they say was done was done. Although, a ATV usually starts a little different if it sits out side overnight when the temps are around zero or below.
I know the choke on my older machines is a mechanical one and I sometimes still have difficulty with it sticking. During the winter it sometimes gets condensation that freezes to it causing it not to work.
My brother fought and hassled with his suzuki Vinson for almost a year. during that time 2 weeks of every month almost it was at the dealers. All warranty work but frustrating none the less. As soon as he started talking lemon and wanting his $ back or a straight trade on a new machine suzuki bit the bullet and caughed up a new carb and he has not had a problem with the carb since.
SJ
Posted by: TORK
Vipertech, back to your problem. I beleive the door you are seeing is the slide, if it is stuck up the choke or "fuel enrichment" won't work so you are most likely not choking. If it is a new unit it should stil be warrenty. Also makes me wonder if the shop did not get something right last time if they have did the carb once. Also, overfull means if your carb is leaking fuel into your crankcase your oil will smell gassy and be overfull. Hope this helps. TORK.
Posted by: hondabuster
When you transported the quad in the truck...was the gas tank valve off? Its posible the float jiggle will flood the motor, and its too rich to start. Try using the off position.
If it wont start next time...try removing the air box lid, and see if itll start then. If it starts, put the lid back on...this will make the motor very lean, but will help to start a flooded motor.
Its posible the motor can be bump started..And if it just wont start, hook up a toow strap, and have someone pull the quad about 7 mph. key on, in high.
Hows the oil doing? does it smell like gas, or overfull?
Posted by: deanz400
there you go ,another helped ATVer
Posted by: weez440
my buddy bought a 700 polaris back in 2003 and it would never run right it was a pooch and sometimes it wouldn't start. then it would just lose all power and it wouldn't pull itself. i would have to push him all the time. he worked at polaris so they brought it back to engineering and they tore everything apart on it and even put in a brand new motor and still it would barely run. what it ended up being is when the carb molding was made it's dimensions wasn't made correctly something to do with the molding so the carb was junk. this could be a possibility with your cat that the carb is actually bad on it. i know it is frustrating specially when you have a brand new quad so i would take it back to the dealer and raise a real big stink about it and who knows beings there is only 36 miles on it maybe they will give you a new one and just swap out.
Posted by: weez440
oh also look for a pinched fuel line.
Posted by: weez440
did you buy it as a carryover? if so you shouldn't have to pay anything to have it fixed it should be under warranty. also i would hope you wouldn't have any trouble with an atv after hundreds of miles lol i have put 200 miles on in one day and put about 1500 on each year with oversized tires in water up to my headlights alot. to me it sounds like you don't want it to work so you can come on here and b!tch and moan about something. chumley is a good guy that comes on here and has helped alot of ppl and contributes to helping ppl all the time, so you are gonna have to excuse him when you come on here with 21 posts and all you do is complain. i tried giving my opinions as to what it might be and you are lucky to have anyone try to help you when you come on here complaining like a 12 year old kid who's tire just went flat on his bike. so do everyone a favor and grow up and stop whining like a lil kid.
Posted by: gtdoctor
Glad to hear that you are up and going again! Hopefully that'll be it for you. I'm not sure if anyone mentioned it before, but it might be a good idea to run some Seafoam through your tank. If your problems were do to old gas, the Seafoam will really clean things out. I use a little on every tank of gas, seems to really work well.
Enjoy your Cat.
Posted by: Chumley
Quote
Originally posted by: Vipertech
If I do trade it in it will be for another brand. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Honestly, that is a bit naive to assume that every machine off an assembly line will be perfect. Crap happens and you can deal with it or jump from brand to brand. I'm curious what will happen once you have had a problem with every brand? There's a really good chance someone here will be able to help you figure it out, otherwise just take it in and let your dealer fix it.
Posted by: Chumley
Nothing wrong with complaining or being frustrated when you have problems. I get irritated as hell when I have issues but I also remember that it is a machine, and machines sometimes have problems. You can get all worked up and pissy and that isn't going to help you any.
You've had other machines with no problems, congratulations. It is only a matter of time before you do have one, regardless of brand. You should think of how lucky you have been to have such good fortune with your machines until now. EVERY brand has machines that cause problems right off the line, you just pulled a short straw this time. Like I said, there are people here that can figure out almost anything, and if I recall correctly there are even a few AC technicians floating around.
You have a problem and two choices:
1. Solve it by yourself or with the help of others.
2. Give up.
Posted by: Chumley
Well weez has been around almost a year longer than me, and he's a pretty helpful one too. You'll have to excuse us because we get a little defensive when any one of us gets attacked. As far as internet forums go, there are quite a few locals on here that have actually met to go riding. This is not just another faceless forum, this forum is actually populated with people that have met and ridden together, so yeh, maybe we get a little too quick to jump when we get threatened.
From our perspective, we see people asking for solutions to problems all the time. When you come on and say 'This thing broke once, its junk. I want it fixed so I can get rid of it', we may not be as thrilled as usual to help. No, those may not be your exact words but that is exactly how I, and I'm sure others, read it.
Now we are 14 posts in and have still accomplished nothing. So how about it, are you here for help or not? If so, I would recommend starting a new post that skips all this foolishness and goes straight into getting you back on the trail.
Posted by: Chumley
I would suggest running sea foam through it frequently. Gummed up carbs are funny, because once they gum up they tend to gum up quicker from that point on. I learned this with my snowmobile. It was great year after year, then it blew up. The carbs got all crapped up and now every winter before I ride, the carbs are just loaded with crap, compared to almost perfect every year.
Seafoam baby, seafoam.
Quote
Originally posted by: Vipertech
From what they said this carb sat with gas in it so long that they think maybe the air chambers??? in the carb could be slightly clogged with dried gas????
If they cleaned it good, it shouldn't still be clogged anywhere.
Seafoam baby, seafoam.
Posted by: Chumley
Quote
Originally posted by: scottyalaska
ok back to the issue. ther is a problem with the auto choke cats that is getting very common. they need 12 volts to operate, if they don't get it they don't work. the stater that is involved in the process is the problem,..they are failing left and right not allowing the choke all the volts. hope this helps you and your dealer fix that problem.
so basicall have the dealer check voltage at the choke,..that will get them on the right track.
dont feel too bad, mine has been in the shop for most of the time i've owned it,(1 year)..but im givin them this one last chance to get it right.
While your atv has a problem, it is obviously nothing compared to the problem you have with your dealer. I've read your other posts and its really too bad you have no alternative dealer you can get to easily.
Posted by: buckaroo50
Will it start if you run some jumper cables.... If it does, then checking into a new battery may be in order. ATV's generally don't have great battery life. And if it sat for a long time it may have gone dead and may even in fact have a bad cell or some such. Even if a battery charges and holds a charge, it still may be bad. A friend of mine had such a situation. We checked the battery, charged it and after trying countless other things ended up putting my battery in his machine - walla. The next day he bought a new battery.
Maybe you could borrow a battery from a friend and see. At least it would rule out the battery.
Posted by: buckaroo50
Yes, try some seafoam. I use Marvel Mystery Oil, I think about the same results and you can get it at Wal-Mart. Also, you could put some carb/fuelinjector cleaner in the gas.
Glad to hear that it is running now.
Posted by: buckaroo50
Quote
Originally posted by: Vipertech
T
From what they said this carb sat with gas in it so long that they think maybe the air chambers??? in the carb could be slightly clogged with dried gas????
thanks
You may be able to get some carb/injector cleaner in a spray can. Remove the hose from your carb air intake and start your machine and rev it up some and spray directly into the carb air intake. White smoke will come out the exhaust and stink like crazy but that is normal. This may help clean out any gunk in your air passages. (If your engine is not rev'd up enough it may stall).
Posted by: buckaroo50
Quote
Originally posted by: Remotruker
For starters, I'm sorry to hear you are having problems. My suggestion would be to try a different board, this board seems to me to be more novice oriented. arcticchat.com and highlifter.com both have some very knowledgeable and helpfull people. Oh and usually less bashing (usually)! Typically engines need 3 things to run: gas, air, spark. It sounds like you have spark. Have you tried some seafoam in the gas to absorb any water? Not having an ATV yet i can't answer to the air gate you are talking about... I'd look deeper into the air / gas issue. Oh and it is always a good idea to repalce the plug. Even if you get a spark sometimes replacing the plug will do the trick. On that note, what color is the plug? That can help diagnose the problem too....
Even being NOVICE'S, I believe that most of your suggestions have already been mentioned. But we would like to thank you for your input and sharing and come back anytime. "You would be supprised what you can learn from a dummy." If it were not for dummies we would not have seatbelts would we. lol.
Posted by: HR
Well stated WEEZ, if he has his heart set on another brand then so be it. if he wants it fixed then he COULD learn to do work on them himself.
give us more info on what it's doing.
does it have compression, is it getting gas? air? spark? is it flooded?
these are the things that we need to know. hos fast is it turning over? have you tried pull starting it with the pull starter?
if flooded did you hold the throttle wide open to give it more air and see if it started that way? have you pulled the plug to see if it is in good working order?
all you need is a little reading and some rather basic common sense and some hand tools witch AC provided with the atv and you can fix most things on them.
there are manuals online you can DL and they will walk you though rebuilding the whole quad.
oh yeah Patience is a virtue.
HR.
Posted by: HR
Well i asked some rather basic questions. i am trying to help, but youhave to help me help you. so please look into what i asked see if you can asnwer any of them.
i to have a family and 2 jobs with 2 kids. i do know how hectic life can be.
sorry if you thought i was attacking you didnt'meen for it to come out like that.
it only takes a few min to pull the plug.
let me know what you find out.
HR.
Posted by: v2rider
The advice on trailering with the gas off shouldnt be such a hassel. Just turn the stupid gas off when you trailer it. I dont think venting on Weez or Chumley will make your quad run, they are calmly trying to give you good advice. Or you can get another brand, and go to another forum. Whatever you do, i will say AC is reliable, and thats that.
Posted by: Hollywood703
not to sound like another "conspiracy" theory person, but are you certain that they actually replaced the choke or just "fixed" it.....Im wondering if they actually replaced it.......or just tinkered with it enough that it works....I have ha d a bad experience with "dealers" (not ATV, but Auto Mechanics) so I always Mark my Parts inconspicuosly If im taking them in for replacement.....then ask to see my parts they replaced.....If i live by the trust no one rule, i shouldnt ever be dissapointed/worked over this way.
Posted by: Hollywood703
Quote
Originally posted by: Remotruker
For starters, I'm sorry to hear you are having problems. My suggestion would be to try a different board, this board seems to me to be more novice oriented. arcticchat.com and highlifter.com both have some very knowledgeable and helpfull people. Oh and usually less bashing (usually)! Typically engines need 3 things to run: gas, air, spark. It sounds like you have spark. Have you tried some seafoam in the gas to absorb any water? Not having an ATV yet i can't answer to the air gate you are talking about... I'd look deeper into the air / gas issue. Oh and it is always a good idea to repalce the plug. Even if you get a spark sometimes replacing the plug will do the trick. On that note, what color is the plug? That can help diagnose the problem too....
Doesnt even have an ATV yet.......hmmmmm that explains a lot btw, i am a member of all the sites mentioned and there are several Flame posts on both of those sites, so please keep your solicitation for other sites to yourself.....
Posted by: Vipertech
I am new to the Arctic Cat family, and I am a little disappointed. I am beginning to question the quality of AC.
I have a 2005 AC 400 LE with about 36 miles on it. It just got out of the shop about 2 weeks ago getting the carb adjusted and a new electronic choke. This was supposed to fix my problem with why it would not start.
Now, 2 weeks later it will not start again. I started it up, loaded it on the truck, and drove about 3 hours to ride with some friends. When I unloaded it, it would NOT start.
So, a 3 hour trip back home, and 50 dollars in gas for my truck later, it still will not start.
Anybody have any suggestions? I am to the point that I am thinking about taking it into the shop Tuesday, getting it fixed, and trading it in on something that is actually RELIABLE!!!!!!!!
How can an atv with 36 miles have problems. I have owned 2 polaris atv's and one yamaha with not problems!!!!!!
This is my first AC and it has been nothing but trouble. Of course I can't give you a long term test opinion b/c it will never start!!!!
Does anyone have any suggestions or opinions on what I should do? Should I chalk this up to bad luck, pay to get it fixed again, and give it another chance??? Or should I trade it in on something more reliable????
At the end of the day, I just want to RIDE, which is why I bought the AC in the first place.
Thanks
Posted by: Vipertech
I did transport it for part of the trip with the gas on. I tried all of the remedies that you suggested already except for having someone pull me. I did not know that you could do that with an automatic.
I does smell like gas a little, I am not sure what overfull means???
I took the airbox off from the carb and there was a little door that slid up and down. The door was actuating at first and now it is just stuck up. I do not know why? I think this door is the choke and it is stuck in the off position now.
As for me transporting it with the gas on, I think it is a little rediculous that it would not start b/c I transported it with the gas on. I let it set for several hours and it still would not start. I tried starting w/ gas off, on, everything you could think of. I would trasport my raptor and both my scramblers with the gas on and they ALWAYS started.
Even if it were flooded, it should start now, two days later.
I did not buy an ATV to spend most of my time working on it or haulin it to the shop. Nor do I want an atv that I have to baby for it to start and be reliable. Is this typical of AC?
Does anyone know anything about this electric choke??????? I think it is completely rediculous that they would put an electric choke on an atv anyway. Just something else that can break.
Posted by: Vipertech
What is you AC story scottyalaska??
If I do trade it in it will be for another brand. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
I like the atv when it actually starts.
It just seems to me that AC put too much thought into making the atv easy to ride. An electric choke, completely stupid. If someone is to lazy to use a push pull type of choke them they do not need to ride. Why make an atv less reliable b/c of some fancy bs like an electric choke.
Like I said, I may keep it, but if I trade it will be for anything but an AC.
I will probably get a honda, yam, or zuki.
Posted by: Vipertech
I do not think it is at all naive to expect things to work when you pay good money for them.
Maybe, chumley, if you would have read my entire post you would know that I have owned 2 polaris atv's and 1 yamaha and had ZERO problems with any of them. They all had 100's of miles on them when I sold them. So your notion of what I will do when I have problems with every brand makes no sense. I have not had problems with other brands, only this brand.
As far as someone being able to help me on this forum, yeah right. Just like you, people are too lazy to read the entire post and they suggest that I do things that I have already tried.
Yes I will take it back to the dealer and pay to have it fixed once again. Then I will decide whether or not to keep it. Yes this could be an isolated problem, but that is hard for me to believe. How could I possibly get not one but two bad electronic choke units? What are the chances of the only 2 bad electronic chokes ending up on my atv????
Pretty far fetched in my opinion.
Posted by: Vipertech
Well thanks for the tongue lashing and the accusations of me acting like a little kid. That sure helps to solve my problem.
Nothing like being a good neighbor.
Yes I am frustrated with the AC and I have tried everything I know how to fix it. Yes I COULD learn how to fix it myself, but I do not have time as I have a job, family, and kids.
Do I want another brand? I really do not care what brand I have as long as it runs and is reliable.
I guess I am just a non mechanic whiner who has only 21 posts. This proves that I do not know my a$$ from my elbow. I guess I just do not have time to sit on my butt and log 1566 posts. I actually have a real life outside of this computer.
I apologize to chumley as I feel he is actually trying to help me.
As for you Mr. 1566 posts, I shall bow down in honor of the great post master. Maybe some day I will be as knowledgeable as you.
Posted by: Vipertech
Thanks for the input, once again I apologize for being offensive.
The battery is fine, I have charged it. I just forgot to turn the fuel off, it was not intentional.
The door inside of the carbuerator from the air intake side is stuck up. So my choke is stuck in the off position.
This is not a new unit, I bought it from a friend who bought it new. It is a 2005, so the warranty is out.
I am just going to haul it back to the shop and let them figure it out.
HR to answer your basic questions: it has compression, it has spark, it is getting gas, air is fine, as for if it is flooded? At first I thought it was flooded, but now I am beginning to think that the choke is just not working.
I am not a complete idiot when it comes to motors, but I am no mechanic.
Posted by: Vipertech
The 400 is up and running again. I took it back to the shop that replaced the choke and they fixed it again for me, at least they gave me same day service. It cost another 80.00, but at least now it runs.
They were not real sure of the problem. Here is a list of things they told me.
Bad gas
Fouled Plug
Carb Problems
It is running fine now, a whole lot better than when I first got it.
They did say that if this happens again I may be looking at getting a new carb??????
From what they said this carb sat with gas in it so long that they think maybe the air chambers??? in the carb could be slightly clogged with dried gas????
Hopefully this is not the case. B/C from what I gather a new carb would be rather expensive.
thanks
Posted by: scottyalaska
welcome to my world. good luck with it, if they can't get it right, trade it on another cat, they are not all junk. you got a clunker,..i got a clunker,..but someone has to have the bad luck. lots of others love theres so i wouldnt throw the towel in yet. good luck.
Posted by: scottyalaska
ok back to the issue. ther is a problem with the auto choke cats that is getting very common. they need 12 volts to operate, if they don't get it they don't work. the stater that is involved in the process is the problem,..they are failing left and right not allowing the choke all the volts. hope this helps you and your dealer fix that problem.
so basicall have the dealer check voltage at the choke,..that will get them on the right track.
dont feel too bad, mine has been in the shop for most of the time i've owned it,(1 year)..but im givin them this one last chance to get it right.
