Doesnt Crank when its cold..

[starfckerinc57]

I have an 06' z400 and when its cold it doesnt crank at all. I can push it off and it will crank right up. Once it gets hot the starter will start it up, so I know its not the starter. Whats goin on here?

[making]

Check yor battery connections and make sure battery is charged!

[starfckerinc57]

Battery is fine, it turns over. it just dont start if its cold.

[drzoo2]

Little confusing then.....Crank = turn over.

[jonboy]

This might be a stupid Question but are you using the choke?

[starfckerinc57]

Ha, yeah i try the choke i try putting it on prime. it dont help just floods it out after awhile. i figure either my carb needs adjusting, my valves need adjusting.

[jonboy]

Sounds as if your plug has fouled. Pull your plug and check its color. Have you done any mods to it yet? A dirty clogged up air filter can cause it to run rich enough to foul a plug. (Been there done that)

[byrdman37876]

well my 450 er is like that but i put the choke on and hit the gas 3 times ( pretty hard ) and she fires right up. hope it helps u.

[smoothie]

does the stock carb have a fuel advance pump? sorry too lazy to go look at it right now. I havn't looked into this because i don't have problems with starting, but if you are and your pumping the throttle it might not be doing you any good. if there is no fuel advance pump then your actually making the situation worse when pumping the throttle. I don't think that there is a pump on there(small engine carbs usually dont'..)

[drnez]

The stock carb in the Z400 does not have an accel pump like the 450r. Pumping the throttle before starting it will do nothing.

[byrdman37876]

really? well iwas wrong in that area. sorry for the bad info.

[smoothie]

ya thats what i figured. cuz that is quite a small carb, doesn't seem like it could house a accel pump.

i also have a on topic question here....kinda

what are you guys using for clutch perches? i want to get an after market one so i can get rid of the bracketry for parking brake which is not there...

my only problem is the clutch safety switch . mine is broke already and i just have the spring thats in there tapped into the little knobby that is connected to the harness side. and that seems to work. i don't know if it just shorts it out or what. but if i were to take that spring out it wont start. i know it's a ghetto fix but it works for now...:ermm:

EDIT: forgot half my question.....:rolleyes:

with an after market perch what do you do with that safety switch?

[starfckerinc57]

I changed my spark plug and got one a spark hotter to see if it would help.The old one was black. I have it Jetted with a pipe and K and N. You think the jets may be to big, I'm not sure what size I have.

[drnez]

I use a Fly quick adjust clutch lever. You can safely remove the clutch sensor and tie the 2 wires in it together. This will allow you to start your quad without the clutch (make sure you're in neutral)

I cant think of any aftermarket lever that still has the sensor on it.

[drnez]

Originally posted by starfckerinc57
I changed my spark plug and got one a spark hotter to see if it would help.The old one was black. I have it Jetted with a pipe and K and N. You think the jets may be to big, I'm not sure what size I have.

Does it crank really slow? maybe you just need a new battery. Try hooking some jumper cables to a car battery and see if it starts that way.

[was123]

if your plug is black you are getting to much fuel..
alot of times you need to rejet for winter expecially if the temp is 20 degrees or more diffrent.

[smoothie]

i always got confused do you want to go lean or rich in the winter. i always thought lean because cold air is more dense and doesn't flow as well. also how much do you change it by? just the main jet or could you get away with only adjusting the mixture screw? (i almost never ride in the cold)

correct me if i'm wrong please.

[starfckerinc57]

It dont start slow but I put a battery charger on it battery is good.

[was123]

Originally posted by smoothie
i always got confused do you want to go lean or rich in the winter. i always thought lean because cold air is more dense and doesn't flow as well. also how much do you change it by? just the main jet or could you get away with only adjusting the mixture screw? (i almost never ride in the cold)

correct me if i'm wrong please.

cold needs more fuel so you need to go richer..

and no the screw is only for idle.
screw = idle
needle = midrange
main jet = top end

best time to test is when its just getting dark out.. if your header starts to glow then its running lean and needs more fuel....

[was123]

Originally posted by starfckerinc57
It dont start slow but I put a battery charger on it battery is good.

it is intirly posable that you are getting to much fuel....

[jonboy]

It does sound a little rich but I wouldnt necesarily change the jetting just for colder climate. I have never had to do a rejet just for the winter, and it typically changes well over 20 degrees difference. Like I said earlier make sure your airfilter is clean and if you havent already, remove your airbox lid that may lean it up enough to keep the plug from loading up.

[Crazy Diamond]

Do you have a Rev Box? I've seen where you need a GOOD charge on your battery to start in the cold if you do have one.

[starfckerinc57]

I i took my lid off my air box when i got it jetted and no i dont have a rev box.

[justin41414]

my dad had the same problem it wouldnt start when it was cold but you could jump start it so we took it to the shop and the valves needed to be adjusted and it was about $150

[05Z400rdr]

Originally posted by was123
if your header starts to glow then its running lean and needs more fuel....


r u sure cuz on my ltr, it was glowing red and from what others said it is normal and is running rich ...not lean...correct me if im wrong... http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=277812

[smoothie]

i would think lean cuz lean runs hotter. my header glows as well and my mixture is to lean.

[Crazy Diamond]

Too Lean will make your header glow!

[was123]

the header will almost always glow at night thats why i said when its starts to get dark because then its just dark enough to see.... if it glows with some light then its lean.... but dark is no indicator...

[Bigun55]

My buddy had the same problem your having with his KFX. It was the valves needing adjusted. He had to go through with it about 4 or 5 times and then he bough steele valves for it and it hasnt had a problem with the valves sence.

[was123]

Originally posted by Bigun55
My buddy had the same problem your having with his KFX. It was the valves needing adjusted. He had to go through with it about 4 or 5 times and then he bough steele valves for it and it hasnt had a problem with the valves sence.

wow!!!!

valve adjustment could be a posability BUT if your bud had to adjust that much then he was doing something wrong..

i have adjusted my valves 1 time and that was when i installed the cams.. and never before then or since then.. they dont ware that bad...

you wont find anyone saying they do...

i have probably 100+ hours since then and still no need to adjust...

[Villageidiott23]

yeah u shouldnt have to adjust them more then once unless u do some internal motor work like bore or cams.. dont forget that this bike is extremely cold blooded. anytime its cold out its gonna be alittle hard to start. mine did. i choked it put the fuel line on prime let it start for alittle then gave it a break. let it start again and then it started right up. have some patience

[drnez]

Stock valves are JUNK. Running a dirty filter can cause particles to get into the intake, which will basically sand blast the valves. The stock valves are coated with some stuff to protect them from the heat. When this gets sand blasted off, they heat up, get soft, and cause a zero clearance issue. Its called "cupping" i just had to go through this and install some KW steel valves. My motor is far from stock, but I've seen this happen on stock motors just the same. Check the clearance on your intake valves, if you cannot get a feeler guage in there, expect that you need to replace those things.

[starfckerinc57]

Valves seem like the most logical explanation for it. I guess I'll take it to get adjusted. Appreciate the help.

[drnez]

Originally posted by starfckerinc57
Valves seem like the most logical explanation for it. I guess I'll take it to get adjusted. Appreciate the help.

If the valves are cupped, there is no adjusting them. Just pull the valve cover off and stick a feeler guage in there. Intake should be 0.10mm - 0.15mm, exhaust should be 0.15mm - 0.20mm. If you cant get a measurement on the intakes, most likely they are cupped, and no amount of adjustment (shimming) is going to help.

[nvhertz]

Hey,

I have the same issue with my 03 kfx and my buddy has it also with his 04 ltz. I just spray on quick shot of starter fluid in my air box and it cranks right up and runs all day with no issue..

[rockman]

Originally posted by starfckerinc57
I have an 06' z400 and when its cold it doesnt crank at all. I can push it off and it will crank right up. Once it gets hot the starter will start it up, so I know its not the starter. Whats goin on here?
Holly crap this got off topic. Everyone slow down with all the suggestions here. We need to know one little bit of info first! HOW COLD WAS IT? ANY and I mean ANY quad takes a LOOOONG time to start if the temp is near zero. Unless its fuel injected that is. So my question for starfckerinc57 is this: How cold was it when you were having this problem?

[was123]

Originally posted by nvhertz
Hey,

I have the same issue with my 03 kfx and my buddy has it also with his 04 ltz. I just spray on quick shot of starter fluid in my air box and it cranks right up and runs all day with no issue..

starting fluid is way bad.. next time turn your pitcock to the prime spot for cold starting...

[starfckerinc57]

I got the the valves adjusted it cranks like better than ever. thanks guys.

[xraven35]

Originally posted by drnez
Stock valves are JUNK. Running a dirty filter can cause particles to get into the intake, which will basically sand blast the valves. The stock valves are coated with some stuff to protect them from the heat. When this gets sand blasted off, they heat up, get soft, and cause a zero clearance issue. Its called "cupping" i just had to go through this and install some KW steel valves. My motor is far from stock, but I've seen this happen on stock motors just the same. Check the clearance on your intake valves, if you cannot get a feeler guage in there, expect that you need to replace those things.


WHAT HE SAID!!! Same here.