Have 2005 Rancher 350 ES that has been flawless until today. Will not idle warm unless choke is partially on. Doing occasional spitting and sputtering also while riding. At higher rpm's it seems to be ok but when it idles down after letting off throttle it dies unless you feather the throttle,. Pulled air cleaner and shot some Seafoam into intake of carb and added some to gas tank. This does seem to have helped some but not to the point that it will idle correctly. ATV is stored in enclosed shed with full tank of 89 octane ethanol free gas(less than 500 miles on atv). Was ridden last around Halloween with no issues then. Not sure what could have caused issue since then, but suspect clogged jet or crud. This really surprised me today as this machine has been 100% reliable until this issue. Any ideas or pointers?
Honda Rancher won't idle unless choked
- Thread starter mjonesnh
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Scooby074
Super Member
Clean your carb. My foreman did the same.
Dmace
Elite Member
It's your Pilot jet that's clogged, that's the jet that provides fuel to the engine when the throttle is closed. Depending on your fuel, you may have deposits in the tank that will keep clogging the jets until you clean the tank as well. Also, if you don't have a fuel filter, get one. Even a cheap $5 ATV filter that you change every year will make a huge difference.
murphy1244
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See if you can drop the bowland blow out the idle circut. The problem is in the carb.
rcurrie
Member
You can try this as a quick fix. Some times it works and some times it doesn't. Remove the air filter, start the engine and rev it to about 4-6 thousand rpm and then smother the carb with your hand until it almost quits. Remove your hand before it quits and feather the throttle to keep it running until it recovers on its own. Do this five or six times and see if it helps. Do not over rev the engine, 4000-6000 should not hurt it as long as you don't keep it there. This has worked alot of times for me and it is easier than a carb job. Good Luck.
Tried this procedure and some more Seafoam spray. Now have it idling by turning the idle adjustment up 3-4 more turns. Not perfect but it has improved. Considering buying a new carb as I am not feeling lucky right now tying to install carb kit.New OEM carb is around $140 shipped. If I took to local dealer for repair ,labor rate is $75/hr. May run atv for 1-2 hours when warmer and see if it improves.
Code54
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Yep it is in the carb - been there done that on a Foreman also.
$140 for a carb seems like a good deal! You will pay more than that at a dealer to have the carb pulled, cleaned and jetted!
$140 for a carb seems like a good deal! You will pay more than that at a dealer to have the carb pulled, cleaned and jetted!
Dmace
Elite Member
Why would you buy a carb when it just needs a good cleaning...?
While I do most of my own repairs , taking this carb apart , cleaning , installing kit, and re-assembly is not something I care to try presently. As pointed out in another post a new carb would probably be cheaper than taking to a dealer for service. Taking the old carb off and replacing with new one is something that I feel ok with , just not tearing into the innards of original.
Scooby074
Super Member
Dmace
Elite Member
It's not as difficult as you think, if you can take off a carb to replace it with a new one then you can easily clean a jet. You don't even need to remove the throttle cable. Just 4 screws to remove the float bowl, get a can of carb clean and spray it directly into the two jets. Reinstall bowl and go.
I like to remove the jets to clean them thoroughly but you can get by without removing them.
toddbiss
Bronze Member
I have an 05 Foreman and have pulled the carb 2-3 times. I would not bother with a rebuild kit, just take it apart clean everything and put it back together the same way you took it apart. They are less complicated than people think, be careful when you take the bowl off of the float pin and the float jet that lets the gas in.
Shmudda
Gold Member
And, after your adventure is completed, spend 2 or 3 bucks and buy yourself a little in-line fuel filter.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!
Craig
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!
Craig
samandmax
Bronze Member
Before buying a new carb, get some sea foam to mix with fuel and run a tank or two or more if you can through carb. BMW dealers had some stuff that was very potent for carbs and expensive. It is very easy to take the carb off though, and clean out the jets. Check on you tube, maybe someone is showing a how to on a atv.
whistlepig
Elite Member
I have a 2000 Honda Rancher that has been running 365 days a year, winter and summer, for 11 years now. Every now and then I have to "tweak" the carb setting screws. If I don't it won't idle right. The Honda service manual will tell you how to do this. If you have an older Honda the service manual is priceless.
cdaigle430
Veteran Member
I would use up or get rid of the gas your using now, even mixing stale gas with fresh gas won't help. When you park it for longer than a couple weeks, turn the fuel petcock off wile idling and let it die out. Been doing that with my 2004 and no issues so far (knock on wood). Also as others have suggested-rebuild the carb.
Dmace
Elite Member
What's the point of doing this?
If the fuel is going to go bad or create deposits, it will do it in the gas tank just as well as the carb. Running the carb dry and leaving it dry will only dry out the internal seals. Plus this will make it harder to start when you do want to use it. If it's going to sit for a while unused, put a fuel stabilizer like the Sta-bil Marine Formula which is designed for Ethanol gas.
TOMMYHPX4X4
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i agree clean them jets and add a extra filter and by all means stay away from gas with ethenol in it that stuff eats up carbs fast . even if you use stabil i still don't trust ethenol.
Just a quick note. If you have not changed the spark plug, do so. Mine would go about three years and start doing exactly as you described. New plug, problem solved. Be sure and get a good plug. Go with the NKG or a good platinum tipped plug.
Shmudda
Gold Member
Jimmy,
This is a very good point! I had the very same issue with mine and it was a plug too. Good call......
Craig
