P1000m5 Vapor Lock, Sensor Issues, HELP?!

K

kdgtrapper

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Jan 9, 2017
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I've been reading the forum for a few months now. Love it. Bought my P1K5 the end of January. Just turned over 1200 miles this weekend. At 1100 miles we were out camping in the desert and had been riding for about 3 hours in the 90 degree heat. Nothing crazy. Turned off the machine. had been smelling gas for about an hour. Thought maybe it was my new Rotopax tank leaking so I emptied it into the rig. Probably topped it off too much. Took off again, the gas smell never went away and after about an hour the machine sputtered and shut off. I tried to crank it and wouldn't start. Turned the ignition off and back on and it started right up. Drove Mile or so and died again. Turned ignition off and back on and cranked it up again. Never had a problem starting after turning ignition off then back on. No sputters. This went on 4-5 times before I finally stopped and let it sit and cool down for over half hour. Fired right up and never had a problem the rest of the day.
I talked to the dealer where I bought it the next week and they said it was a vapor lock due to filling it up too full while it was so hot. I knew I filled it too full and believed what they said and went on driving my P1K5 like normal around town. Never had a problem in the few miles we put on daily. Then this weekend came around and all my family was in town for the Holliday weekend. We had a good ride planned out and 20 miles into the ride my machine shut down again. Very embarrassing. Didn't fill it up too full. No gas smell like the previous time. I had run a full tank of new fuel in it since the last episode. I let it sit for half hour after attempting to drive it after 3-4 attempts of letting the machine only sit for 10-15 minutes. It took the full half hour before running normal but only for another hour before doing it again. And again. I turned around and brought it home. Then began to try to figure it out. Checked the air filter. Perfectly clean. Pulled the fuel pump out the tank. Checked it all over to see if dirty. Flushed out a little sand specs sitting in the bottom by the self cleaning filter. Siphoned out the gas in the tank. Put new gas. Installed the pump unit and started up. Everything seemed fine at first but now has since shut down 3-4 times. No warning. As few as only driving couple miles. Very frustrated. I've searched and read as much as I can before posting this in hopes that someone has had a similar problem and I can diagnose it from their posts. Can't find anything. Will call the dealer tomorrow but not feeling very hopeful. Thanks for any help. Sorry so long. Tried to describe the best I can.


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joeymt33

joeymt33

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Sorry to hear about the trouble. Seems very frustrating. I haven't heard of an issue like that.

It reminds me of a chainsaw I had that would run great until it got hot. Same thing, had to cool down before I could use it again. Turned out to be the ignition coil. I also had this happen on another chainsaw that had an electronic ignition module. In both of those cases, the electrical pieces that failed were very close to their heat source.(obviously)

On the pioneer, the coils are on the same side as the exhaust but they are still fairly far away. Just a thought. Do you have a spark tester?
 
joeymt33

joeymt33

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Any additional lights on dash or flashing?


CP: This group looked for anything rough and had a great time. It wasn't all about who was the best or correct line just some good ol boys with a beer and a 4wd.
 
K

kdgtrapper

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Any additional lights on dash or flashing?


CP: This group looked for anything rough and had a great time. It wasn't all about who was the best or correct line just some good ol boys with a beer and a 4wd.

Nothing flashes and no lights comes on until it dies. Temp gauge has always been in normal range. Your thoughts with the chainsaws make sense. The problem now is it's happening even when it doesn't get hot like the first and second ride. It's definitely getting worse. The longer and hotter the machine gets the longer the wait and cool off time appears to be. Thanks for the comments.


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J

JTW

Guest
Gas tank vent line clear?

If it's got spark and fuel.. then my bet is it's something with the computer messed up..
 
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K

kdgtrapper

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Jan 9, 2017
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Utah
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  1. 1000-5
Gas tank vent line clear?

If it's got spark and fuel.. then my bet is it's something with the computer messed up..

I did check the gas tank vent line. No kinks or blockages there. At this point I agree that it is probably something with the computer. Just nervous with the dealership shop I have to take it to.


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J

JTW

Guest
I did check the gas tank vent line. No kinks or blockages there. At this point I agree that it is probably something with the computer. Just nervous with the dealership shop I have to take it to.


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Are there no good dealers in your area?
 
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joeymt33

joeymt33

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I use a spark tester like this one.....

0e81069cc52e600f8ff2ea49a36d9bd6

No need to pull the plug to test. Just touch the wire. Do yo have one or access to one? They're cheap and worth the money to not have to remove the pieces just to get to the plugs.
 
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K

kdgtrapper

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I use a spark tester like this one.....

View attachment 45073

No need to pull the plug to test. Just touch the wire. Do yo have one or access to one? They're cheap and worth the money to not have to remove the pieces just to get to the plugs.

Had never heard of or seen one. Definitely worth the investment. Will have to order one today. Thanks for that.


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joeymt33

joeymt33

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I bought mine at Sears, you may be close enough to one to take a look?


CP: This group looked for anything rough and had a great time. It wasn't all about who was the best or correct line just some good ol boys with a beer and a 4wd.
 
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B

Bornlzr

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Nov 13, 2015
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I did check the gas tank vent line. No kinks or blockages there. At this point I agree that it is probably something with the computer. Just nervous with the dealership shop I have to take it to.


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Is the spark arrestor plugged or real dirty?
 
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K

kdgtrapper

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Is the spark arrestor plugged or real dirty?

I'm doing the service tonight and will check. I haven't even had it in the mud much or very filthy yet. Mostly desert here. Lots of sand and dust but worth checking.


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sharp

sharp

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I did check the gas tank vent line. No kinks or blockages there. At this point I agree that it is probably something with the computer. Just nervous with the dealership shop I have to take it to.


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If your nervous about taking it to the dealer, wait a few days and let the members on here give the advise. I have more confidence in the members advise than most dealers.
 
SheepCreekAK

SheepCreekAK

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Apr 20, 2016
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Anchorage Alaska
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I've been reading the forum for a few months now. Love it. Bought my P1K5 the end of January. Just turned over 1200 miles this weekend. At 1100 miles we were out camping in the desert and had been riding for about 3 hours in the 90 degree heat. Nothing crazy. Turned off the machine. had been smelling gas for about an hour. Thought maybe it was my new Rotopax tank leaking so I emptied it into the rig. Probably topped it off too much. Took off again, the gas smell never went away and after about an hour the machine sputtered and shut off. I tried to crank it and wouldn't start. Turned the ignition off and back on and it started right up. Drove Mile or so and died again. Turned ignition off and back on and cranked it up again. Never had a problem starting after turning ignition off then back on. No sputters. This went on 4-5 times before I finally stopped and let it sit and cool down for over half hour. Fired right up and never had a problem the rest of the day.
I talked to the dealer where I bought it the next week and they said it was a vapor lock due to filling it up too full while it was so hot. I knew I filled it too full and believed what they said and went on driving my P1K5 like normal around town. Never had a problem in the few miles we put on daily. Then this weekend came around and all my family was in town for the Holliday weekend. We had a good ride planned out and 20 miles into the ride my machine shut down again. Very embarrassing. Didn't fill it up too full. No gas smell like the previous time. I had run a full tank of new fuel in it since the last episode. I let it sit for half hour after attempting to drive it after 3-4 attempts of letting the machine only sit for 10-15 minutes. It took the full half hour before running normal but only for another hour before doing it again. And again. I turned around and brought it home. Then began to try to figure it out. Checked the air filter. Perfectly clean. Pulled the fuel pump out the tank. Checked it all over to see if dirty. Flushed out a little sand specs sitting in the bottom by the self cleaning filter. Siphoned out the gas in the tank. Put new gas. Installed the pump unit and started up. Everything seemed fine at first but now has since shut down 3-4 times. No warning. As few as only driving couple miles. Very frustrated. I've searched and read as much as I can before posting this in hopes that someone has had a similar problem and I can diagnose it from their posts. Can't find anything. Will call the dealer tomorrow but not feeling very hopeful. Thanks for any help. Sorry so long. Tried to describe the best I can.


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It sounds like it could be a bad ground or loss connection on something. the more you ride it the losers it could be getting.
check the air filter too.
good luck
 
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K

kdgtrapper

Member
Jan 9, 2017
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Utah
Ownership

  1. 1000-5
If your nervous about taking it to the dealer, wait a few days and let the members on here give the advise. I have more confidence in the members advise than most dealers.

Yeah I have more confidence in the members too. Especially after I stopped in to the dealer to explain what's going on. He just said they will most likely have to call Honda and start replacing stuff until they can find it. The problem being you never know when it's going to shut down or if what they replace will fix the problem. He acted bugged and put out about fixing it. He asked me if it's under warranty? I said, for the third time, "I just bought it 4 months ago and it better be!" I also, against my better judgement, bought the extended warranty! Have never done that before will all my other Hondas.
I serviced it last night. Checked spark arrestor, loose ground or wiring, and everything was great shape. Drove it for over an hour and ran awesome. No problems. Loaded it up and hauled to the dealer. :( Told me it could take a month. Just hoping for the best.


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Hondasxs

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Definitely keep us informed we would like to know what the dealers findings are.
Other then the things mentioned.
A faulty pump. Clogged breather line. Faulty coil.
I haven't s clue what else could cause this and would like to know.

On a side note. Welcome to the club. I hate a issue brought you here. Then again, that's why we are here.
Thanks.

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H

hondabob

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My buddy had this problem and it ended up being a bad ECU. See if your dealer will swap one out of another Pioneer so you can test drive to see if that will fix it. It was very intermittent on his Pioneer. The dealer changed lots of parts and the wiring harness first. The ECU is easy and a day or so of test driving may be enough to verify. If your buddy has a Pioneer swap the ECU's and go riding to see if the problem transfers.
 
K

kdgtrapper

Member
Jan 9, 2017
19
27
13
Utah
Ownership

  1. 1000-5
My buddy had this problem and it ended up being a bad ECU. See if your dealer will swap one out of another Pioneer so you can test drive to see if that will fix it. It was very intermittent on his Pioneer. The dealer changed lots of parts and the wiring harness first. The ECU is easy and a day or so of test driving may be enough to verify. If your buddy has a Pioneer swap the ECU's and go riding to see if the problem transfers.

That's what I was hoping to hear from someone on here. There had to be someone besides me that has had this happen. I will definitely let them know what you said and try it out. Thanks so much for this post. I'll let you know if this fixes it.


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dukeANhammer

dukeANhammer

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Nov 18, 2019
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Did you ever find the issue? Did the ECU swap fix? I'm having the same problem with a 2005 Polaris sportsman, I have for the older kids to ride. I've checked everything and was about to add heat shield to fuel tank when I found the pre filter assembly disintegrated inside. It would run a min or two fine and then backfire and die with throttle.
20191125 115044
 

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