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Hibernation sickness

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Old 01-08-2012, 01:55 PM
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Unhappy Hibernation sickness

Dug Red (the 92) out of it's den from were it's been hibernating sense Nov 1. Just for giggles I tried to start it ice burg cold. Cranked slow but lit right off. Wouldn't idle though. I used my "high idle" curtain rod and let it warm up. It idled normal after some warm up so I took it for a drive. 1/2 mile to the post office, no problem. Took it 2 miles to the gas station, problem. When I let off the throttle at the top of the hill to turn, it quit. Wouldn't restart until I bled the injectors. My 91 did that to me also a while back when it sat.
Any ideas why it would start, run, then shut down on idle and not restart without a bleed?
Old 01-08-2012, 02:06 PM
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Maybe some gelled fuel?
Old 01-08-2012, 03:25 PM
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I made that mistake once before, so I planned ahead. Put it to bed with half a tank of 50/50, that's #1 and #2 plus 2 cycle oil and power service. The last time I had fuel jell, the engine just shut down a couple miles from home. I couldn't get it started again until I baked it with a torpedo heater. Then it jelled right back up as soon as the heat was gone.
Old 01-08-2012, 10:19 PM
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How does anything run up there? Don't it get minus forty at night or am I watching too much IRT? A cold night here is just below freezing.
Old 01-08-2012, 11:43 PM
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Gelled fuel and a partially plugged fuel filter is my guess. It's been cold soaking long enough for the gell to set up good in the filter.

The stock LP doesn't handle the thicker fuel very well in the cold either... a low pressure Piston pump worked miracles with mine in preventing gelling issues.
Old 01-09-2012, 11:23 AM
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Fuel didn't jell, made sure of it. This is something different. It hasn't done it again. I let it cold soak and started it without plugging it in first again. Started right up and idled only a little slow, but crept up to normal by the time the grid heaters had stopped cycling.
The VE doesn't have a separate idle circuit that I know of.
Old 01-09-2012, 06:39 PM
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Mine did the same thing and I think it was some water in the fuel freezing up, but not totally sure. I put in a whole bottle of fuel drier and it did the same thing the next morning. I stuck in another bottle and it pretty much quit doing it, but it hasn't been -18 since then.
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