Belizeted

Yes, it never really fixed and got progressively worse. I was able to use the machine on short runs but it consistently quit when hot and after letting it cool down a while it would again run for a short while.

Well, its been almost a year since I last posted on this thread. After exhausting fuel and carb issues, I finally broke down and bit the bullet on another CDI. Yep that was it all along it seems. By chasing this problem for so long, I learned alot about my machine so nothing was wasted. Thanks again to all of the helpful advice!!

Well, what do you know... The petcock doesn't leak and I took the ATV on a longer run than usual and not a single miss. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your interest and your advice. I hope that I can write about any future issues. My front end suspension is clacking and I have received parts for the shock bushings, ball joints and tie rod ends and will dive into that when I get some free time. Thanks again so much and I made a PayPal contribution to the forum. PS- I'm not going anywhere without my handy can of starter fluid - just in case!

Thanks. I seem to remember that stuff from my sailboating days. If my thing doesn't work, I'll try it out. I'd have to make another long trip to Belize City. The nautical shops probably have it!

Thanks. Belize has sure changed. No inexpensive places on the beach anymore. When we came in 2003, it was the near the end of the quiet, inexpensive Belize. I'm in a remote fishing village which is remote no longer with a major road coming in during the next few years with lots of development. We came from rural Alaska. Fortunately, I snagged a nice remote piece of land which we've been developing over the years and plan to live full time. The ATV is needed because we have no road access there - which is how we like it! To be honest, I wouldn't move here to Belize if I was to do it now, but we are pretty set-up and where else can you go that is quiet and peaceful and where people don't try to hustle you? The latest on the ATV project is that I got the carb cleaned, the gas tank cleaned, and filled it up to test it and gas was leaking like ! out of the petcock hole. It seems the JB weld didn't hold the nut so the o-ring didn't seat correctly. What I did was weld the nut into the plastic tank using a soldering iron and a plastic zip tie for material which I saw on a YouTube thing. It seems to hold the nut pretty well, but I'm not putting any real torque on it. I applied some Permatex on the sealing surfaces and am waiting right now for it to dry! Wish me luck. PS - Yes the ATV parts are outrageous here as is any small engine parts. I usually buy the stuff online and bring it in by USPS mail. I still have to pay high shipping and customs fees. The cost of living in paradise.

Thanks. As I was draining it, it had occurred to me to loosen the gas cap. I didn't see a whole lot of change in the flow. I don't know on the Ethanol. Our gas is imported from the US, but I don't know if we get the ethanol additive. My fuel hose is routed in the grooves provided by the manufacturer. I don't think it rises before the carb. I know it is not a steep slope. Years ago I was chasing a fuel problem and put an inline filter in that hose which was a mistake. The engine wouldn't run so I took it out. Thanks for the tip on the petcock screws. I'll definitely use some anti-seize! Thanks again and I hope to be able to reassemble the whole thing tmro and try it out!! (Living down here for nearly 20 years, I have had to learn perseverance along with creativity to adapt.)

Yes, but if it was just a little bit of clog it might have been enough to cause this problem. It might be a couple of days before I am able to get everything back together but will let you know the result and thanks again for your generous help!

Thanks all. I drained the fuel out of the hose and I didn't particularly notice a difference in flow. It certainly wasn't gushing our of the hose but it was more than a mere dribble. I pulled the gas tank and fuel hose. The strainer in the hose near the carb looked clean. Taking off the petcock was a pain. I was right, one of the bolts was spinning and with my small impact wrench I got it out - all of it so I have a mangled plastic hole where the nut was. I cleaned it up and filled it full of JB Weld and put the nut back in place and will now wait on that to fully cure for a day or two. I blew on the petcock but didn't see a whole lot of crud. It was cruddy around the base of the filter and there seemed to be junk inside where the fuel flows. I blew through it with a compressor and now have the petcock valve soaking in acetone. I'll probably do this for some hours or maybe even overnight while the JB Weld cures. Then I plan to clean out the inside of the tank and pull the carb and give that a cleaning. Then its re-assembly and see what happens. Anything I'm missing?

I'm sure you guys are getting tired of hearing from me but I highly value your advise nevertheless... This morning I took the ATV for a ride to my "cabin" about 15 minutes away. I had the fuel valve to ON. All ran smoothly for about half the distance when I started getting an occasional backfire and then the engine started missing. I stopped, turn it off, waited a few minutes and it started right up. It ran another distance with a repeat of the same thing. I reached my place and turned it off and checked the fan - not running. After about a 1/2 hour or so, I made the return trip. Got partway back - same thing - several times. On the last startup everything ran very smoothly for the much longer distance home. When I reached, I found the fan was running now. I concluded at the time that it was a fan/cooling related issue. However, after turning it off for around 5 minutes, I went to start it and it cranked okay but would not fire. This is the first time for that since my original episode. Taking the advice of Mister Clean and Jeepwm69, I sprayed starter fluid into the intake and it started right up. It seems like the carb and fuel tank and lines might need a cleaning. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the tip on the impact wrench. I'll try it out. Another thing I discovered is that I have been running my tank on the RES valve setting. When I try it next time I'll have it moved to ON. I thought perhaps there might be sediment in the bottom of the tank causing a partial blockage. I'll try to take it for a spin today.

I'll try this the next time it dies.

Thanks very much. I got it now. When I get a chance I am going to pull the gas tank and try to clean it. I remember a few years ago I tried to remove the petcock but the mounting screws would just spin and never did get it out. Any suggestions on how to remove this without damaging the tank?

Thanks. I'm not sure where I would spray the starter fluid. In the air filter box or the plastic "thing" under the seat??? Should I pull the gas tank and throughly clean it and the gas valve?

Yes and no Home Depot either! Anyway, I used a grease needle on my grease gun to try to shoot some grease into the front bearing and reassembled everything and took the ATV for two test rides today. On the first run, it went for about 10 minutes then started its characteristic missing before quitting altogether. I opened the gas cap and it ran a little ways then suddenly stalled. I shut off the ignition and waited for a few minutes. The fan was not running. Then I restarted and returned back home without incident. The fan was now running upon my return. I have a loud muffler so I can't hear the fan when driving. Therefore, I thought it was a venting issue with the gas cap. About an hour later I did another run and this time I frequently cracked open the gas cap. I ran to my destination with no issues at all. Fan not running when I arrived. I waited about 1/2 hour to return and on the way the engine started missing, so before it stalled completely, I stopped and shutdown the engine (the fan was not running). After a few minutes, I restarted and went a short ways and then again it started missing. I stopped and turned it off. No fan. After a few minutes, I restarted and then continued a good long distance with no missing. When I returned home, the fan was now running. It seems like either the fan is intermittent or that it is being told to turn on too late. Do you know if there is something with the system that causes the engine to shutdown when it starts getting too hot? By the way, never have it seen the oil temp light come on except for when I power up with the key, and then it goes off as it should. I want to order another fan which is going to take several weeks at least to arrive, but can you tell me how you wire a toggle switch to override the system and turn the fan on. I'm thinking to splice in a wire to the hot wire of the fan, run it to the switch and on the other side to the 12V battery.

Thanks for the long answer! After a good soaking, my fan motor seems to start on command, so I am going to reassemble everything and give it a ride in the bush. Will let you know if I am successful.

Thanks so much. Looks good. I'll keep it in mind. Leaving my fan motor to soak with WD 40, it is really loosening up and turns on right away now. I think it got corroded and that may be the whole problem. I have to re-assemble everything and take a test drive next week! Appreciate the advice. Question - as you are in a hot and humid climate (like mine) - do you run your cooler fan continuously or is it hooked up to a thermostat?

Thanks for all of your helpful advice. I have pulled the fan assembly and motor out and wanted to do a final check on just the motor. I hooked up to 12V and it sputtered and quit. I realized that if I give a gentle spin with the power on, it starts up. I sprayed WD 40 on the motor shaft and bear and it seems to loosen it up a little. I will let it soak to see if it will consistenly start on its own. Regardless, I am going to need another fan motor. I would be interested in what auto fan you adapted to your machine. Down in my neck of the woods, we are always adapting things because parts are not always available or prohibitively expensive. On top of the expense of OEM parts, we have to add international shipping, plus punitive customs duty.

Well, I managed to service the coil and plug wire, but when I test started the machine the fan did not come on. I had the temp sensor lead grounded. It ran earlier in the week but today - nothing. I tried connecting 12V to the fan motor plug directly and still nothing. Then I checked continuity across the two fan plug connection and it seems the fan is shorted. I checked the fuse for the fan motor and it is fine. I also confirmed that I was getting voltage at the plug which connects to the fan motor (with the temp sensor grounded). I can only conclude that the fan motor is dead. I located a new aftermarket fan motor that is compatible at a fraction of the OEM price. Anything I might be missing here?

Question for Goober: Does the spark cap just pull off of the coil/plug wire? I just don't want to wreck anything.

Great thanks! I'll check the coil wire connection in the spark plug cap. I'm running in salty conditions so that might be a real possibility!

OK. Thanks. I guess the down and dirty way to test the coil is to pull the plug and crank it while grounding it on the cylinder head. At any rate, I am going to try to test run the machine this weekend. I am thinking now that I might have had a momentary plug in the gas vent cap. Perhaps I cleared it when I blew through it. When I test run it, if it starts missing before it eventually dies, I will be sure the loosen the gas cap and maybe that way I can isolate this problem. A vapor lock seems to make the most sense. I'll report on the results. Thanks again for the help.

Thanks for the advice. I couldn't find the FSM for my model at the toolbar, but I have a service manual book. However, it says to check the coil with a peak voltage adapter which I don't have. Can this test be done with a multimeter?

Yes, I checked the fuel cap and it seems clear - I could blow air through it.

Sorry. It is a TRX 500 FM 2008.

My Foreman suddenly quit yesterday after running for a short while and wouldn't restart. After several hours, it started up fine and ran for a while. Tried it several days later and the same thing. I realized I hadn't heard the fan for a while, so I disconnected the temperature sensor lead and grounded it and the fan worked. I am weeks away from getting another temp sensor so I tried to run the machine with the fan lead grounded (and running continuously). The machine went a further distance than before but again it just died. Note that when I grounded the lead the temp light stayed on. Realize that it is extremely hot right now in Belize. Question: Is there an overheating safety feature that shuts down the engine if it gets hot (besides the temp sersor)? In addition to replacing the temp sensor, should I consider replacing the oil cooler? Any advice would be appreciated.