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Post by abqsteve on Dec 28, 2013 19:11:38 GMT -5
Finally catching up on this thread! I'm glad to say that I was able to clearly determine what the problem was, and it was the auto-enricher. I replaced it (amazing, only about $10 including shipping), and the scooter is starting up very well and I'm not having any of the issues I reported before.
Hooray!
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Post by abqsteve on May 21, 2013 7:50:20 GMT -5
Right! I might as well since I'm in there. Do you think that will help with the starting or are you recommending that because I'm already there?
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Post by abqsteve on May 20, 2013 22:39:45 GMT -5
It's not very cold at all anymore and I'm still having the starting problem. It's very consistent that the scooter has trouble starting but once it gets going and warms up, it runs great.
Today I tore down the carburetor and I was very surprised to find that the interior was clean and all the orifices and jets looked clear. There was plenty of fuel in the bowl so the float is working correctly. I sprayed it through with carb cleaner because I was there but I didn't see anything noteworthy. When I re-assembled it, the scooter acted the same: no better, no worse.
I'm starting to think about testing and/or replacing the auto-enricher. Other ideas?
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Post by abqsteve on Apr 21, 2013 17:27:08 GMT -5
Well, still at it. It looks the the spray carb cleaner I used wasn't a very permanent fix. I'm trying a fuel additive carb cleaner.
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Post by abqsteve on Apr 2, 2013 22:00:46 GMT -5
The can was about $5-$6 and I'm happy to say that I'm still getting repeatable starts after 1-2 cranks. I did not open up the carb before or after so I only have guesses at what it actually did.
Thanks for the tip Rockynv. I'd also read about some people who have used the fuel additives and had good success. I might give that a shot in a while for maintenance and see if there's further improvement. My overall impression is that it's acting like new.
And I'm hoping that I won't be storing it in the future. I just need the right gear to ride in the winter. The weather's generally really great for scooters here in New Mexico but it sure does get cold in the morning in Winter!
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Post by abqsteve on Mar 28, 2013 23:34:12 GMT -5
Hey all, I wanted to share some success I've just had with my scooter in case it's helpful to someone else. I had let mine sit for about 4 months over the winter and when I went to wake him up to start riding, I would have a really hard time getting the engine started. Once started and warmed up, the engine ran just fine and I had no troubles. The challenge was getting it started. I've got a 150 GY6 that's almost identical to the lance venice ( www.scooterwiki.com/directory/gas_moped_motor_scooters/lance_gas_moped_motor_scooters/lance_venice_150/). I've got 5000 miles and 3 years on it and it's been a great commuter. I had noticed that it was getting harder and harder to start especially when cold. It got to the point where I had to hold the throttle juuust right when running the starter and, once the engine was running, if I was too quick to add gas, the engine would die again. One started, I would have to carefully hold the throttle in just the right place to allow it to warm up enough to start riding. And then, after storing for 4 months (nope, I didn't drain the gas like I should have and yes, I don't have the gear for the cold winters yet), it was nearly impossible to get it started. It seemed like a fuel flow issue so I changed the fuel filter (it was still the original) but that didn't make any difference. Also, the new fuel filter has a clear body, so I could see that the fuel was flowing into the filter and that told me that the fuel petcock was working. After seeing those didn't appear to be a problem and after searching around a bit on the internet, I was headed towards a carburetor rebuild. Because I've never done that before, I was a bit nervous. The good news for me is that a friend of mine recommended trying the B-12 chemtool cleaner. I picked up a can and tonight I tried it. I took the air filter cover and air filter off and, per the instructions on the can, intermittently sprayed it into the intake while holding the engine at a high idle. After perhaps a dozen shots of it (I found that if I sprayed for too long, it would kill the engine), the engine seemed to smooth out. After, when I tried the starter, the engine repeatably started up within 1-2 cranks. The carb cleaner appears to have made a huge difference in the starting and I'm looking forward to trying the scooter in the morning when it's cold. I'm also looking forward to the commute because at the moment I feel like I've got a new scooter. |
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