2002 Quadrunner 500 Idle issues

[Mudflap64]

Ok, I see idle issues here but none of them seem to fit my problem. My quad idles High when cold then is stalling when warm. ( High enough that I can't get it into gear.) Carb has been rebuilt, air filter is clean, Compression is good,it's fouling plugs like crazy and the choke seems to make very little difference. I've checked all the cables to the carb and it just doesn't make sense! It acts like a choke problem but everything checks out ok. I may try changing the supressor cap but damn, I'm getting tired of throwing money @ this thing. If I get it warmed up good it pops pretty bad during deceleration. Could a clogged muffler cause this? I've done everything I can think of on the intake side. Just wondering if anybody has run into issues with this style muffler/spark arrestor. All I can say right now is

[DirtDemon]

It sounds like a choke problem or your pilot circuit is way too rich, have you tried adjusting the pilot screw?

[Mudflap64]

By pilot screw, do you mean the one for the idle circuit? I have tried to lean it out to Dangerous settings and it still runs rich as heck/ By Dangerous, I mean 3-4 turns open, and down to 1/8 turn closed. It doesn't seem to make any difference. I'm really thinking it is in the choke. I'm puzzled and ready to just buy a new carb......but I'm stubborn. Maybe I'm missing a screw somewhere> I walked away from it and waiting for better weather.

[DirtDemon]

I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same screw, it is commonly called the idle circuit, pilot circuit or low speed circuit. It controls air/fuel mix at an idle and at initial throttle opening. There is a separate screw for idle adjustment, but it doesn't change the fuel mix, it just opens the throttle a bit. If you are still that rich even if you have the pilot screw that far in, then I would agree that you have a choke problem. Usually if turning the choke on or off has little to no affect, that means there is something wrong with the choke. Most motorcylce or ATV carbs do not use a true "choke" system which simply restricts airflow through the carb, hence the term "choke". Most of these carbs use what is called an "enrichener circuit" opening this circuit increases the amount of fuel that is available at an idle position without letting extra air in. It's affect is similar to richening the pilot circuit, but you don't have to make a permanent adjustment, switching the choke on and off is essentially richening or leaning out the pilot circuit instantly. If the enrichener is not blocking the circuit properly in the off position, it will act as if the "choke" is on even if the switch is turned off.

Another question, was this problem occuring before the carb was rebuilt, or did it start to occur afterwards. This sounds stupid, but I have seen it happen before. I had a friend who was having carb problems, so he took the carb apart, replaced some gaskets, cleaned it out, and put it back together. The machine would start and idle fine, but as soon as you touched the throttle, it would begin to run extremely rich, and would only clear up when you opened the throttle completely, and would backfire when you let the throttle off. He gave up and brought it to me, he said he wanted to check the vavles, so I did that first, they were fine. So I took the carb back apart to see if he put something together wrong or lost a part etc... As soon as I pulled the top of the carb apart, I noticed the problem immediately, he had put the jet needle in upside down. When the throttle was closed, the top of the needle was just long enough to keep the needle jet and main jet closed, but as soon as the throttle was cracked even just a bit, the needle and main jets were wide open. With this circuit wide open, fuel flows into the venturi at the rate needed to sustain a full throttle application, obviously this is going to make things way too rich. I flipped the needle back over put everything back together and it ran perfectly. My friend was pretty irritated with himself, he is pretty good with machines, but everyone has a brain fart from time to time. Just something to check.

You also asked if a clogged muffler could be your problem, I would guess that it isn't your problem, but I can't rule it out. It wouldn't hurt to make sure that things are clear. I do think that it is possible that a timing issue, or improperly adjusted vavles could be giving you problems. I would focus on the choke first, if it turns out not to be the problem, at least you will have ruled it out.

[Mudflap64]

Thanks Josh. We are talking about the same idle air screw. With some time away from it and your help I'm gonna look over the entire choke set-up. I checked everything in the carb and it was all clean and open. I just ran it a bit tonite and the choke does NOTHING to change the way it runs. I'm gonna check to make sure the cable and hand control is actually working. This problem was happening before the carb rebuild but I only removed the cable then put it back on when I put the carb back on. I didn't check to see if the cable is pushing the plunger back down. I'll keep yah posted. I think I might have "thought" of the source. Thank you.

Someone also mentioned the fuel petcock could be bad sucking fuel into the vaccuum port causing a rich condition but that seems to hold vaccuum just fine.

[DirtDemon]

The suggestion you got about the fuel valve leaking fuel into the intake vacuum is a good thought. You can test that by removing the vacuum line from the petcock, block the nipple on the petckock to keep it sealed, block the line so you don't have a vacuum leak and turn the peacock to the "prime" position to let fuel through. If the machine runs ok like this, then a bad peacock would appear to be the problem. Good luck.

[GEARHEAD01]

My quadmaster did the same thing. what i had found is the slide choke plunger had a slight bit of wear on it. i noticed with a magnifiing glass. changed it and it was better. then i loosened off all of my cables and then set my idle screw after it was warm. once that was done and the quad was cleaned off i started the quad and set the throttle linkage idle screw to the proper speed. then i reset my cables. after that it worked like a top. If thats ok then i would look closley at your jets. my brother in law used a file on his and fubared them.

Your friendly neighbouhood mechanic.

[Mudflap64]

I'll be damned!!! I looked over the cables and hand controls and found the choke cable adjuster was completely off the threads and the locknut was off the tube. It makes more sense now cause the cable was a pain in the butt to put back on the carb. The cable elbow is under the handgrip so I never noticed it had come loose. It explains why it would die when making tight turns as well. Once I put the cable back together and slacked the hell out of it the engine ran GREAT! Idles like a charm and once I re-adjust the choke cable i'm confident it will run like new. I feel like an idiot that such a simple fix caused that big of a problem. I changed the plug and ran it around for a while and I have to say this thing has NEVER run this good since I've owned it. The plug looked good after about 15 minutes of running it. Light brown, not BLACK and carboned up! Thank you all for your help.

[Mudflap64]

Side note.....I can finally start it with the pull start and it fires every time, first pull. That hasn't ever happened either.

[DirtDemon]

Sometimes I don't know whether to be glad that a problem turned out to be so simple, or mad at myself for not seeing it sooner. Glad to hear you are all fixed up.

[Mudflap64]

Thanks again Josh. This thing runs so good I just cannot beleive it. I left it idle for over 15 mins and it never skipped a beat. The fan never even kicked on with the the temps in the upper 70's. I'm gonna have some fun with it this summer for sure!!

[Mudflap64]

Still running great and this thing pushes topsoil and gravel better than some small tractors. 50" blade and It pushes with no problem. Gotta use lo if it's really wet. ITP Mudlite radials and mud = FUN!!!!