I have the above machine and it has let me walk home the last three times I have used it. Twice the end of last season and today, my first outing this year. The problem is it will just quit like the key has been turned off. There is no sputtering, the engine just stops. If I wait a while it will restart and I can go a short distance then it will do it again until finally It won't restart and I get to walk. When it happened the first time I took it in to the local dealer and when I went to pick it up the said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. They went out and it started right up and they road it around with no problems. So like a dummy I took it out again and it and made it about 200 hundered yards before it quit and would not restart.

I talked to the dealer and he told me that it sounded like a little black box that controls everything (I can't remember the name) but that it is really expensive if I could even find one and I should just buy a new one. Well I found the box and it was quite expensive but a lot cheaper than a new machine so I ordered it. This was at the end of the season so I installed it this summer and the machnine started right up (this time it wouldn't start until I replaced the box).

So I go out today to set my line and it happens again. It would restart and I would make a run back towards the truck and make a couple hundered yards and it would quite. I did this about three or four times then it would not restart. I messed with it for a while today before I walked out. I noticed that when I pulled the spark plug today it was dry. I pumped the primer a couple of times and tried to restart it with no luck. The plug was still dry so i really pumped the heck out of it and the plug stayed dry so I started to think it may be a fuel issue (although I thought it strange that it was not sputtering before it died). I pulled the top off of the carburator and verified that fuel was going in when when the primer was pumped. I verified there was spark from the spark plug and there was although I thought it look kind of weak but I don't really know what it should look like and I was not testing under the best condtions. I disconnected the hose from the primer to the carburator and pumped fuel directly into the cylander and it still would not fire.

I am wondering if you guys have any thoughts? The machine is not that complicated I don't think but this has me stumped and obviously the dealer also.

Just a note it won't suprise me if it starts right up when I go to retrieve it tomorrow.

Could be the tether switch.

I can't recall exactly what it was.but I think our member in the Tikchiks had the same problem. It was related to the electronics on the reverse. If you can disconnect the reverse switch it may solve your problem

I will be watching this thread!

Not familiar with the wiring on the R model, but in my experience I had similar experience with intermittent spark when tether switch didn’t always make contact. Just pulled the cap off and put a homemade plastic washer/spacer behind it. Not getting fuel I had a crank seal wear out and it started slow-would just die and sometimes run. Got worse until I finally figured out that was my problem.

Had this problem just recently, also a collapsing fuel line in the tank. Whenever you have two intermittent issues going on at the same time it can cause some real head scratching.