[Lobo]

Hello to all I was glad to run across this forum. I am hoping to get some good input and questions answered as well. I have a 2013 TRX420TE that up until now has been problem free. This past weekend I was riding for the first tim this year and at about 14 miles of trail riding the motor died just like it ran out of gas. The Petcock valve was in the fuel on position. After turning the switch off and back a few times it fired back up and ran fine for a few minutes then did it again. To make a long story short I noticed the fuel pump was not cycling most of the times I turned the switch on. I removed fuel pump canister assembly. Ordered a now unit from local dealership. Installed with new rubber seal and locking connector on pressurized hose. Was going to drain the fuel tank via the hose coming off the petcock valve and only get a slight dribble. Surely i have a clogged or gummed up tank / line / valve or all the above? How much fuel flow should I have at the hose from the tank that fills the fuel bowl at the fuel pump? Thanks in advance for helpful info and sorry this is so long but wanted to give as much info as possible on what happened.

 

[retro]

It sounds like the petcock is corroded and plugged due to long-term exposure to ethanol-laced fuel. It may need to be replaced or repaired depending on the condition its found in and your skills.

 

[Lobo]

I bought the

 

[Lobo]

I bought it new and I never run ethanol gas in it. I did however let it sit all last year and over the winter and can’t remember if I put stabizer in it or not. Judging by the smell of the gas that dribbled out of the tank I would say I forgot.

 

[Jeepwm69]

I'd take the tank off, turn it upside down, shoot some air back through the petcock and see if you can clear it. If you try to take the petcock off the tank, either use an impact or snap the ratchet quickly when you start to loosen those 8mm bolts. They're screwed into nutserts in the plastic tank, and if you don't snap them loose oftentimes the nutserts will start to spin in the plastic and then you have a whole nother issue to deal with.

If it were me, I'd flip it over, put the petcock on "ON" and then put a shot of compressed air up through there with my compressor. If that opens it up, flush out the tank and put it back on.

 

[Lobo]

Thanks for the tip about the nutserts in the plastic tank bottom. I will take the tank off this evening after I get home from work.then I will shoot some air through from the petcock end. Hopefully that will do it. Thank you.

 

[Goober]

Take a look at the service manual and you’ll see all the parts involved. You might get some gumminess in the pump system.
IDK maybe you can remove the pump and clean it with some fresh fuel and a pipe cleaner

 

[Lobo]

Take a look at the service manual and you’ll see all the parts involved. You might get some gumminess in the pump system.
IDK maybe you can remove the pump and clean it with some fresh fuel and a pipe cleaner

I have a service manual ordered. Tracking # says delivery should be Tuesday 5/7. I installed a new fuel pump, filter and the green clip and rubber seal that connects the hose from the pump to the throttle body. I did not connect the hose from the tank / petcock valve to the fuel bowl. I put a funnel under that hose and turned the petcock to “fuel on” position. That’s when I saw I only have a “dribble” of fuel coming from the tank.At least I know the new pump is not contaminated with old fuel. The gas is non ethanol 100% gasoline but it smells more like turpentine. My dumb self didn’t think I had it sitting THAT long. Memory must be going LOL. I may pull the tank this weekend but again I may wait until I get the service manual. BTW, the manual and fuel pump assembly are genuine Honda, not the aftermarket junk.

 

[shadetree]

as said^^^^, time to clean the whole fuel system, starting at the tank, and working you're way to the throttle body. have you inspected the fuel cut-off replay to make sure you are indeed getting power to the new fuel pump ?. I dont have much faith in fuel pumps on the trx420's, they failed right out of the gate.

 

[Lobo]

as said^^^^, time to clean the whole fuel system, starting at the tank, and working you're way to the throttle body. have you inspected the fuel cut-off replay to make sure you are indeed getting power to the new fuel pump ?. I dont have much faith in fuel pumps on the trx420's, they failed right out of the gate.

Well I took the tank off today after work. Flipped it upside down and emptied it into a bucket. Shot 90 PSI compressed air through the hose on the petcock with it in the on position and also in reserve position. Filled tank half full with water and still only had small “dribble” coming out. Emptied tank again, removed fuel petcock valve with impact wrench to avoid spinning nutserts and found that the screen membrane on the petcock is toast. Very deteriorated and all broken up in chips. Removed fuel gauge to allow better visibility inside the tank and saw chips all inside. Duct taped a piece of 1/2” copper tubing to the suction hose on my shop vac to allow easy access and vacuumed the tank really good. Rinsed with water and vacuumed again. Stuck air hose in tank filler neck and packed a clean rag around it. Let air hose blow air into tank for 30 minutes to dry tank inside. Looked at inside of tank and it is spotless.
Will check / clean the throttle body tomorrow and install a new spark plug. Will order a new OEM (not Chinese aftermarket junk) from our local dealership on Tuesday morning when they open up

I installed the new fuel pump but never did connect the fuel supply hose because I decided to drain the tank via the petcock valve. Thus the dribble coming out so I haven’t turned the ignition on or anything yet. If the new petcock and other mentioned above details don’t fix it, I will check for voltage. Thanks

 

[shadetree]

as said^^^^, time to clean the whole fuel system, starting at the tank, and working you're way to the throttle body. have you inspected the fuel cut-off replay to make sure you are indeed getting power to the new fuel pump ?. I dont have much faith in fuel pumps on the trx420's, they failed right out of the gate.

Well I took the tank off today after work. Flipped it upside down and emptied it into a bucket. Shot 90 PSI compressed air through the hose on the petcock with it in the on position and also in reserve position. Filled tank half full with water and still only had small “dribble” coming out. Emptied tank again, removed fuel petcock valve with impact wrench to avoid spinning nutserts and found that the screen membrane on the petcock is toast. Very deteriorated and all broken up in chips. Removed fuel gauge to allow better visibility inside the tank and saw chips all inside. Duct taped a piece of 1/2” copper tubing to the suction hose on my shop vac to allow easy access and vacuumed the tank really good. Rinsed with water and vacuumed again. Stuck air hose in tank filler neck and packed a clean rag around it. Let air hose blow air into tank for 30 minutes to dry tank inside. Looked at inside of tank and it is spotless.
Will check / clean the throttle body tomorrow and install a new spark plug. Will order a new OEM (not Chinese aftermarket junk) from our local dealership on Tuesday morning when they open up

I installed the new fuel pump but never did connect the fuel supply hose because I decided to drain the tank via the petcock valve. Thus the dribble coming out so I haven’t turned the ignition on or anything yet. If the new petcock and other mentioned above details don’t fix it, I will check for voltage. Thanks

blowing air back into the petcock, while turning the lever in all positions, with cap off, you should be able to hear air inside the tank ?, if your not ?, then the petcock is gummed up real bad. fuel pump does not have to be installed on the petcock to do this . rubber hose, or just the air blower to the petcock, burst of air while moving petcock lever in all positions should tell you if the petcock if working or not ? .

 

[Lobo]

I installed the new fuel pump because when the engine died and I turned the switch off and back on I would hear the fuel pump kick on for about 3 second (normal)but about half the time i would hear it cut off and on real fast and a few times I didn’t hear it at all. Voltage was there. I didn’t install the fuel supply hose coming from the petcock valve because I was going to use that to drain the fuel tank into d bucket using a long fulnnel but that was when I discovered nothing but a slight dribble coming through the petcock. Blowing compressed air through it did no good. I could hear air inside the tank. I pressurized the tank and in the reserve position I would get a full stream but still a slight dribble in the on position.

 

[Jeepwm69]

Ha, if it were me I'd just run it in reserve.

 

[Lobo]

Ha, if it were me I'd just run it in reserve.

Yeah I thought about that but to be honest it would have bothered me until I fixed it right. And by the way, I put the new petcock valve in the tank, put the tank back in, connected the hoses and electrical connector at the fuel pump caniste. Put 2 gallons of non ethanol gas in it, turned the petcock to “on” and turned the ignition switch on. The new fuel pump canister didn’t have a drop of gas in it and when I turned
The switch to on, I heard the fuel pump run for about 3 seconds. Hit the start button and she fired right up after the motor spun over about 2 revolution. I let it run about 10 minutes and took it for a 20 mile ride. Runs like new. Ahhhh life is good. :big-grin:big-grin