What a bummer of a feeling it is when an ATV breaks down. You can cruising along enjoying the day and a fine ride when all of the sudden your machine quits. Here are some tips to fix it on the trail so you can keep on riding. Or, if the problem is more severe, diagnose the problem when you get home.
An engine has three basic requirements in order for it to run: fuel, compression and spark. If your ATV suddenly quit running, chances are likely that the failure is related to a loss of spark.
Unfortunately, these problems can’t often be repaired on the trail because an electrical part has failed.
If an ATV engine quits, check for spark by removing the spark plug from the engine and grounding the electrode against metal (a bolt, the frame, steering stem, etc.). With the spark plug cap on the plug and the spark plug resting against metal, press the starter button while looking at the spark plug. Perfect spark is blue and bright. If the spark is yellow, dim and generally looks weak, there is a problem with the ignition system.
If you’re out on the trail, you’ll need to tow the quad back to base camp and further diagnose it at home or bring it to a shop. Electrical failures can be hard to track down and special tools are required to diagnose it. Electrical specifications are also required in order to track down trouble.
If an ATV died a gradual death or is limping along, seemingly on its death bed, the problem is probably fuel related. If it simply ran out of fuel, with a little ingenuity you can transfer gasoline from one quad to the empty one and get it rolling again. One of our test ATVs recently ran out of gas while climbing a hill on a ride in Kentucky.
We unhooked the fuel line from the switch on the Yamaha Raptor 250 that was also on the ride and drained gas into a zippered plastic bag that had been protecting the owner’s manual and tool kit. After filling the bag with fuel, we poured it into the dead ATV that ran out of fuel.
In the name of full disclosure, we never did get the dead ATV restarted because, as it turns out, the spark plug cap rattled off, too. (Who’d a thunk that both problems would happen simultaneously?) If we’d have checked for spark like I suggested above, we could have gotten the machine started and driven it out of the woods rather than towed it.
You might run into other problems with the fuel system. If, for example the fuel tank is run way down, the fuel pump might start to suck debris that’s laying on the bottom of the tank. If an ATV hesitates, sputters and or generally runs poorly, especially when under a heavier load like wide-open throttle, there might be a restriction in the fuel system, such as an obstructed fuel filter.
Before you hook a healthy quad to a dead ATV and tow it down the trail, it’s important to consider a few things so the trip goes as smoothly as possible. First consider the terrain you’ll have to follow back to base camp, because that will influence another important variable: the ATV riders who are involved in rescuing the machine.
You might have the option of a long, easy route or the shorter, more challenging route. We like to err on the side of caution. So if you can spare the time, take the longer, easier route to help prevent more problems like a crashed or sunken quad.
Choose experienced riders who understand the limitations of the broken down quad — lack of engine braking, for example — so they can perceive trouble and take corrective action if necessary. The driver of the quad that’s towing the dead ATV must be able to understand those limitations, too, so he or she can choose the best line through obstacles.
Use a strong strap or rope to link the two machines, and hook them together at the lowest point possible so that if the strap unhooks it will be less likely to snap back into the rider. If possible, use a strap that doesn’t have any metal parts, as the material is less likely to cause injury if it strikes a person.
If you use a tie-down strap with a metal hook, be sure it is securely attached to the machine so it doesn’t disconnect when the strap slackens.
