ytm wont start, need help plz

[stoney420]

hey guys, i was out ridin my 85 ytm200 last night and it was runnin great then we stopped and turned them off to have a quick smoke and discuss where we were gonna go and when i went to start it back up it wouldnt start up! it was runnin fine when i shut it off, so my buddy had to tow me back with his old beat up 83 ytm 200 that barely runs and smokes like a chimney, needless to say.. it was quite embarrasing lol but anyway...when we checked the spark with the plug its getting good spark the plug was a little black so i cleaned it up and put it back in, its gettin gas to the carb so we pulled the carb off and it was a little dirty some stuff was in one of the jets so we cleaned the carb up and through it back on.. still a no go :( .. im pretty clueless now so any help on this would be appreciated! at first i was hoping it mighta been the kill switch but we turned it on and it had spark turned it off and it didnt have spark and repeated this a couple times and it seemed to be workin fine so i guess thats out..,my buddy seems to think it might have jumped timing but i dont know how that would have happend.. im clueless and would love to get back riding so looking forward to the replies :)
~Stoney~

[rally4x4racer]

its pretty easy to check the time isn't it? could it have jumped time when you went to start it? try checking your carb again. spray carb cleaner into the hets and orfices. each one you spray into should send cleaner out somewhere. if it is comeing right back out the same hole you have a clog. did your plug have fuel on it after you tried starting it?

[stoney420]

im not sure if the plug was wet i just towed it home and parked it last night then checked it this morning so it probably would have dried up over night, im really stumped here tho, need some help! :(
edit:
oh yea, and yes the cleaner was going all the way through the jets..

[rally4x4racer]

try to start it and see if the plug is wet - yea its not cut and dry is it?

[stoney420]

umm yea i took it out once after tryin to start it earlier and it was dry i beleive, didnt really look actually but im pretty sure it was dry... not sure what u mean by cut tho?

[rally4x4racer]

i meant your problem is not cut and dry - as in it is not obvious.

does the engine even sputter when you try to start it?

normally when I can not get an engine started I pull the plug and it is wet because the fuel never burned. if it is not sputtering at least put a little fuel in the cylinder - or starting fluid and see if it sputters.

[_brad_]

Does it start after cooling down?

[stoney420]

yea once every like 50 pulls it will sputter a little but usually dont even try..
no it doesnt start after cooling down either it cooled all night and still a no go :(

edit: i have gas and starting fluid which should i use, better to use gas right? and should i spray it in the carb or take the plug out and put it down the cylinder? thx for the help, u guys rock!

[rally4x4racer]

put it in the cyl thru the plug hole... if it starts acting like it is going to fire up put some more in the carb - watchout for backfires..if this works go thru your jets again.

starting fluid rocks - use it.

[stoney420]

k ill use the starting fluid when i try it and see if that works.. i tried sprayin it in the carb earlier but it was a no go so ill try the cylinder..now that u mention backfires i did see flame come out the air filter a couple times earlier when i was tryin to start it... i cant play with it right now cause its 3:15am here but i will be out there first thing tomorrow!

also.. as i mentioned earlier, the plug was black when i took it out earlier but when we put it in the spark plug boot and touched it to the metal it sparked good so that means the plug is good right? could it still be shot even tho its sparking good? probably a dumb question lol but ill try anything right now!

[DOG987]

Yes the plug can be bad even if it has spark, just crank it for a few seconds
and see if its a steady spark, if it missess a few times its going bad.
just change it any way there like $1.50 at advanced auto. I had a similar
problem when I got my ytm 225 there is a nipple pointing up on the carb
just like the one for the fuel line it's a vent. the idiot that owned it
put a rubber cap over it I guess to keep dirt out, any way it created
a vaccume in the bowl and would'nt let the gas flow right check that.
or you might have a stuck intake valve. take off the valve covers
and crank it and see if there free.



edit: just have to show it off, you now how it is, little dusty though

[Rocksoup]

Sounds like your ytm runs alittle rich like mine does. Mine does what you are describing. A new plug should get you going. I always keep an extra with me in the tool box. I never foul a plug in the winter, only when it's warm out.

[stoney420]

thx dog, i dont have a plug here thats why i was wonderin but ill go pick one up in a little bit.. yea i know what you are talkin about with the carb vent, mine is fine tho it has a hose on it, so im gonna go play with it now, ill check back in a little bit for some more replies and to let u guys know how i made out. thx all be back in a few
edit: thx Rock ill be sure to change out that plug! and yea she does run a little rich but i dont really like messin with the carb cause im not the greatest with mechanics...

[stoney420]

ok.. so i went down there to play with it, put starting fluid down the cylinder and it didnt even sputter! :( took the plug outta my buddys ytm thats running, tried it again, still not even a sputter, tried it again with gas instead of starting fluid, still not even a sputter :( and both plugs were sparking good...so i am reallyyyy clueless now what could this be?

[Vealmonkey]

Another thing is when spraying starting fluid, you should have somebody hold your thumb throttle wide open so the starting fluid goes past the carb slide. If you haven't been holding the thumb throttle open while spraying, starting fluid won't get down into your engine.

[stoney420]

thx veal but i wasnt sprayin it through the carb, i took the plug out and put it directly into the cylinder, we tried putting it through the carb last night and it wouldnt work and we had the throttle held wide open when spraying it in the carb..

[Yamada]

or you might have a stuck intake valve. take off the valve covers
and crank it and see if there free.

yeah, check the valve, they may be stuck
I have a spare motor that was running but at a moment the cam just broke.
Remove the valves covers and crank it, you will see if they are working.

[stoney420]

thx guys ill try checking those valves be back shortly

[rally4x4racer]

i have seen a cam break and stay in place.. while the shaft turns the freakin lobe after the break just sat there. .. . .

let us know.

[stoney420]

hey guys, the ytm is alive again :) :)
i went down to the garage and checked the valves they didnt appear to be stuck, so i pulled the carb off and checked it over again, cleaned it up again even tho it was clean, still a no go! so we decided to make sure the cam chain was adjusted right so we adjusted it then pulled it over 7 or 8 times, still a no go!, so we were lookin at it confused as all hell to why it wouldnt start up and my buddy seen the auto decompression switch and had a feeling it shoulda been down farther so he disconnected it and first pull it started right up! :) i was not expecting that i was shocked when it fired!, so from what he was sayin i guess it was holding the valve open some and it still pulls over just as easy so i dont think the auto decompression worked anyway so i just left it unhooked.
the only problem i have now is when i first let off the gas it dont seem like its stopping as fast as it used to like the rpm takes longer to slow down kinda, maybe im just bein paranoid cause i had a problem with it and lookin for things wrong but i dunno any thoughts on that?
thanks for all the help you guys rule :beer
:w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:
~Stoney~

[Vealmonkey]

Also make sure the choke is off if you are spraying through the carb. I still have to wonder if you're getting good spark.

[stoney420]

lol too late veal, thx tho :D

[rally4x4racer]

you guys posted at the same time

[stoney420]

yea lol, thats funny considering 4 hours no posts then we post at same time hehe