Throttle stuck wide open

Steelhead Slayer · Jan 5, 2009

I learned a valuable lesson the hard way the other day. 7 of us were all standing around by the cabin and I had just fueled all our sleds and we were ready to head out for the day. I had just ran my wife’s 08 XP a few minutes before from under cover over to the trailer where I had all my gas cans. As we were ready to leave I stepped off my sled and reached ACROSS my wife’s sled to start it for her. I had the pull cord in my right hand and the throttle open with my left thumb as I pulled the cord. The sled fired on the first pull and as I let go of the throttle it stuck wide open. Thank god I had my helmet on! The sled took off like a rocket and somehow caught my coat and yanked me off of my feet face down on the seat. It was all over in a second when the sled and I ran head first into a solid 8 ft pine fence about 25 yds from where we were parked. Bust me , the fence and the sled up pretty bad. I am black and blue all over and the front end of the sled was pushed in toward the pipe. Mainly cosmetic from what I can tell. At the second of the crash the throttle continued to stay stuck and as I and the sled came crashing to the ground I could hear the track spinning full speed and then all of a sudden back to idle. After a few choice words and brushing myself off I inspected the damage and took a look at the throttle. I could not get the throttle to stick after several minutes of messing with it so I figured in must have somehow iced up and stuck. We decided not to let the indecent stop us from riding on our last day and so I sucked it up and we headed out for some real fun. Long story short about 4 hours later the throttle stuck wide open on my wife. She was turning out at the top end of a short climb when it stuck and the sled bucked her off and she was not wearing the kill switch tether. I heard the sled rev up and it took off down the hill toward a grove of trees like a bat out of hell. The sled must have been doing 70 mph when it somehow missed every tree and finally flipped up on its side and buried in the powder, free reved for a second and the came to idle. I am not sure what is causing this problem. This sled is scaring the hell out of us now. What should we do?

JLeosnow · Jan 5, 2009

Steelhead Slayer said:
I learned a valuable lesson the hard way the other day. 7 of us were all standing around by the cabin and I had just fueled all our sleds and we were ready to head out for the day. I had just ran my wife’s 08 XP a few minutes before from under cover over to the trailer where I had all my gas cans. As we were ready to leave I stepped off my sled and reached ACROSS my wife’s sled to start it for her. I had the pull cord in my right hand and the throttle open with my left thumb as I pulled the cord. The sled fired on the first pull and as I let go of the throttle it stuck wide open. Thank god I had my helmet on! The sled took off like a rocket and somehow caught my coat and yanked me off of my feet face down on the seat. It was all over in a second when the sled and I ran head first into a solid 8 ft pine fence about 25 yds from where we were parked. Bust me , the fence and the sled up pretty bad. I am black and blue all over and the front end of the sled was pushed in toward the pipe. Mainly cosmetic from what I can tell. At the second of the crash the throttle continued to stay stuck and as I and the sled came crashing to the ground I could hear the track spinning full speed and then all of a sudden back to idle. After a few choice words and brushing myself off I inspected the damage and took a look at the throttle. I could not get the throttle to stick after several minutes of messing with it so I figured in must have somehow iced up and stuck. We decided not to let the indecent stop us from riding on our last day and so I sucked it up and we headed out for some real fun. Long story short about 4 hours later the throttle stuck wide open on my wife. She was turning out at the top end of a short climb when it stuck and the sled bucked her off and she was not wearing the kill switch tether. I heard the sled rev up and it took off down the hill toward a grove of trees like a bat out of hell. The sled must have been doing 70 mph when it somehow missed every tree and finally flipped up on its side and buried in the powder, free reved for a second and the came to idle. I am not sure what is causing this problem. This sled is scaring the hell out of us now. What should we do?

WOW..!! Sorry to hear about this Steelhead Slayer.

-John

SilverGriz · Jan 5, 2009

That is really scary. Glad to hear no one got hurt. Wear those tethers...especially if you already experienced a problem earlier in the day.

Tackbtch · Jan 5, 2009

Sorry to hear this also......Happened to my wife last year. She traded sleds with a friend who wanted to try her sled as they were identical sled except the wifeys was piped. We had been in 2-3 feet of powder all day and was getting ready to head home. We were stopped for a quick rest when they traded sleds. She pulled the throttle a few times to make sure it felt free...held it to the bar to start it and it launched, WFO ..she was flipped off the back and the sled ran down the road a few hundred feet then launched off a corner and pasted a tree ...totaled the sled

Wear the thether or run the carb heaters if you have them. It was a bad deal for all envoled ...no one was hurt. But sucks to have this happen. Dino

DaveB · Jan 5, 2009

I am finding that the XP is much more prone to freezing carbs than any sled I've owned. I can feel the throttle getting sticky at times during the day. Turn on the carb heaters for a 1/2 hr or so and she's all cleaned up.

Blk88GT · Jan 5, 2009

This is a first for me. The XPs have carb heaters? What is the purpose of them?

Wheeline · Jan 5, 2009

Why are you guys starting your sleds with the throttle wide open?

Tackbtch · Jan 5, 2009

Wheeline said:
Why are you guys starting your sleds with the throttle wide open?

One pull instead of three or four...for any of the doos Ive owned over the last twenty years or so. Dino

DaveB · Jan 5, 2009

Blk88GT said:
This is a first for me. The XPs have carb heaters? What is the purpose of them?

To unfreeze the carbs.....

All Doo's since 02 or 03 I think have had carb heaters.

towny · Jan 5, 2009

Happened to a friend’s last week on her 08 800 Summit!!

I think there's a service bulletin out for the 08's?? (Not sure)

Check with your dealer.

Blk88GT · Jan 5, 2009

What freezes up in the carbs that they require warmers? Is it from snow intake or just an outside temperature thing?

Do they have these things on their flatland sleds?

Circus Midget · Jan 5, 2009

I bought a new 05 Summit on Dec 23 2004. Got it home that night and did the quick rip up and down the road. The next day I backed it out of the garage so I could drive my brothers sled in to the front of the garage. Went back out and was standing on my sled. Not really prepared, I blip the throttle and it takes off like a bat out of heXX. I'm dragging behind and the sled smokes the center pillar between the two garage doors. I end up flying right through the other garage door which was closed.

The odometer showed .9 miles when this happened. Reason for the sticking cable was a bad crimp on the throttle cable....where it splits from the single cable to the double going to the carbs.

Zachmandu · Jan 5, 2009

My '08 XP regularly has the throttle stick at about a 1/4 throttle. I don't even THINK of starting it without first clipping on the teather, and for that matter, I do not let anybody else ride it without clipping in either. It always seems to stick at inopportune times - like at the top of a climb just as you are slowing down to enter trees at the top. Scary...and pi$$es me off! At least if I am aware of it, I can react to it, rather than being caught completely by surprise.

Ozzmanmike · Jan 5, 2009

First, try the carb heaters, better yet is if you don't want to mess with turning the heaters on and off just go buy some iso heat or use a little isopropyl alcohol. Do not use regular heat use the red bottle or like I said regular rubbing alcohol, just a few oz. to each tank and it will prevent the slide in the carb from freezing. Works great.

AKtoad · Jan 5, 2009

I don't have carb heaters on my sled due the fact I use the TMX mod carbs, but I use a little iso heet every tank and have never had a problem when others in the group are always having problems but I still wear the tether.

Blk88GT · Jan 5, 2009

Is that all the heaters are for? Frozen carb slides?! Tell me you guys all run ISO in your fuel...

Steelhead Slayer · Jan 5, 2009

Sounds like most of you guys feel that it is most likely the carbs that are freezing up. I was thinking mabey the cable was the culprit. I am still waiting for the sleds to defrost so I can check it all out and make sure. Thanks for all the input...

Teth-Air · Jan 5, 2009

It's not all in the carbs. We have had ice around the flipper cause the throttle to stick. We had to drip some antifreeze and 2 stroke oil down the cable to free up.

Again, if I get this Cordless Teth-Air to market, you guys will love it. My kid and I run it every weekend and it is nice to have the freedom and safety. Probably not all these disasters would have been eliminated as I run it set for about 10 ft.

bluemtnsledr · Jan 5, 2009

It's a scary deal. After it happened to my wifes 08 XP I took it to the dealer, Macs Cycle in Clarkston, Wa. After faxing information to BRP and talking with the owner they kept the sled for repairs. I received a phone call a short time later and they found some safety bulletins on it. They are now doing work on the carb slides, wiring harness and the other recalls. I would contact your dealer and make sure they understand the problem. I just printed off about 40 pages of threads from Snowest and they have been exceptional about this. I feel lucky to get her back sledding again as we are both fairly new to the sport.

Steelhead Slayer · Jan 5, 2009

I am taking hers into Macs tomorrow....

Throttle stuck wide open

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