engine hard to get idling when cold

[charl]

hello, i have a 2000 argo conquest with a 20hp kawasaki motor,it is hard to get idling when it cold, but works great when warmed up. can anyone tell me where to should start looking first to check for this problem.never worked on an argo before.

[charl]

i took off the carb today and cleaned it ,but still acting the same. got any ideas out there?

[Mike]

When you say that it works fine when warmed up, how long does that take? Are you talking 2-3 minutes or 30 minutes?

[ARGOJIM]

Is it stalling or racing? Does your choke cable have the 2 detents in it?

[charl]

thanks for the reply mike,after 2or3 minutes , it keeps shutting off until it warms up,havingto make quick choke movements to keep it going. i am thinking it will only get worse as the weather gets colder up here.choke cable looks fine argojim

[charl]

its stalling out . i notice that the last owner put too much oil in it, about 1/4 over the mark on dipstick would that be doing it? notice some vapor coming out of the dipstick

[JohnF]

My inclination is that your problem really isn't a problem per se but a function of the properties of your set up. We know that we set our low idle less than the low idle that the engine manufacturer designed so that we can shift the transmission and I suspect this and thick cold oil is causing you to need to baby it until it warms up.

Try swapping your oil for some synthetic 5w-30 to see if that helps. I also use a bungee looped over the twist throttle from the seat back to hold a little higher throttle setting for the machine to warm up when it is really cold.

[charl]

thanks for your help john, i am going to change the oil today anyway because i really dont know what the last owner had in it, so i will try the 5w30

[srfnson]

John's advice is bang on...I have a 04 bigfoot and cranking it in -30c or colder can be a difficult although she always starts eventually.

I use Amsoil 0w40 powersports oil and resort to a pair of vice grips clamped on the throttle to keep the rpm's up but I like John's idea of the bungy cord better

[ARGOJIM]

Just for a grin pull the valve covers off and make sure the push rods are all hooked up.
You didn't state it was low on power, but the machine is new to you. Isn't it?

I may be way off but Kawasaki's are prone to that, and will mess with crankcase ventilation.

[charl]

ok ill have a look at them,and yes it is new to me, but it seems to be working good after its warmed up. i can get about 25 or 30 km out of it in a good stretch in hi gear. i change the oil today, going to see what it starts like inn the morning when its cold.

[charl]

pulled the valves covers everything ok, also reset the governor and changed the oil but still the same . i am using the vise grip method its works, so i am going to leave well enough alone and use it like that

[ARGOJIM]

Been a while since we had Kaw problems, maybe spray some carb cleaner at base of carb. Some of the FD's had paper base gaskets, should there be any leakage there, the carbon style which is thicker could be used. If it's leaking the engine should smooth out or speed up.