Subject: RE: Staring problems (long)
Author: Greg Bender
Date: May 1, 2005, 5:26 AM
Post ID: 1718793998
Hi AJ,
A couple of suggestions...
1. Don't leave the enrichener on if it doesn't start right away. I think
that is contributing to your "flooding" condition. If it does start to
act flooded, close the enrichener and open the throttle wide open and
hold it there - don't pump it. That may help you.
2. You may need to clean/rebuild the carbs. You can get kits from MG
Cycle and it's not that difficult to do. Just do one carb at a time,
have a large, clean surface that you can lay everything out on, and pay
careful attention to where everything goes. Here is where you would use
compressed air to clear passage-ways, etc. Next time I clean mine, I'm
going to take some pictures and put a how to on the website. Until then,
just use the manuals and this group. Also, be sure NOT to use carb
cleaner on anything that isn't metal.
3. You may need to check your points and/or ignition timing to be sure
they are within spec.
AJ Huff wrote:
Hello all, I am having a starting issue that I need some direction with. I followed Joel's thread on sputtering because his experience is similar to mine, but I don't think I saw anything in response that I can use, at least not right at this minute. Here's the story: Refresher. Bought the bike in January. Ran fine at the PO's house. Got it home started it no problem. I have ridden the bike twice since, nothing major, just around the house. Since I knew it was going to sit in the garage until spring. I would keep the battery on trickle and try to get in the garage and start it once a week and let it run for 5-10 minutes. I don't know if that really does much good or not but that was my goal. Unfortunately for my job I travel a lot. And that once a week starting started to get stretched out. And the longer the bike sat the more difficult it got to start. I think I can see a definite difference in ease around 10-14 days of sitting. I'll go in the garage and it will turn over but not start. I may get a pop like it was thinking about starting a split second after I release the starter button. This has always been false encouragement. I have tried starting with the enrichner on and off, no effect. I give up trying when I start to smell gas. If I do this process maybe twice a day, waiting for that smell of gas to go away, every day, on about the third day I've been able to finally get the bike to start. I have tried pulling the plugs and cleaning them. Also tried new plugs. Same effect. The newest nuance is that the last two three-day starting attempts, the very first start I got a small pop and white smoke that seemingly came out of both carbs. Only happens once on that first start attempt. Its not a loud crack like a backfire, but they may very well be what it is. Now back to Joel's sputtering. When I finally do get it running, after days of working at it. I have the exact same sputtering issue he has. I couldn't have explained it better the he did. including his observations with the position of the enrichner lever. Of course I have to get it started before I can see if I have an exhaust leak. Joel if you discover something let me know. I am in over my head on this. My next step I thought was to clean out the bowl on each carb. This seems like something you can do while they are still on the bike. I assume it is unscrewing the bolt on the bottom and it drops right off. It appears that way in the manual. The manual also talks of using compressed air, but where? I also understand that there is a filter. I am not sure where but it looks like maybe it is where the fuel line comes in the side of the carb. I thought of checking that too. My brain tells me that either I have a spark issue or a fuel mixture issue. Since I can smell gas it seems that I am getting fuel, nut maybe not. Could still be spark though. Hoping you guys can put me in the right direction. Thanks, -AJ AJ Huff '71 Ambassador Three Rivers, MI MGNOC# 19917 |
Regards,
Greg Bender
1971 Ambassador
2000 Quota
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/gtbender
Florida MGNOC website
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/fl_mgnoc
Minnesota MGNOC website
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/mn_mgnoc