400ex dead in the winter

[xtullyx16]

Tried starting my quad today and it wouldnt start.. The battery turned over but it wouldnt fire.. i Havent rode it for 2-3 months or more.. So i checked the spark plug, it was balck and wet.. so i took it out and cleaned it off.. then i sprayed starter spray into the spark plug area and into my airfilter ( didnt saturate it) and let it sit for 20 minutes while i charged the battery.. then i came back out and put the sp back in and nothin.. no firing still.. so i took it out and got an older one and wire brushed it and stuck it in. Still, no firing, it was just turning over..

So then i thought to try a smaller pilot jet.. Stuck a 42 in there (45 was in it).. I also noticed my carb was full of gas (stuck float or just from tryin to get it to start??) .. put it all back together and nothin agian.. Im stumped.. btw this is a 2004 400ex

Also I tried all different settings of chokes and tried it on reserve...

[xtullyx16]

another thing i tried was taking the airfilter cover off... of course it didnt help

[xtullyx16]

bump.. cmon.. need help GURU MECHANICS

do you have an aftermarket cdi on it?

[440challenger]

pilot jet clogged

[icepreddy]

Ditch the HONDA! lol. J/K

[icepreddy]

Did you make sure you have spark? Did you turn the motor over without the spark plug in it? Turning it over gets rid of the excess fuel, obviously. Remember Air, Fuel, Spark. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious I deal with "Flatlanders"(People from Illinois) all the time that have no mechanically sense.

[onefast400ex]

My 400ex always was a pain starting in the cold. It would start up so easily when it's about 50 degrees or more. If you can get somebody to pull you around and try to get it running in gear. This always does the trick for me no matter how bad it sounds like it won't start.

-Andrew

[Tackett]

buy a new plug.(dpr8z) place the plug wire on the plug but dont put the plug in the head place it against the frame or motor to make sure you have spark by turning the engine over. turn fuel on and choke on and turn it over without pumpin the gas.

[3racers]

Mine does't like cold temps either mine will turn over ok, but 10 minutes on batt. charger and it fires right up and batt. is pretty new after that it starts for the rest of the day.I thought it was because its a 416 with 11-1comp. I thank all batteries in honda sport quads are lame. brand new 450r does the same thing but usually takes sitting for a week or more. sometimes 10 to 20 degrees here at nightime.

[rob_990]

try pumping the throttle a couple times and push starting it.

[yellowWB400ex]

For starters dont use starting fluid to start anything. Yes it may start but it takes the oil off the cylindar walls. No lube=problems!!! Maybe its just old gas. Or carb gummed up. Possibly a spark problem.

[honda400ex2003]

if you run ethanol crap and don't ride it much in the winter be careful it clogs everything up. I just blew up one of my sleds cause one cylinder was not getting gas(carb was clogged). It had 1500 miles on it and my mom rides it. You can also put a 40 pilot in it to see if that helps it out. Just my .02 steve