honda foreman wont rev up

[trailcutter 13]

i have a 2002 honda foreman that wont rev up unlees i put a load on the battery like put on lights,or leave key on for a bit before i start it upi have. replaced the carb,cdi,coil and rectifier.any ideas what is happening?

[Melatv 792]

Welcome Here -- If you haven't cleaned and tighten the battery terminals do so.

[trailcutter 13]

i have tried that also

[AKATV 822]

Check voltage regulator output at battery while running at half throttle, it could be overcharging and the load, ie lights etc, is bringing it back down

should be no more than 14.5-ish at half throttle 

Most times when I see one that wont rev out, its the CV carburetor boot is pinched/not sealed under top cover or the  timing is off one cam tooth

Yours is definitely electrical if it revs out with additional electrical load

Definitely check out battery and voltage regulator condition

-AKATV

[Melatv 792]

Hi: This could be caused by a dirty carburetor, dirty fuel filter, dirty air filter, bad petcock, valves in need of adjustment, faulty spark plug -- what are you using for gas?

[AKATV 822]

10 minutes ago, Melatv said:

Hi: This could be caused by a dirty carburetor, dirty fuel filter, dirty air filter, bad petcock, valves in need of adjustment, faulty spark plug -- what are you using for gas?

I was leaning more to thinking this is an electrical, issue, seeing as he had said that it will rev up when you turn the lights on, but will not when they are turned off?

I didn’t know if the CDI might be cutting out due to over voltage and the additional load from the lights etc. was bringing it back down- just a thought

-AKATV 

[trailcutter 13]

i  have tried running it with the battery disconnected and doesnt help.

[AKATV 822]

Bad to do that, especially if you possibly have a bad voltage regulator

what voltage are you showing at the battery with the machine running at half throttle?

Also- did you replace with Ebay China parts or Honda new/used parts

-AKATV

Edited December 10, 2023 by AKATV

[trailcutter 13]

it shows 14.7 volts,the cdi and rectifier were made in china.

Edited December 10, 2023 by trailcutter

[AKATV 822]

Your voltage is good

-if you can consistently rev up with lights on every time and not with them off, I would suspect the CDI or voltage regulator

I would verify this 100% to make sure you are chasing electrical issue and not a fuel issue

Do you know what was bad with the old parts/ why you replaced them?

I HIGHLY recommend not using China parts, I have seen more damage and frustration caused by using these garbage parts, not to mention a few long cold walks home

I would start by getting get some good used Honda parts off ebay and take it from there.

-AKATV

[trailcutter 13]

the first issue was machine wouldnt start with starter,but would with pull start,it wouldnt rev up,so i cleaned carb and tank and didnt rev up ,so replaced the carb.after i replaced the cdi it would start with the starter again .

[retro 4,048]

On 12/10/2023 at 3:09 PM, trailcutter said:

the cdi and rectifier were made in china.

 

I hate it when I gotta be the bearer of bad news but you can't fix a Honda with china knockoffs. We can't help ya at all until all parts on your Foreman are genuine Honda. You can probably find good used parts on powersportsnation.com if you prefer used versus new.

[trailcutter 13]

i ordered a used oem cdi off ebay

[retro 4,048]

Good move.... you'll need to replace the china Regulator/rectifier too, before you plug in the used OEM CDI. When the charging voltage exceeds 16 volts the CDI may fry.... also if the charging voltage is mostly unrectified AC the CDI may fail. So the china regulator/rectifier is a potential bomb. Its not a matter of "if", but when with china knockoffs.... we see it all the time.

[trailcutter 13]

i already put the old rectifier back on.the thing that bothers me is if my cdi is bad how ithe eginecan run and rev up at all

[retro 4,048]

Sometimes (on a few models, not all) china knockoff parts will work for a few minutes, but they always fail very soon after installation. Often times when they fail (or don't work at all) they short out circuits that pass through other expensive electrical modules, frying them as well. Shift ECMs are an example part that can be destroyed by excessive current due to a short - they cost several hundred bucks each!

 

China knockoffs are the number 1 issue that we experience here on an almost daily basis, by far. We see china knockoffs on dead Honda's so often that we feel like we are mistreating folks immediately after welcoming them, when we gotta explain that cheap china parts are bombs. Sometimes I don't respond to a new member issue right away (this thread for instance), hoping that someone else will provide the bad news. We feel like crap every time, takes the fun outta helping folks fix their Honda.

[trailcutter 13]

when i ordered the rectifier i reached out to the company about my concerns of them made in china,and they said that their products were made to their standards as was not the case with a lot of suppliers

the sad thing now adays it seems like anything you buy has something on it thats made in china.most of the suppliers in noth erica prey on the cheap labour putting our workrs out of jobs and they put the prophets i 

n their pockets

[jeepwm69 7,611]

On 12/17/2023 at 8:17 AM, trailcutter said:

when i ordered the rectifier i reached out to the company about my concerns of them made in china,and they said that their products were made to their standards as was not the case with a lot of suppliers

the sad thing now adays it seems like anything you buy has something on it thats made in china.most of the suppliers in noth erica prey on the cheap labour putting our workrs out of jobs and they put the prophets i 

n their pockets

 

Definitely frustrating.  Used OEM is better than new aftermarket though.  I'm fixing to order an upper control arm for my Honda Accord for the same reason.  New aftermarket lasted about a year and one of the bushings has already gone bad.  Ordering a used arm on ebay in a few mins.  Costs more than new aftermarket, but the OEM control arms on my old Accord lasted 360K until I sold it, and the right side on the current Accord is still good with 340K on the current one.  Had I not hit something with the left front wheel I've no doubt my original stuff would be fine on this car.  I knew better than to get new aftermarket crap.

 

The scary thing is, hard parts just fail.  Electrical parts fail and take a bunch of other components with them.  Powersportsnation stands behind what they sell.  They used to be a lot cheaper, but they've greatly expanded their operation, and their customer service is exceptional, so to me it's worth paying a bit more to get stuff from them, knowing that if the part isn't right they'll take care of it.

[trailcutter 13]

has anybody dealt with parzilla,they sell oem parts also.

[retro 4,048]

Yeah, Partzilla is useful for looking up OEM part numbers and they list the other years & models of Honda ATVs that each part number fits. So we reference their site often when helping folks find parts. But Partzilla sells parts way above the retail prices that you can find elsewhere. They're a very expensive supplier. And Partzilla is very slow to ship parts and they are full of excuses. We avoid them except to use as a parts interchange reference.

 

One of the best OEM parts suppliers is Rocky Mountain ATV. They sell at reasonable prices, they ship out orders immediately and they use quick delivery services like Fedex or Priority Mail, with tracking numbers provided.

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/oem-parts/Honda

 

For used OEM Honda parts Powersportsnation is the best supplier. They ship quick, provide tracking numbers and they stand behind every part that they sell. Great folks, great service.

https://www.powersportsnation.com

[trailcutter 13]

where do groumd wires mount to frame

Edited December 21, 2023 by trailcutter

[jeepwm69 7,611]

15 hours ago, trailcutter said:

where do groumd wires mount to frame

 

Look on the right side of the frame, directly down from under your right butt cheek if you're sitting on the seat.  There's a single bolt with ground wires going to it. 

[trailcutter 13]

i have found the ground from the battery ,engine to frame,but where do all the other  grouunds attach to the frame.

[retro 4,048]

You're looking for three wires (Green, Green, Green/White) exiting the main wiring harness with a brass eyelet.

 

 

The harness ground bolt is located on the left side of the frame in the area where several harness connectors are clipped to the frame. You'll find the ground bolt hidden amongst those several connectors, about 9"-10" behind the left upper shock absorber mount.

 

 

This is what you're gonna see.... note the ground wires coming out of the wiring harness where the orange arrow is pointing in this image.

 

 

If you have some dielectric grease on hand coat the frame, bolt and brass eyelet with dielectric grease after you shine up the frame bolt location. Also unclip from the frame and open each of the harness connectors that you can reach to dielectric grease those connector terminals and waterproof sealing areas. All harness connectors should be prepped with dielectric grease to insure that issues won't arise in the future. Honda does NOT waterproof connectors at the factory.

[trailcutter 13]

thanks for the info,will check it out