Having problems starting when cold

[edz250r]

Whenever my R sits for a few weeks, it hardly ever starts. I kick without the choke on and then with the choke on. When I pull the plug, it is wet. My spark looks decent, but I can only see it when I am in the darkened garage. It sometimes starts when I put a brand new plug in, but usually it only starts when I put a little gas in the cylinder.


Should a strong spark be seen in daylight?? Not sure if its an electrical issue or fat pilot jet.

[skyhighatv]

my r is the same way and i treat it like gold-it sits for even a week it is hard to start. i think i might be trying a cr ignition soon.

[edz250r]

I treat mine like gold as well and its frustrating as h*ll when it won't start.

anyone else have a similar issue? what did you do to have it corrected? I dont want to bring it into the honda dealer if I dont have to.

[skyhighatv]

honestly when i had a 38mm air stryker on there i never had that problem-last winter during my rebuild some one broke into my garage and stole a bunch of parts in clu ding carb-now im running a 38 mm pj with boysen float bowl and jetting is pretty spot on and i have the hard starting issue?

[edz250r]

I have a 38mm a/s as well. I have an esr head with about 180psi running 93 octane. I havent checked the pilot jet size, but i think its a 50.

what is the best way to check for a strong spark? like I said, I really can only see a spark when I close the door to our garage and check in the dark. I know R's are known for a weak spark, but I dont know if mine is weaker than normal.

[skyhighatv]

my spark doesnt realy seem very strong to me either. its there but its not very explosive or bright in my opinion-thats why i was thinking about the cr ignition-but who wants to spend the 450 it costs?

[edz250r]

anyone know the best way to check your spark and what to expect?

[kiesta00]

If its that hard to start, and you have access to another quad and a tow rope, have them pull you in gear...that should get the fuel back into your motor...or just dip the spark plug in gas and then put it back in the motor. That usually works for me

[peeping TOM]

the spark is know to be very hard to see in the light , try getting u piston tdc ,then the inertia sends the crank around one more time ,,i;ve got a 330 and its the only way of getting it to fire up ......

[86 Quad R]

honestly, it could be a number of things causing yalls problem. old gas, a lean pilot, not setting the engine on the "stroke" before kicking it(allowing it to spin it's minimum 300 rpm's to start) or weak spark are some that comes to mind. ya may even want to pull the stator cover and check the distance of the p/u coil from the flywheel.

at times i have the same problem and most of the time its old gas. after about two weeks, gas starts to get that laquer smell and the higher the compression the more sensitive the engine is to old gas.

[edz250r]

maybe my problem is old gas sitting in the bowl of the carb after several weeks especially since I have higher compression. I remember one time draining the bowl, pulling the main jet out and blowing through it to make sure it wasn't clogged. I put it back in, opened the petcock and she started up after a few kicks. I just hope I dont have to drain my carb everytime i want to ride after not riding for several weeks!

[86 Quad R]

draining the carb everytime is trivial compared to the aggrevation of trying to start the quad or the build up that could accure in the carb from the old gas/oil mix. its a simple matter of loosening the drain on the bottom of the bowl.

if there are several weeks that go by before ya ride it, i would suggest that ya put some sort of stablizer in the gas or something.

[edz250r]

true true...

[edz250r]

well, after kicking it for 5-10 minutes the other day, I unscrewed the bottom carb screw and drained out the old gas. Took out the main jet real quick and blew it clean. Screwed back in and it started on the second kick. Must not be an electrical problem, but something that i'll have to do when it doesnt start after sitting for a while.

[Aceman]

I do this as well. If I know the quad is going to sit for more than a week I drain the bowl and the tank. That way I can reshake the gas up in a fuel can in case it separates before I pour it back in. I don't know if it would or not but I'll tell you my quad always starts up even a month later in just a few short kicks. I also add Stabil to all my mix since I never know how long it'll be till it's used up.