First bike won't start, dry spark plug

[jduncan]

I've been on reading on the forum for a while, but this is my first post. I've got my engine and bike all together, but I'm having a problem with starting the engine. I don't know much what I'm doing, so I'm asking for some troubleshooting help and how exactly to do it here.

I think I have everything set up right, but the biggest sign that something's wrong (besides not starting) is that the spark plug is completely dry. I have checked for spark, so I know that's good, but I'm not sure how to get the fuel in to the cylinder. I'm going to try to take apart the carburetor and clean it out, but I'm not entirely sure how to do that. I'll still try it and try not to break anything, though.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I'll try to respond and answer any questions to the best of my knowledge and ability.

 

[maniac57]

Is the fuel petcock turned on?

 

[Trey]

Can you post pics?

 

[jduncan]

Fuel petcock was on, and where/of what would you like me to take pictures?

 

[crassius]

before taking carb apart, take out drain screw on bowl and see if fuel runs out

 

[jduncan]

I already have taken it apart, but there was fuel in the float bowl. Fuel ran from the drain when I was curious as to what it was for, basically. Didn't really know that it was a drain before that, but I had recognized that it was for fuel in some way.

Also, hadn't been running an in-line filter. Only the petcock screw-in one. Added the in-line this morning. I have yet to try the bike since yesterday, but I'll reassemble it and try again really quickly.

 

[Trey]

Pics of all of it! You answered a question I had though, about filtering. I'll be following along. Good luck!

 

[jduncan]

Well I've had a new problem of the carb leaking, fixing the float level right now. But I'll post pics either later today or tomorrow, depends on when I get this fixed

 

[jduncan]

Figured out what was wrong with the carb, I must have bent the prongs holding the needle out of place when screwing the fuel inlet back in. Took a few pictures of the float and took me a while to realize. Also took a few pictures of the bike. I'm gonna try it out to see if it's running and then I'll put the pictures in my next success/failure post.

 

[jduncan]

Well, still no start. Sparkplug's still dry. Fuel's going into the carb, but still not the cylinder. Any suggestions/help?

 

[Trey]

Even though you're getting gas into the carb, it sounds like low fuel flow to me. Turn off the fuel valve and disconnect the fuel line at the carb. Put the end of the hose into a gas safe container that allows you to watch the flow, and turn the fuel valve back on. Observe- it should be a constant flow.
The inline screen type filter that comes with the kit is often clogged, so cleaning it, and flushing your tank are recommended.
Be sure to get your fuel/ air screw (or whatever yours is) set correctly. Lot's of discussions here on how to.
It may also be possible that your float is adjusted too low, but I don't see anything terribly wrong.
BTW nice bike man.

 

[jduncan]

Fuel flow seems pretty normal to me; I'll drain it and try to get video of it. The fuel/air screw, that's the idle adjust, right?
Thanks, I've only taken forever procrastinating on building it and been a little lazy about parts like the paint.

 

[jduncan]

Fuel flow definitely slowed down, possibly due to the addition of the filter or the petcock filter getting clogged. But still a constant flow. I'll check it since I need to add some sealant to stop leaking anyway. I'll probably test again tomorrow since it's starting to get dark here.

Video of the flow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Xx2AjS8MQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[maniac57]

Be sure the gas cap is venting properly too.
Too tight a cap can stop fuel flow after a minute.

 

[jduncan]

Still no start. There no longer seems to be a spark when holding the sparkplug to metal and running the wheel, I'm going to check to see if there's water in the magneto/coil area. I left it outside overnight, but there wasn't any rain.

I think the carb is working properly now. At least when I tried, the carb leaked fuel when I overfilled the bowl by pressing down the tickler, and when I got back from trying to start it I had to press a few times before it overfilled again. So it has to be going somewhere, and I presume somewhere is the cylinder.

Also put teflon tape on the petcock threads. So much better without all that leaking!

 

[jduncan]

Definitely no spark. But I know I had a good and steady one when I checked it before. Nothing seems to be wrong with the magneto/coil. Is there something else for me to check? I'll tear off all my electrical tape and unplug the kill switch and test for spark again, and I'll take pictures of the magneto.

 

[jduncan]

Anything off that you guys can see? Still no spark at all, even with the killswitch unplugged.

 

[crassius]

not much you can tell by looking - a meter will tell a lot tho

if the plug is bad, you won't see the spark, but can feel it if you hold plug in your hand & hand against engine while turning the back wheel

 

[2door]

Get rid of those plug-in connectors. They are notorious for bad connections. I've seen them where the wire conductor wasn't crimped into the connector but only the insulation. Cut them off, throw them away and solder those splices. We also recommend protecting the solder joints with heat shrink tubing.\

Start there and you might want to invest a few dollars into a reliable volt/ohm meter so you can at least check continuity if not resistance when troubleshooting electrical problems.

Tom

 

[jduncan]

Short update since it's been a while and I haven't done much of anything.

Got an ohm meter from a friend of mine, measures are pretty normal. The CDI read a bit low at 102.something, magneto read fine though. I checked for spark again and there was nothing, but I did hold the plug and felt the shock. So it looks like I'll be getting a new plug and trying a replacement.