Ok, I've got a '02 Polaris magnum 325, it's been parked since deer season ended and the battery was dead. Anyway, I got it going today, changed the spark plug and added some new gas. My question is...after riding it around for a bit it started getting really sluggish, then died. So I'm thinking the carburetor needs a good cleaning, etc. any suggestions...or tips on the model?
You more than likely figured out the problem already. Ethanol they put in fuel these days kill carburetors and can do the same to the engine itself. At work I just replace the carburetors, cheaper than me dismantling and rebuilding the original.
If it was sitting for a while with a gas tank that wasn't completely full you might have some water contamination... and maybe stirred up some debris from the bottom of the tank as well. First step would be to add some anti-freeze to the gas tank (preferable after emptying it (if possible...) and adding new gas. Also, adding some carb cleaner wouldn't hurt.
It's cheap and easy. If it doesn't work, you will probably need to pull the carb and clean it. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
Matt just pull the carb, break it down and give it a good rinse. There isn't anything to those carbs. be sure to not spray any carb cleaner on any rubber parts. You can download a manual online if you don't have one that will make it easy breezy. Any carb cleaner will work.
It's a good idea to drain the tank and the carb and put fresh fuel in it first. There is a small screw at the bottom of the fuel bowl and a small black fuel drain hose just watch for the fuel to run out of it. The Polaris has a fuel pump and filter that is located under the headlight cowl also check it for operation also it is vacuum operated and has cause me many a long walk in the past.
I'll hop on the dirty carb bandwagon with this one as well. I had similar issues with my 07 Honda after it sat for a while. I ended up getting a carb repair kit from my local Moose Racing dealer and it took about 1/2 hour to pull the carb, replace all the jets and gaskets, clean the housing and put it back together. Now it runs like a top. IMO for the money it beats soaking everything in carb cleaner and hoping you get the jets all clean. If you have a dealer in your area this is what you're looking for here - CARB REPAIR KITS | Products | Moose Utility Division
Just a suggestion. When I run my atv, generator, ect.. When I'm finished I turn the fuel vale off and let the carb run out of gas. We do it at our FD also and since we started doing that we have had no more problems with the ethanol gas. And some of the gas in some of those tanks that rarely get used is close to 2 years old. Everything still starts within 2 pulls. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Gotta go with Sea Foam too! Pour just a tiny bit in the gas tank then pull the carbs and pour just a few drops in each one. It will smoke for awhile but should run great afterwards. I had the same problem with my snowmobile this winter. Little sea foam and it is now running better then it has in many years!
