Delayed CDI failure, or carb issue?
Hello! I'm new 'round these forums, and to gas cycles, so this is also my introduction. I'm from Portland, OR, and have just built my first motorized bike. I hope to be good addition to the community here!
I've hit some snags during the build, but now I have a problem which I think needs a second opinion before I shell out more $$$.
I had the bike running fine, perfectly functional at all throttle levels. Then my engine began to sputter, and while running the engine, I noticed I only heard the sound of combustion half of the time, more so if I encouraged it with pedaling. Then it stopped. Gah!
I checked the wires running from the magneto to the cdi, aaaand I forgot to tape them down. Doh! Totally melted them against my exhaust, fusing the two black and blue wires together, shorting it out. I fixed the wires (wire was fully intact, but insulation was gone in a 1/2 inch area of the wire, so I taped the non-insulated parts and also taped the two wires away from each other just to make sure they were no longer capable of shorting.)
Fired right up! Phwew! Rode the bike for 2-3 miles then returned home. However, right when I pulled into my house, I could feel the engine dying. I tried to fire it up again, but now it doesn't even combust at all! I checked the plug for spark and it is firing, but possibly not strong enough for combustion. The wires are still fully intact too.
I read a post on here about another guy who had the exact same symptoms/possible cause as me (sputtering out and failure, caused by incorrect wiring), and a cdi replacement fixed his problem. However in my case, I had my CDI working AFTER I fixed my wires, and THEN it stopped working after a couple miles. Is it still possible that the CDI is the issue, and there was just a delay in the onset of symptoms?
Thanks in advanced for any input, and I'll see you around the forums!
-Jake
EDIT: Thanks for the replies so far.
Unfortunately, after taking the plunge and buying the CDI, it apparently wasn't the last of the problems. I'm getting strong spark, but still no ignition. Guess that means I'm not getting gas? The fuel petcock/filter assembly is good, so it must be the carb. The float isn't stuck. After a few tries to start it, I took off the carb and the neither the carb's jet or engine intake was wet with fuel. Any ideas as to what could be wrong?
Hello! I'm new 'round these forums, and to gas cycles, so this is also my introduction. I'm from Portland, OR, and have just built my first motorized bike. I hope to be good addition to the community here!
I've hit some snags during the build, but now I have a problem which I think needs a second opinion before I shell out more $$$.
I had the bike running fine, perfectly functional at all throttle levels. Then my engine began to sputter, and while running the engine, I noticed I only heard the sound of combustion half of the time, more so if I encouraged it with pedaling. Then it stopped. Gah!
I checked the wires running from the magneto to the cdi, aaaand I forgot to tape them down. Doh! Totally melted them against my exhaust, fusing the two black and blue wires together, shorting it out. I fixed the wires (wire was fully intact, but insulation was gone in a 1/2 inch area of the wire, so I taped the non-insulated parts and also taped the two wires away from each other just to make sure they were no longer capable of shorting.)
Fired right up! Phwew! Rode the bike for 2-3 miles then returned home. However, right when I pulled into my house, I could feel the engine dying. I tried to fire it up again, but now it doesn't even combust at all! I checked the plug for spark and it is firing, but possibly not strong enough for combustion. The wires are still fully intact too.
I read a post on here about another guy who had the exact same symptoms/possible cause as me (sputtering out and failure, caused by incorrect wiring), and a cdi replacement fixed his problem. However in my case, I had my CDI working AFTER I fixed my wires, and THEN it stopped working after a couple miles. Is it still possible that the CDI is the issue, and there was just a delay in the onset of symptoms?
Thanks in advanced for any input, and I'll see you around the forums!
-Jake
EDIT: Thanks for the replies so far.
Unfortunately, after taking the plunge and buying the CDI, it apparently wasn't the last of the problems. I'm getting strong spark, but still no ignition. Guess that means I'm not getting gas? The fuel petcock/filter assembly is good, so it must be the carb. The float isn't stuck. After a few tries to start it, I took off the carb and the neither the carb's jet or engine intake was wet with fuel. Any ideas as to what could be wrong?
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