[snoshoe82]

I just bought an 07 500 in Oct 07 from a dealer in Mt Holly NJ. with a 50" moose plow and winch lift. my problem is that now Im stuck in Kuwait and my wife has tried to use it to move the 18" of snow around our house in Augusta, ME but the thing only runs for 2 mins before it dies. Ive told her put it under a blanket with a heater in case its gas line freeze ( yes it is in an unheated but large garage). she has tried 5 different times but to no avail. question 1 what is the deal with the carb heater does it work? 2 its 3mos old 5 miles what else might cause this prob?
hope y' all are enjoying the snow its 75 deg here

 

[red4man]

They are very cold blooded. You have to keep the choke on for a while and then close it slowly until the motor runs smooth. This does take 3 to 5 minutes depending on how cold it is.

 

[Caveman64]

The Honda's have always been difficult to get going in cold weather. I am not sure that my wife could start one in the cold. Have to choke it and be a little aggressive on the gas to keep her going until she warms up. Good luck.

 

[Yooperforeman]

I get mine running and stay right with it holding the throttle slightly open and keeping the choke on.I stay with it at least 5 minutes like this until it is good and warmed up.I have a cylinder temp. gauge on mine and it doesn't start running good until it gets around 250 degrees.

 

[LoneRanger]

How old is the gas? Mine runs rough when the gas gets too old. I try to keep a major brand in it (like BP) so it runs / starts better.

Have someone turn up the idle on it as well. That helped me a little.

 

[snoshoe82]

thanks
but what about the carb heater how does that work?

 

[Bigvick]

Turn the switch on but do not try to crank the engine. At this time the carb heater should be warming the float bowl. Leave the switch on for a few minutes then try to crank. Also the choke maybe sliding back in as mine did when I first got it. What happens is when you pull the choke all the way out it will slide back in on it's own, could be why its dying. Have your wife hold out on the choke knob and see if it will stay running to warm up. There is a remedy to this, at the base of the choke knob is a little rubber cover, underneath that is a lock nut, tighten that nut until the choke lever will stay out on its own.

 

[dastagg]

I know that this would be too much for your wife to do, but for others, get a NGK Iridium Plug and most of your choke problems will go away. I choke to start in coldest of weather and can get off choke very soon after with this spark plug. Not a miracle worker, but sure is better for me and now don't have to leave choke pulled for very long at all to me. Of course, where I live, it doesn't get as cold as many others on this board, but still should help somewhat for even the colder regions. I had previously tightened the nut to hold out choke, but no longer need to do that.

 

[eric]

Anyone close to this guy? if I was about 1500 miles closer I would help.

You could try putting some stabil in the fuel tank. Fuel quality these days is pathetic. It probably is the choke cable sliding in on its own, very easy fix. Removing the rubber boot is unnecessary, just turn the whole boot clockwise to desired tension. Good luck

 

[ICON]

Sounds like what happens to mine occationally. What she needs to do is remove the right side panel to get access to the carb and pump the primer on the side of the carb about 5-6 times and it should be fine. I'm not exactly why it started doing this but mine started after the float was getting hung up due to the newer gas. I tore the carb apart and found a very thin/greenish film on the needle and after i cleaned that off it was normal again. I recently had to tear my buddies foreman 450 carb down twice because of the crap that built up. The first time a green/slimy ball about the size of a quarter was at the bottom of the bowl. Took 2 times to get everything out and running properly again. This new gas is causing all kinds of problems if you let it sit long enough. The mechanics at the local honda dealer said they're seeing more and more of this. They recommend if you're gonna let it sit for a lonf time to shut off the fuel then run it till the engine dies, then drain the bowl. I did this but the float stuck again. Guess i just gotta ride it more.

 

[Millertime34]

If fuel related, I have found a very good product to use is SeaFoam. This keeps any moisture problems at bay if you have consensation probs due to the weather. It also cleans gunk in carb and fuel lines. Wonderful stuff.

 

[snoshoe82]

Thanks all
I just got back from Kuwait and tried to start our forman turned out she didnt know about the primer. I pumped it 3 times pulled the choke out and hit the starter it fired up and died so I primed it 4 more pumps pulled out the choke and feathered the throttle. It studdered for a few seconds and then ran fine. worked great while plowing too although after 3 times back and forth I had to set the reverse cable adjuster out to make the shifting easier.
well keep praying for snow

 

[lovethemud2]

Hey Phil, looks like your prayers have been answered, we're supposed to be getting 6-10" today, and more on Friday. I live 20 miles from you in Bowdoin. I have to be honest, before reading this thread, I didn't know my foreman even had a primer bulb. I had some trouble last winter, as far as getting it started and keeping it running, but in the spring I added a pipe and jet kit, and this winter it has started with no problems, and runs great. In really cold temps, I just crack the throttle, and start it right up. Then I pull the choke, and let it warm up for a couple minutes. I just bought a plow last week, because I'm sick of snow blowing my driveway. Getting my winch installed today or tomorrow, can't wait to try it out. Well good luck to you.

 

[snoshoe82]

yup I'm ready for this snow. I still have to wait a while for it to warm up. I was clearing some hard snow this morning getting ready for the storm and had the springs set to soft so when I hit the hard stuff the plow tipped foward and got pushed into a chunk of ice and bent the topright corner. oops. not too bad it didnt crack the paint. well 3" so far. have fun
Phil