Trouble starting

[DAL]

Hi everyone,

 

I bought an '01 Banshee last weekend, and it ran great when I first picked it up (first kick after sitting for a couple years). I rode it for a total of 20-30 minutes, put it in the trailer, and towed it home. However, when I got her home she wouldn't start. She is trying to turn over and gas is going through the carbs, but she just won't fire up.

 

I got her pretty muddy when riding, so I cleaned her up, checked all my wiring connections (including spark plugs), and everything looks good. The previous owner cut the wires for the parking brake (and left them exposed), so I taped them off and made sure they weren't touching. I've spent probably a total of 10 minutes trying to kick her over, so I may have flooded the carbs.

 

My Clymer manual should arrive this week, and I'm sure it will help me narrow things down, but it's bugging the hell out of me, and I figured I'd see what you guys thought.

 

Thanks.

[pondtunes]

Hi everyone,

 

I bought an '01 Banshee last weekend, and it ran great when I first picked it up (first kick after sitting for a couple years). I rode it for a total of 20-30 minutes, put it in the trailer, and towed it home. However, when I got her home she wouldn't start. She is trying to turn over and gas is going through the carbs, but she just won't fire up.

 

I got her pretty muddy when riding, so I cleaned her up, checked all my wiring connections (including spark plugs), and everything looks good. The previous owner cut the wires for the parking brake (and left them exposed), so I taped them off and made sure they weren't touching. I've spent probably a total of 10 minutes trying to kick her over, so I may have flooded the carbs.

 

My Clymer manual should arrive this week, and I'm sure it will help me narrow things down, but it's bugging the hell out of me, and I figured I'd see what you guys thought.

 

Thanks.

 

Couple things to try first off:

 

Dumb question... is your kill switch in the OFF position?

 

After checking that: Pull your plugs, put the wire back on the plug and lay it against the head or the exhaust wherever you can see it. Kick it over slowly and you should see a fat blue spark jumping the gap.

 

If you've got spark next pull your air filter and use a flash light to look at the carbs, make sure the slides inside the carbs aren't stuck open. You should see them move up and down when you actuate the throttle.

 

While you've got the air filter off, might as well clean it as you need Air/Fuel/Spark to run if you're missing one you'll find your problem.

[06specialedition]

Check your choke tube. If you messed with the carbs at all it could have came off.....My dumbass did that and my shee wouldnt start at all.

[12 0 Clock P I M P]

Check your choke tube. If you messed with the carbs at all it could have came off.....My dumbass did that and my shee wouldnt start at all.

 

It may help to slowly kick it with switch off to get carbs going and then give it a good kick.......i heard of people doing thatt

[pondtunes]

Another thing if you just got this bike and the TORS system is still connected.. (wires connected to the two black boxes on top of your carbs) it's in your best interest to get rid of the TORS system with a TORS removal kit. It was a huge pain to try to tune the carbs with the tors system on my bike, it wouldn't ever idle right. Once TORS was gone it purrs like a kitten and fires up first kick. You can see if TORS is preventing your bike from starting (if its connected and if it has no spark) by unplugging the little black box mounted on the left side below the gas tank. If you unplug that and find that the bike now has spark then you'll see why everyone removes that TORS Crap

[DAL]

I'll check the plug wires tonight for a spark. The tips on the plugs themselves are clean. I also have a TORS eliminator kit on the way.

 

I didn't do anything other than take the plastics and pipes off, degreased and de-rusted most of the bad spots on the frame, and reassembled.

 

The weird thing is that she ran just fine, even when I pulled her into the trailer. 45 minutes later when I pulled her out, she wouldn't start. Nothing else was in the trailer which would have fallen and knocked wires loose, etc. She ran one minute, and the next she didn't. Weird.

[DAL]

check your plugs, they wet or dry, they fouled?

check your compression, good put new plugs in there.

if they plugs are dry, you have a fuel problem. if wet you might have an electric problem.

check to see if choke tube is there.

unplug TORS, might be cutting spark.

 

So either way, plugs wet or dry, I have a problem?

 

Choke tube is there, though it won't stay extended. Do you think that (though she ran fine before) could be an issue?

[Jereme6655]

I'll check the plug wires tonight for a spark. The tips on the plugs themselves are clean. I also have a TORS eliminator kit on the way.

 

I didn't do anything other than take the plastics and pipes off, degreased and de-rusted most of the bad spots on the frame, and reassembled.

 

The weird thing is that she ran just fine, even when I pulled her into the trailer. 45 minutes later when I pulled her out, she wouldn't start. Nothing else was in the trailer which would have fallen and knocked wires loose, etc. She ran one minute, and the next she didn't. Weird.

 

 

question for you....how many times have you tried starting it...and how close was it to the first problem. The only reason im askin is cause my buddy occasionally has this problem....we actually discovered that it was the extreme bouncing in his trailer that was causing his carb bowls to drain out into the engine flooding it. Now we just turn is fuel petcock off whenever it gets tossed in the trailer and we've never had that problem before. Only reason we even tried turnin the fuel off is cause his moded snowmobile is SUPER pissy about being trailered with the gas on...

[Larry's Shee]

So either way, plugs wet or dry, I have a problem?

 

Choke tube is there, though it won't stay extended. Do you think that (though she ran fine before) could be an issue?

Welcome to BHQ !! Are you saying the tube is to short? Choke tube is 3" hose that connects both carbs by choke knob . So did you check for spark ? Like stated could have seriously flooded it during ride home, so you could have spark but still have wet plugs.

[DAL]

Well, I got her started last night, and I think it ultimately had something to do with the petcock.

 

I checked spark (strong), carbs were working fine, and air filter was clean and well-oiled. With those out of the way, I kept the petcock in the off position and and tried to crank her over a few times to clear out any fuel. I then turned it back on, pulled the choke, and she started after 2 or 3 kicks. If I leave the petcock on, my right carb will slowly drip fuel. Since it was left on during the trailer ride home, I'm guessing she just got flooded.

 

Sometimes I suppose it just takes a thorough once over before she's willing to run.

 

Thanks everyone for the help. You guys are really awesome! Lots of mods in store for her, so I look forward to talking with you all.

[pondtunes]

Well, I got her started last night, and I think it ultimately had something to do with the petcock.

 

I checked spark (strong), carbs were working fine, and air filter was clean and well-oiled. With those out of the way, I kept the petcock in the off position and and tried to crank her over a few times to clear out any fuel. I then turned it back on, pulled the choke, and she started after 2 or 3 kicks. If I leave the petcock on, my right carb will slowly drip fuel. Since it was left on during the trailer ride home, I'm guessing she just got flooded.

 

Sometimes I suppose it just takes a thorough once over before she's willing to run.

 

Thanks everyone for the help. You guys are really awesome! Lots of mods in store for her, so I look forward to talking with you all.

 

 

Oooh, if your right carb is dripping gas then your needle/seat valve in the bowl is probably worn out. Either that or the float level is set too low. Pretty simple thing to fix / check but you should address it since you're losing fuel!

[DAL]

Oooh, if your right carb is dripping gas then your needle/seat valve in the bowl is probably worn out. Either that or the float level is set too low. Pretty simple thing to fix / check but you should address it since you're losing fuel!

 

I'll be sure to check that out. Thanks for the suggestion.

[DAL]

ya you should always turn your gas off when not riding.

and the petcock isn't the problem, your carbs are. the right one most likely needs to be rebuilt and the floats adjusted.

 

OK, thanks. She's going to have a frame up restoration over the winter, so some aftermarket carbs are definitely in her future.