RTV500 will not start

rwvandine

New member

Equipment
RTV 500
May 18, 2017
2
0
0
himrod, NY USA
I start my RTV 500 in the garage and drive it for a few minutes and stop to do some work. I try to restart after sitting for 30 minutes and it will not start. I have to let it sit for several hours before it will start. HELP!:confused:
 

85Hokie

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
Jul 13, 2013
10,745
2,551
113
Bedford - VA
I have not checked for spark. How do you perform this check?
Based on what you said, one of two things is causing your problem.

A fuel vaporization problem - fuel line is getting hot and fuel is vaporizing in the line itself (do not think this is your problem) Is your carbureted or fuel injection?
Sometimes when restarting - the carb can over choke the gas and in this case, you must wait until that gas evaporates before starting again.

or

A coil is getting hot and not allow the spark to occur. I had a old murray that if you ever cut it off and wanted to start again while warm - would not!

To check for spark - you'll need someone to "help" - pull, both plugs - ground them to the block/head or other ground source, use either a spark tester or a visual look to see if spark is occurring(someplace that is some what dark). Sometimes this is hard to do and some machines electronics do not like this!
 
Last edited:

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
5,207
1,893
113
Mid, South, USA
Never seen or heard of a coil failing on a RTV, any of them including the 400. Not to say it doesn't happen, just means I've not seen it (yet).

Probably a fuel system issue, e.g. fuel pump. But being that it's EFI, you'll have to check fuel pressure which requires a special tool, to diagnose it properly. That or throw a fuel pump at it ($$$$).

Doing a spark test on a 500 is interesting, as the valve cover does not conduct electricity very well. So you can't just stick a plug on the valve cover and crank to check for spark. I want to say the valve cover is of a plastic material, but I don't remember...may just be powder coated really well. Been a year or two since I've had to do a 500 engine, thankfully. Pain to work on.
 

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,821
5,565
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
I needed to check the fuel pressure on my Polaris 700XP. I think I got a cheapo from Harbor Freight, or O"Reilly Automotive that had some adapters and worked fine. Just not the quality a REAL mechanic would want!!

Sure enough the pump wasn't putting out enough pressure. Polaris only sold the entire fuel tank with the pump inside, for like $610.

I removed the pump (quite easily) and bought one for about $30 and had to wire a compatible connection to the new pump. Been working for about 5 years now.

Be creative, think outside the box!