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Honda rancher dies at low speeds and idle

1139 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by  retro
Hello all. A friend recently gave us 2 2003 Honda ranchers. They worked fine for about a day, but then whenever we got below 5 MPH the engine would die. It sounded like it wasn’t getting enough gas. Afterwards it would try to start, but to no avail. When it did the engine would die seconds later. Nothing happens when I hurry and get it moving though. Then about 2 hours later the second one started doing the same. Because it sounded like it wasn’t getting enough gas. I took apart the carborators and cleaned them thoroughly. It didn’t do the trick. Neither the main jet nor the idle jet was clogged. I really don’t know what to do. Sorry if this post was confusing. These are the first atvs I’ve ever owned. Thanks in advance
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You may need to clean out the fuel tanks, petcocks, and strainer screens on those Ranchers. If they sit with fuel for a long period of time they can get pretty rotten. Ethanol-laced fuel is especially bad... Sometimes the strainer screen degrades and needs replacement and sometimes the petcock valve corrodes and clogs up. All of those parts are available new. Don't buy aftermarket (china garbage) parts, OEM Honda are the only parts that will work.

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/honda/atv/2003

You can test the fuel flow by turning the petcock off, take the fuel hose off from the carb and aim the end into a bottle. Turn the petcock valve on and note the fuel volume flowing into the bottle. If it flows very slowly loosen the fuel cap and see if that helps. If so, the fuel cap vent hose might be plugged up. If fuel does not flow good after loosening the fuel cap everything in the tank will need to be inspected, cleaned or replaced as explained above.

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