HELP! XMoto won't start after cleaning air filter-carb : (
 

Hello,

My XMoto will not start> I recently cleaned the Air Filter and Carb which was extra dirty with mud water. I also changed oil, spark plug and charged battery. I tried starting it today and it turns over but wont start even after I sprayed starter fluid into the air filter. I have to charge my battery again because I drained it trying to start it.

Do you all have any suggestions?? I am going to try and start the bike tommorrow after I charge battery and I will try and spray starter fluid straight in carb.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks dudes.


Michael A

I'm far an expert, but my advice would be to put the starting fluid down and start with the basics.

You need air, fuel and spark. Make sure there's gas in the tank and the petcock is on. Make sure the plug is gapped correctly and that it provides a spark. Make sure the intake isn't restricted.

I've never really had to go beyond those basics myself...so maybe that will get you closer to the problem.

Also, check the choke and throttle cables to make sure they are working smoothly. It's fairly common to put the carb slide in incorrectly.


Hope that helps. Good luck. I'm sure someone else will have more detailed advice to offer.

thanks
 

thanks dude

check
 

I just Cleaned the Air filter so its getting Air ok. I cleaned the carb and put the carb slider back in correctly. I will try the old spark plug. the throttle cable and chock are working ok. I'll give it a try with the old spark plug.

NO GAS
 

My bike wasn't getting any gas flow thru fuel filter. I fix all of that and it still wont start. I bought a new battery because my old battery was, lets say, "exposed to a lot of water". I dont know if getting a new battery will make any difference but I dont know what else to do. My dad thinks I should blow out the carbuerator. Any thoughts?


Michael A

Was it running before you cleaned everything?

Valves? You said it was water logged how long did the water stay in there?

still won't start
 

The build up in mud water in my Air Box was for awhile but the bike still started. Barely.

My bike still wont start. The Air Filter is clear and the exhaust isn't clogged so its "getting air".

I removed the obstruction from the fuel filter and cleaned the carb meticulously so its "getting fuel.

Took out the Spark plug and tested it to see if its getting any spark and I got a got blue spark. So its "getting spark".

Bought a new battery and its fully charged. My bike turns over really strong but it doesn't start. It doesn't even minutely act like its going to start. This is a total bummer.

What should I do now? I am totally lost. Maybe I can try some new solutions this weekend. Thanks for all your help.


Michael A

It looks like you already tried a different plug so we will rule that out.

Have you checked the valves?

Allen

valves?
 

I haven't checked the valves yet. Can I just follow the instructions from the sticky post on valves? Also, do I need to no the valve gap measurement for my bike? I was looking over the post on valve adjustment and it looks like something I can do. The bike sounds similiar to when my china buggy 250cc buggy didn't start and I had to adjust the valves and it worked.


What are your suggestions/solutions. Thanks for all your help.


Michael A

ANything that got through would have made it into the valves, Could have rusted them or clogged them etc etc.....

go for it
 

Should I make a go of it of Red2003's Valve Adjustment Tutorial? While I'm at it. should I try adjusting valves on my old DB-27? I have never adjusted valves on my DB-27. Thanks for your help mate.


MIchael A

Won't hurt :D You're welcome

still wont start
 

I adjusted my valves on and my bike still wont start. The gap was kinda wide on the exhaust valve gap and almost shut on the intake valve gap.

I am pretty sure I did it right. I had Top dead center and gapped my valves, .05mm gap for intake valve. and .08mm gap for exhaust valve. I am not hundred percent sure what the gap spacing should be. I just used those measurements from the Valve adjustment instructions on one of these posts.

Any suggestions or solutions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks


Michael A

WIth all of those attempts at starting do You smell fuel? It should be flooded as heck.....The plug should even be wet when You take it out.

fuel
 

Well,

There actually isn't any fuel smell after all those starts and when I took out the plug it "wasn't" wet. When I open the fuel petcock fuel comes out in a good stream and when I took the fuel hose off the carb, fuel comes out but not as fast much. The fuel line seems like its a little long from the fuel petcock to the carb. Would that make any difference? It work ok when it was running.

Also, I just unscrewed the fuel drain screw and gas came out so gas s getting to carb I think.

Its not getting any fuel maybe, eh??? I meticulously cleaned my carbuerator. What else can I do or try? Thanks for all your help man. Trying to stay motivated.

Do Honda's and Yamaha's require this much maintenance as compared to the China Bikes?


Michael A

No bike likes it's motor full of water and mud :lol: , But no they do not require as much work to keep riding as a China bike. But these are simple to work on and a lotta fun if taken care of.

Re: still won't start
 

Have you completely dismantled the carb? I would be surprised to learn that the jets aren't at least a little clogged from whatever got through the filter. If you haven't already, unscrew each jet and force aerosol carb cleaner through. I'm guessing a fuel problem, since you say the plug isn't wet, and it isn't even trying.


No offence intended when I ask, how did you check your spark plug? Did you check it on your bike or another machine?

spark
 

I checked spark by putting spark plug in spark plug wire and and turning bike over then touching plug to engine. I got a goo blue spark.

I can try cleaning carbeuretor again. I know gas is getting to carb but my dad thinks its not getting to engine. How does gas go from carb to engine?

Thanks for all the help.

Michael A

carb
 

i think I'll clean the carb again with carb cleaner solvent and compressed air. I searched on web and found lots articles. my bike was in lots of mud and creeks after I first bought it.

I just figure fuel would get to engine if carb bowl was full of gas. But, maybe not.


Michael A

Take that carb completally apart, Check the float is not stuck, Also check the needles and seats, And check the intake for any obstruction or air leaks. I think You have this narrowed down to the fuel from the carb...A little time cleaning and inspection and she should fire right up....Just in time for summer. There is a section on here that shows the carb in great deatail that Frostbite put togethor.

You mentioned you had compressed air available. You might try taking the filter off and blasting some air down the throat of the carb. The rush of high speed air past the venturi in the carb could displace whats blocking the fuel. Might be worth a try just before dissasembly again.

Be careful as will likely get some gas to splatter back at you.

Before you pull the carb apart, try starter fluid to make sure the bike will run. If the jets are clogged "sometimes" you can seal the carb with the palm of your hand while cranking the engine and it will pull crap out of the jets (I had a Jeep that needed this treatment everytime I went off road.).

If you do take the carb apart, use a thin, thin, thin bit of wire to run through all the jets and passages to make sure they are clear. Don't use anything stiff like a drill bit or you can fubar the jets. Compressed air and carb cleaner won't always clear things out, a wire will.

carb cleaning
 

Thanks for all the feedback dudes. I read some other articles after doing a "carb cleaning" search on google. Last night I took my carb off and this time there was "NO" gas in the fuel bowl when I unscrewed the fuel drain screw. Hence, I made the fuel clog worst when I cleaned it last.

I bought chem dip to dip my carb in and bought some canned air.
So I will blow the s&*t out of carb after chem dip and then clean the other bits(pilot jets, etc). Hopefully this will work.

On another note, i bought stock carb and exhuast for my DB-27. I am going back to all stock carb, air filter and exhaust and hopefully it will stay running again. Maybe I should adjust DB-27 valves too. Anyways, thanks for all the help/solutions dudes. You guys will all go to heaven for this. Or where we go.


Michael A :twisted:

bike starts-->barely
 

Well, I got the bike started and it runs barely.

I cleaned the carb thoroughly with Chem Dip. But the only way the bike will start is if I hold the throttle "Wide Open" with "No Choke". It is more or less just idling at Full Throttle. If I go 3/4 throttle or less it dies. My battery is also getting drained from trying to start it.

Also, after I get it running and hold throttle wide open, it will only idle, and I can hear a metal "clunking" sound in the engine like, clunk, clunk, clunk. What is that??? I hope something in the engine isn't really screwed up.

I did adjust the valves but maybe I can try adjusting valves again. PLEASE HELP! with any solutions or suggestions. Hopefully I am almost there. Thanks for all the help dudes.


Michael A

Check the valves, After the carb fiasco that would be the first place I look :D It's got fuel now it needs to breath.

carb adjustment
 

do you think i need to adjust the "Pilot Screw" on the carb? I didnt change any carb settings. Just wondering. Thanks for help.


Michael A

If it ran before that maybe not, I would double check anything I touched to make sure I did not make a mistake.

i'll readjust valves
 

i"ll readjust valves again and make sure I am Top Dead Center on intake stroke.

MA

Re: i'll readjust valves
 

Do you mean TDC on the compression stroke? That's where both valves will be completely closed.

?
 

I think so. on the compression stroke. When I crank the bike over when it goes to the exhaust up stroke its really hard to push kick starter past that point. On the "compression" stroke it shouldnt be hard to push the kick start thru that stroke, right. So I want to be TDC on the compression strike?

I am using the instructions for setting valves from a previous stroke. My bike had over head cam. Basically am i at the right TDC when the piston is at its highest point during compression stroke.?


Michael A

Re: ?
 

That sounds right. Always turn the engine in the direction it would turn when running, and do so without the spark plug installed. Kick it over a few times with a finger over the spark plug hole, and you'll feel when compression is building. Compare that with your TDC marks (presumably on your flywheel), and you're there.

I'm not convinced that your carb issue is behind you. I've never used Chem-Dip, but I wouldn't trust it to remove all debris and shellac from the jets, particulary emulsion tubes. Did you mechanically clean the jets as was recommended by knothead? I've used staples that I've straightened to clean jet passages; they're typically small enough, and they bend easily rather than damaging a brass jet.

oops
 

I think I adjusted my valves wrong. I think I adjusted valve gaps when I was on the exhaust up stroke. That would cause bike to run bad right? I will re-adjust valves with TDC on Compression stroke.

I believe I did a good job on the carb. The Chem Dip is suppose to be the strongest carb solvent I think. Its just really poisonous though. After the chem dip I sprayed it all good with compressed air thru all openings. My float bowl is good, not stuck. I am wondering if I need to adjust that Pilot screw to allow richer mixture or not.

I did get tons of mud and water in Air Box so some of the much must have got in the carb real good. When I drained oil, before I cleaned carb and air filter, it looked like there was little water in it also but I got good oil in there now.

I'll adjust valves tonight and keep you all updated. I am just trying to stay motivated. I have my Xmoto 250cc, DB27 dirt bike and 250cc Chinese buggy all down. : ) I will fix them though. I'll never give up. Thanks for all the help dudes. I'll help other poor souls.


Michael A

Re: oops
 

It sure would. I'm looking forward to your follow-up.

Not yet. The mixture screw is only for idle and the transition from idle to main. If it won't idle smoothly, then play with it. I'd start by counting the number of turns required to turn the screw all the way in, and then back it out 1.5 turns.


Good attitude! I believe in paying it forward.

one more thing
 

I might have my wiring to my battery kind of funky. One of the first things that broke on my bike was the end of the wires to the battery snapped off and I had to redo them but the bike started fine after that. I have a ground wire on my bike frame.

I work on my bike 6 days straight after work. I'm getting worn down.




Michael A

Re: one more thing
 

I know that feeling. I was going nuts trying to prepare six machines for our annual poker run, along with making enough renovation progress that my parents would have somewhere to sleep when they visited (they were driving about 700 miles to join us for the poker run).

After all of that, my new used Honda had a stripped spark plug hole. Bummer. Oh well, when I fix the threads I'll be able to lap the valves and change the valve stem seals. It'll be awesome when it's done.

So it's fixed? AWESOME..... :)

hahaha
 

no, its not fixed. I cant wait to get out of my office so I can adjust valves right so I can see if it starts. I work under bright halogens.


Michael A

can't adjust valves
 

When I tried to adjust valves I couldn't loosen the stud nut to slide the .05mm fueller gauge under the valve on the back of my engine. I assume its the Intake Valve.

But I could loosen the stud nut on the valve on the front of the engine and put the .08mm fueller gauge under it no problem.

I am getting confused about where the correct TDC is on my bike when I can't get the stud nut to open on the Intake Valve side.

Why can't I get the fuller gauge to go under the intake valve stud nut , or the valve in back of engine??? Is the valve broken or something?? Is it jammed shut?? Anyways, any suggestions or solutions would be greatly appreciated.

The company I purchased the bike from, PowerSportsMax.com, finally had a tech call me to help me on my bike. I notified them several week ago. I am afraid to call them because they wouldn't honor their warranty on parts because of my "excessive riding". So, I am confused why one of their mechanics is calling me. They make me feel bad. My experience with these Chinese bike dealers is very poor when it comes to tech support. I've had simuliar experience with my Chinese 250cc Dune Buggy.



Michael A

valve adjust 3
 

I re-read the How to Adjust Valves Post by red2003. Makes a little more sense now how to determine the "Compression" Stroke TDC.

"You need to be on the COMPRESSION stroke to set the valves, so you need to determine which stroke you are locating top dead center for. The easiest way to do this is to remove the sparkplug and "stick your finger in the plug hole to plug it off." Rotate the engine on the kickstarter until" your finger is forced out by the compression", you are now on the compression stroke, look for the "T" and you're ready to adjust the valves."

Think I can do this.


Michael A