Hard to start

[JWubba]

I was wondering what i should do to help my sled start. I was thinking about getting my carbs cleaned but do any of you have any other ideas?

[GearHd6]

What is it doing? How are you starting it? Full choke, half choke? Do you shut the gas off when it sits for long periods, (a day or more)? Does it foul plugs?

[JWubba]

I have electric start. The person i bought it off of broke the choke lever off so the is a piece of wood attached with a wire so i can manually pull the choke. All i do is pull the choke and turn the key until the engine starts a little and the electric start disengages. Then i repeat the process until it keeps running. I do shut the gas off when I dont plan on starting it within the next few days. It does not foul plugs. The problem i am having is it just doesn't start as quick as i think it should. I have to sit the with the choke pulled and the key turned for about 15 seconds for the engine to turn over just a little bit. I have tried pull starting it and it doesn't even start after i pull it like 7 times. After i get it started and warmed up it will start first pull no prob and just with the turn of the key. I just dont know what the problem is.

[GearHd6]

It runs and idles fine once you get it running? Does it idle down, to around 1300 rpms or does it idle high? Have you put new plugs in it? The compression could be a little low. Or your carb needle and seats are leaking into the crankcase. That'll drain a lot of gas into the crankcase just overnight.

[JWubba]

Everything runs fine once i get it started. I have an appointment at the end of the month to get a couple things fixed so i am just going to see if i can gets my carbs looked over and see if they can find anything.

[Dix]

It runs and idles fine once you get it running? Does it idle down, to around 1300 rpms or does it idle high? Have you put new plugs in it? The compression could be a little low. Or your carb needle and seats are leaking into the crankcase. That'll drain a lot of gas into the crankcase just overnight.

I'd be thinking about doing a compression test... it's easy and could save a lot of tail chasing.

[JWubba]

Would i be able to test the compression by myself? Is it something that i could do without having a lot of knowledge about snowmobiles or engines?

[Offshore24]

If you can borrow a compression tester, yes. Pull plug, screw in tester, pull recoil 5 times with throttle open and ignition OFF. Read gauge.

[JWubba]

Wow that sounds pretty easy the hardest part would be finding someone with a tester.

[GearHd6]

Wow that sounds pretty easy the hardest part would be finding someone with a tester.

You probably can rent one from a local autoparts store like Advance or Autozone or something along those lines. Usually it just requires a deposit that you get back when you return the tool in the same condition as you took it.

[Dix]

In your case I'd be real interested to know the difference between the hot & cold test numbers...

Cold test... start sled for 15-20 seconds... shut it down... test each cylinder and write down the numbers

Now run the sled 'til it's good and warm... feel the heat exchanger under the tunnel... shut it down and repeat the test...

Ideally you'd like to see no more than a 5 PSI difference between hot & cold... from what you are saying about the engine I'd almost bet it's more than 10.

[JWubba]

Just got the sled beck from the shop. Starts right up once i turn the key.

[Dix]

Cool.... I wish mine were ready to go too... I still have a ways to go :mrgreen:

[flatlander]

I get a warm fuzzy feeling when that happens! Actually at my age, I get that warm fuzzy feeling when anything happens! LOL!