[StinkerBean]

My buddy called me to let me know that his neighbor was loading up his old ATV and was going to haul it to the dump. Asked me if I wanted it and said hell yeah. He said it’s been parked for a good while and doesn’t turn on. He believes it might just be the carb. I don’t know anything about these machines so if any of you fellas could offer any advice on what steps to take first on troubleshooting shooting it then that would be great.

He believes it’s a 2000 Model. I haven’t had any time to look at it yet but plan on looking online for the service manual to try and get familiar with it. Are these machines easy to work on? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Patroller]

Free is very good and they are easy enough to work on. Fuel system first, fluid changes, new battery and probably some new rubber.

 

[StinkerBean]

I haven’t had time to look at it but I did connect my jump pack to the cables and with the key on No dash lights or head lights came on. Can I jump the solenoid to see if it cranks over? Also is there anywhere to get a free copy of the service manual online?

 

[Grizzerino]

Nice score! Welcome to the party from NE Ohio!

 

[StinkerBean]

With the jump pack connected to the cables and with key on no lights on the dash or headlights come on. Shouldn’t they come on regardless if the engine was locked up, bad starter, etc? It’s as if there is no power getting through.

 

[RedRocket]

I've not personally played with one of those machines but I would have to believe you are correct that you should be seeing some sort of indication the Kodiak is getting power. I would start by removing the plastics and inspecting all of the wiring. Find, remove and clean all major electrical connections; battery terminals, starter terminals, solenoid terminal and chassis ground. At the same time, start looking for chewed up wiring, that seat cover would have me concerned some varmint did some damage.

I'm not aware of anyone having posted a Kodiak 400 Service Manual, you may need to go somewhere like tradebit.com and pay for download, seems to only be around $15 US. DOWNLOAD: Yamaha Kodiak 400 2000

 

[StinkerBean]

Thanks. I’m going to give it a cleaning today and start digging into it. One thing I absolutely hate are electrical issues. I’m horrible at troubleshooting them.

Does anyone know what size battery this machine uses? Need to try and find one local.

 

[Grizz2011]

You definitely want to check your air filter and CVT for mouse nests. I wouldn't try to crank it over until you do.

 

[Patroller]

You definitely want to check your air filter and CVT for mouse nests. I wouldn't try to crank it over until you do.

View attachment 104528

View attachment 104529

That's an outstanding idea using the "hardware cloth" screening over the ports. I've got some of the galvanized 1/4" stuff laying around.

 

[colvin]

First things first check for blown fuses before you start looking at wiring. Pull the fuse out and check for corrosion etc. in the block. Get a multimeter or test light to test for voltage. Drain all the old gas out and check for mice nest as was suggested . Pull the dip stick to see if there’s oil in it, once you get electric fixed pull the plug and see if it will crank over then you can do a compression test to see if the engine is good .

 

[StinkerBean]

The internals of the pull start are missing. I removed it to see if the engine would spin over by hand and it didn’t. Appears to be seized. I just sprayed some WD40 into the cylinder and going to give it some time and see if that helps any.

 

[colvin]

The internals of the pull start are missing. I removed it to see if the engine would spin over by hand and it didn’t. Appears to be seized. I just sprayed some WD40 into the cylinder and going to give it some time and see if that helps any.

View attachment 104530

If the WD40 doesn’t work, use a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone.

 

[Fireman2]

We will be watching your progress, besides being free it is a shame someone does not take care of their equipment.

 

[StinkerBean]

WD40 didn’t help. I had some mystery oil sitting in the garage so decided to give that a try next. Filled up the whole cylinder and will let it sit for a few days and see if anything changes. At the moment it won’t turn at all. It’s completely locked up. Keeping my fingers crossed but not looking good.

 

[reogem]

If the WD40 doesn’t work, use a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone.

I've use straight diesel fuel to free up a corroded cylinder before. Most will blow out the spark plug hole but some will be in the cylinder when started. It sure did smoke when it finally started.

 

[StinkerBean]

What other things would cause the engine to be completely locked up on these 400’s? I’m wondering if something else might have happened and caused it to seize up.

Owner said it has been running fine and then it started giving him issues with starting. Said he could hear a clicking sound from under the seat and sometimes it would turn over and other times it wouldn’t then just parked it and never did anything with it. Was parked outside for about 1.5 years.

If I put it into gear either H or L and try rocking the machine back and forth would that move the piston any?

 

[StinkerBean]

Also, what’s the correct battery for these machines? I did a search and come up with different ones. Can’t find one local so have to order one and want to make sure it’s the correct one.

 

[Patroller]

#1, find the VIN on the right lower side of the frame, usually behind the front tire. Then The 10th character in the 17-character VIN represents the vehicle model-year. The rest of the VIN will also give model, etc when you look it up on google. From the model/year, you can find the correct battery.

 

[StinkerBean]

I removed the starter far enough to spin it by hand and it spins so guessing the starter is not the issue causing the seized issue. Might remove the crank case to see if anything looks broke behind it. I do not have the skill in doing a total disassembly of the engine.

I finally found the vin number and it’s a 2002 model.

 

[StinkerBean]

I removed the crankcase cover to see if I could find anything that looked bad but everything looked good. Pulled the starter and it spins freely. The large gear will rotate clockwise but not counter clockwise. Not sure if that is normal or not. I good amount of oil came out when I spilt the case. Didn’t think there would be that much oil in there. So at this moment I have no idea what else I can do other than to continue letting the marvel mystery oil sit in the cylinder and see if it creates a miracle for me. Here are some pics.