Help. Can't get it running.

M

maxsideburn

Member
Ok, new kit. Finally got everything together. Took it out to try it and couldn't get it started.

I pedal up to speed, drop the clutch and it sounds like it's running...but it's producing no power and it slowly bring the bike to a stop and the engine sound dies out.

Also if I release the clutch...the engine cuts. I don't think it's actually running, I think it's just the sound of air being forced through the motor when I dump the clutch.

There's gas in the tank, the cut-off is opened up, the chain has proper tension, the spark plug is installed and the coil is hooked up per instructions.

What am I missing? Should I hold the throttle open when I drop the clutch? Which way should the little switch on the carburetor be (up or down?)

Any other trick I'm missing here? If not, then where should I start troubleshooting? Thanks.
 
I would start by checking the spark. If you aren't familiar with this, you do it by removing the spark plug and while it is still in the boot, turn the engine over while holding the spark plug to the engine. If there is spark, you will see it. If that is good, then you need to make sure your carb is getting gas to the engine. The float might be stuck, or the carb may not be getting fuel from the tank. You need to have the basics : fuel, air, spark, and compression. If one of these is absent, it will not run or run very well. Hope this helps!:)
 
Turn the choke lever up when starting it. Once it starts, let it idle with the choke on, till it sounds like it's going to die, then push the choke down. Then it should run fine. If it still wants to die, you may need to turn the idle screw in a little at a time until it idles smoothly. The idle screw is on the left side(the one with the spring on it). Clockwise for faster idle, counterclockwise for slower idle.
 
I was looking at it and I noticed there is a little "button" looking thing on the carb, is this for priming it? should I push it a few times before trying to start the motor?
 
ok...another problem.

I just popped the plug out of the engine and layed it on top of the motor. I pushed the bike and could see the piston moving inside the hole and hear the sound of air being pushed through (so I know it's turning over) but I see absolutely no spark coming from the plug.

where should I go from here?
 
maxsideburn said:
I was looking at it and I noticed there is a little "button" looking thing on the carb, is this for priming it? should I push it a few times before trying to start the motor?
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Sure. It couldn't hurt. Watch the the fuel line and you should be able to physically watch the fuel in the line go into the carb. At least that will tell you that there is fuel going into the bowl.
 
maxsideburn said:
ok...another problem.

I just popped the plug out of the engine and layed it on top of the motor. I pushed the bike and could see the piston moving inside the hole and hear the sound of air being pushed through (so I know it's turning over) but I see absolutely no spark coming from the plug.

where should I go from here?
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You might have to do more than just push it along. I usually pedal the bike, so I know that the mag is spinning fast enough. Be sure to hold the boot so you don't get shocked. Once that is done and there is still no spark, maybe try a different plug. My kit came with two.
 
You can try disconnecting your kill switch too. Mine was good in my kit, but I have heard that they can be a problem. At the very least you can eliminate it as a cause for not running, which it could be.
 
ok, disconnected kill switch, just have the blue wire going to blue wire and black wire going to black...still nothing.

I TRIED pedaling the bike up to speed and seeing if I could see a spark...I couldn't really tell, but I don't think i saw any spark.

I've noticed that my magneto has a little rust on it...but nothing horrible. The bike has been outside for about a week.
 
It could be the plug gap too. If you have the three prong plug, gap it to .028-.030". The plug could be a dud too. Or the magneto. Process of elimination in this case.
 
This is my magneto. Does it look too rusted? It hasn't gotten any direct water, the engine and bike got a little rain, but the magneto shouldn't be this rusted.

If I have to, can I get a new magneto?
 

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Hi, I was looking at your coil and can see flash rust at the black or ground wire, remove the wire and sand the rust off to make sure you have a good ground.
 
maxsideburn said:
This is my magneto. Does it look too rusted? It hasn't gotten any direct water, the engine and bike got a little rain, but the magneto shouldn't be this rusted.

If I have to, can I get a new magneto?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it could be shorting out because of the rust, but my guess would be if there is rust, there was or still may be moisture in the coil. You can get a new magneto from almost all the vendors listed on the edges of this page. For the moment at hand, you can try to dry the magneto out by removing it and letting it air out inside, out of the rain. It wouldnt hurt. It wouldn't hurt to order a new magneto either cause they're cheap anyways, and you would have a back up. I would try to dry it out at least to see if you can salvage it. There is post on this forum on how to test a magneto and CDI in the wiring and lighting section. I think it is titled " How to test a magneto". If you don't have a tester, I think it may be cheaper to just get a new magneto unless you see yourself using the tester enough to justify the cost. On another note, check the CDI to wire connection and make the wire is tight in the hole. The same for the wire to boot connection.
 
NGK B5HS, B6HS, BP7HS spark plugs will all work. The difference between the three is hotter spark to colder spark. I would run the B6HS if your engine is stock with no mods, run the BP7HS if you have mods or decide to add mods. I'm sure LA is pretty warm right now so you want a colder plug to avoid pre-ignition(I think?). For reference: B5HS-Hotter. B6HS-Mid, BP7HS-Colder. If AutoZone does not carry them, Sick Bike Parts does. Thats where I had to get mine from because the O'Reilly's in my town didn't know what I was talking about. They are one of the vendors along the side of the page. Hope that gets you running!! :)
 
pulled the magneto apart and cleaned it with some sandpaper today. there really isn't much to a magneto, so I don't see how it could go bad.

I cleaned the connections to the wires, and I cleaned the top of the plug.

I tried running alongside the bike (with the plug hanging from the coil wire and resting atop the motor) and when I dumped the clutch the motor spun over fine, but still no fire.

I closed the gap on the plug about halfway, and still nothing.

Where to now? I hate to simply start replacing parts on a brand new kit. I know they're not expensive...but I mean it's brand new, it should work.

I hope I've got everything hooked up right, it shouldn't be too complicated. I've got the black wire hooked to the black on the coil and the blue wire hooked to the blue on the magneto. That's it. It's an extremely simple system, I don't see where my wiring could be at fault.

And that's it right? The magneto spins and the coil fires? right?

do you have to get going crazy fast before it works or something?
 
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