[Sigreen]

Hi all. So after many attempts to set up my electra x 535, wider pipe, Amal carb, I bit the bullet(pardon the pun) and bought a new 932 carb. Hoping it would cure what ails her. Low & behold the dammed thing won't even start now🤣 The old carb worked to an extent, but erratic idling, pops & bangs, changed jets 240/107. So now I'm stumped. Any help would be greatly appreciated guys. Thanks

[zimmemr]

Hi all. So after many attempts to set up my electra x 535, wider pipe, Amal carb, I bit the bullet(pardon the pun) and bought a new 932 carb. Hoping it would cure what ails her. Low & behold the dammed thing won't even start now🤣 The old carb worked to an extent, but erratic idling, pops & bangs, changed jets 240/107. So now I'm stumped. Any help would be greatly appreciated guys. Thanks

Without knowing the specifics, and being totally unfamiliar with the 535 I can only offer some broad hints. First, check for spark, it may be as simple as a fouled plug. With a known good plug in the engine see if it starts. If not, I'd return to the last known good set up and see if it runs, if it doesn't you know you're barking up the wrong tree and need to look at your ignition, valve adjustment, maybe even the cam timing.

 If it runs and you want to go back and play with the AMAL, start by setting it up to the suppliers specs for your bike. It should at least start and idle, even if it's rough. If it won't even start make sure the carb is passing fuel, the plug should be wet after a few tries if it's not passing fuel check the carb, even new ones get plugged with dirt.

 I know that's a short, vague set of suggestions but without knowing your skill level, the condition of the bike etc, it's hard to come up with anything concrete.  One thing I've seen is that guys get confused over which way the choke works on the AMAL, so you may want to double check that you're closing it for a cold start, and opening it for warm starts or to clear a flooded engine.

[Sigreen]

Morning Zimmemr

Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated, I've added some points below but I'm confused I have to say. I was expecting to replace an old part like-for-like & have better results.

Without knowing the specifics, and being totally unfamiliar with the 535 I can only offer some broad hints. First, check for spark, it may be as simple as a fouled plug. With a known good plug in the engine see if it starts. If not, I'd return to the last known good set up and see if it runs, if it doesn't you know you're barking up the wrong tree and need to look at your ignition, valve adjustment, maybe even the cam timing.

- Spark is good & strong, plug is not fouled & getting wet-ish. Valves were set ok, as it ran before I changed the carb. Haven't touched the cam timing.

If it runs and you want to go back and play with the AMAL, start by setting it up to the suppliers specs for your bike. It should at least start and idle, even if it's rough. If it won't even start make sure the carb is passing fuel, the plug should be wet after a few tries if it's not passing fuel check the carb, even new ones get plugged with dirt.

- Agreed, I was expecting it to at least run! And then set it up to optimum. I've only changed the jets(which were new in the old carb) nothing else. Seems to be passing fuel ok.

 I know that's a short, vague set of suggestions but without knowing your skill level, the condition of the bike etc, it's hard to come up with anything concrete.  One thing I've seen is that guys get confused over which way the choke works on the AMAL, so you may want to double check that you're closing it for a cold start, and opening it for warm starts or to clear a flooded engine.

- I fell for the choke issues when I first got the bike, so that's not a root cause this time.

[Adrian II]

If it's not starting the usual thing would be to check for air-leaks around the flange and for left-over bits of manufacturing debris not having been properly cleared out of air and fuel passageways,pilot jet, etc.

Is this the basic Amal 932, or the Premier version? ISTRC reading about Premiers being shipped with pilot jets which were too small.

A.

[zimmemr]

I may have misunderstood your original post. Did you replace the an old 932 with a new one? If that's the case and you installed the jets from the old carb into the new one, the next thing I'd do is go back into the new carb and make sure needle jet, and main jet are properly installed. It's been a long time since I've been in a concentric but I'm wondering if there's a bit of dirt in there or something silly like a loose main, misaligned needle jet, the needle clip fell off, something like that. Or as the last poster mentioned you might have a huge air leak. Does the new carb have a tickler? In the photo I saw I couldn't tell, so I wondered if they'd done away with it. It's hard starting bike that won't fire when it's been tickled well.

[Sigreen]

Hi. I've checked all of the above. Spoke in detail with Hitchcocks yesterday too & followed the advice. No apparent air leaks, carb stripped again & checked. Checked pilot & "looks" clear. Yes it has a tickler, it's a brand new premier 932 direct replacement for the old. I did get one partial fire after reassembly yesterday. Still not doing what it should do though. The only thing I can't confirm is the pilot jet diameter.

[Adrian II]

My old Dell'Orto PHF32 (ex Electra-X) still hasn't found a home, let me know if you still can't get the Amal to work!

Where are you, UK, USA or Down Under?

A.

[zimmemr]

Hi. I've checked all of the above. Spoke in detail with Hitchcocks yesterday too & followed the advice. No apparent air leaks, carb stripped again & checked. Checked pilot & "looks" clear. Yes it has a tickler, it's a brand new premier 932 direct replacement for the old. I did get one partial fire after reassembly yesterday. Still not doing what it should do though. The only thing I can't confirm is the pilot jet diameter.

If you've tickled it to the point where fuel is leaking out, which is the way I've always done it, there should be signs of life. At that point the mix is so rich It wouldn't matter what jets are in it. I'd suggest going back to the last known running combination just to confirm that the bike will start.

[Sigreen]

Well, new plug changed for a brand new plug. Squirt of juice down the hole & hey presto, 3rd kick & springs into life. Warmed up and is miles better. Find tuning to do but........... thanks for your input gang. Muchos grathias

[Adrian II]

The "bad" plug wasn't an NGK, by any chance?

A.

[zimmemr]

Well, new plug changed for a brand new plug. Squirt of juice down the hole & hey presto, 3rd kick & springs into life. Warmed up and is miles better. Find tuning to do but........... thanks for your input gang. Muchos grathias

At times what appears to be a good spark in open air "blows out" under compression, Always a good idea to replace a suspect one, or even one that looks fine, with a brand new one when you have a problem like this. Glad to hear you're up and running. 

[AzCal Retred]

Fine wire ( "Precious Metal" ) projected tip NGK ( No Good Kind ) have worked well for me. The BPR7EIX might be a place to start on a motor with some miles. The narrow tip lessens gap voltage requirements, the "projected" part gets the spark out where it does some good, away from the wall into the turbulent air flow. Some say the small center electrode is a "safety valve", melting off & killing the spark if excessive heat is seen from improper heat range selection or maybe under detonation conditions. They have always worked well for me.

I used to have a desert racing friend that thought it great sport to draw a light "lead" pencil line down the backside of the insulator of a new plug and hand it to you...   From that episode I learned the "Mating Call of the Husqvarna" Kapook-kapook-kapook...

[zimmemr]

Fine wire ( "Precious Metal" ) projected tip NGK ( No Good Kind ) have worked well for me. The BPR7EIX might be a place to start on a motor with some miles. The narrow tip lessens gap voltage requirements, the "projected" part gets the spark out where it does some good, away from the wall into the turbulent air flow. Some say the small center electrode is a "safety valve", melting off & killing the spark if excessive heat is seen from improper heat range selection or maybe under detonation conditions. They have always worked well for me.

I used to have a desert racing friend that thought it great sport to draw a light "lead" pencil line down the backside of the insulator of a new plug and hand it to you...   From that episode I learned the "Mating Call of the Husqvarna" Kapook-kapook-kapook...

That's a great trick. I once worked in a shop where the parts guy liked to charge up Lucas capacitors, the kind that replaced the battery, then put them back in the box. Both terminals were on top of those, so when we'd install them, we'd open the box and shake the capacitor out into our upturned hand. Those things could really jolt you. He stopped doing it when we started charging them and regular condensers up and tossing them to him while yelling "catch." He couldn't overcome his reflexes and always caught them, i

[tooseevee]

That's a great trick. I once worked in a shop where the parts guy liked to charge up Lucas capacitors, the kind that replaced the battery, then put them back in the box. Both terminals were on top of those, so when we'd install them, we'd open the box and shake the capacitor out into our upturned hand. Those things could really jolt you. He stopped doing it when we started charging them and regular condensers up and tossing them to him while yelling "catch." He couldn't overcome his reflexes and always caught them, i

           I was first a victim and then a perpetrator of charged-up capacitors left on workbenches in the lab during a 6 month ET School stint in the USCG. We were even threatened with Captain's Mast or discharge if caught doing it. I was knocked to my knees a couple times before I was "trained" (like a shock collar trains a dog).

[AzCal Retred]

At about the 2 minute mark you get to see what Zimmemr & 2CV were horseplaying with in their misspent youth-es.
I find things like this highly educational, as I was always a LOT smarter afterward...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R9Jya8pxf0