Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet Iron Barrel => Topic started by: VMAX on October 28, 2007, 10:34:24 pm
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Help: Changed out my throttle cable on Fri; followed the proper procedure, removed the fuel tank and situated the cable properly. Replaced the tank and fuel lines, turned on the fuel tap, the Bullet fired up, ran good and the throttle worked just fine.
On Sat, I went out to start the Bullet. Went through the proper procedure: turned on the fuel tap, checked the kill switch, turned on the key, hit the electric start and the bike firedup, idled for about a minute, died. Would not start after that. Of course I wore down my battery! Duh.
On the right side of the carb I have a have a plastic line hanging. Looks like an overflow line. On the left side of the carb I noticed the following: The large fuel line from the tank to the carb is connected; The large fuel line running from the carb has air bubbles in it; the narrower line running from the carb back but does not seem to be attached.
Like I said, the Bullet ran fine when I took her for a 10 min run on Fri to check the throttle.
Any ideas?
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ok .. let see.. I was going to be a smart acre and ask THE quesTiOn ;)
but lets see.. air bubbles in the short clear pipe on the right hand side? being an old person I would have put my fingertip on it and tasted it to see if it tasted like gas.... the float might have some debris under it , holding it open, flooding the engine...
I need to put a fuel filter on mine.. I've got it , but :P
now the long line you said was not connected..
I have a 2007 Electra.. there is a long black line from back of the carb to the pav with the air suction tip where the other end of that rubber hose goes.. and I am going to replace mine with a better grade as the rubber keeps cracking from the heat and falling off and the engine will backfire when I let up on the gas.. and forget the idle adj screw..
I don't see why that will kill the engine..
er, U know I've got to ask
did U try reserve ;D
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Pop that gas line off the carb and blow through it. If you hear bubbles in the tank it should be ok, if not, it is either blocked or crimped (probably the case)......Dew.
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Help: Changed out my throttle cable on Fri; followed the proper procedure, removed the fuel tank and situated the cable properly. Replaced the tank and fuel lines, turned on the fuel tap, the Bullet fired up, ran good and the throttle worked just fine.
On Sat, I went out to start the Bullet. Went through the proper procedure: turned on the fuel tap, checked the kill switch, turned on the key, hit the electric start and the bike firedup, idled for about a minute, died. Would not start after that. Of course I wore down my battery! Duh.
On the right side of the carb I have a have a plastic line hanging. Looks like an overflow line. On the left side of the carb I noticed the following: The large fuel line from the tank to the carb is connected; The large fuel line running from the carb has air bubbles in it; the narrower line running from the carb back but does not seem to be attached.
Like I said, the Bullet ran fine when I took her for a 10 min run on Fri to check the throttle.
Any ideas?
The small line on the right side of the carb is the float bowl vent, it lets the fuel bowl breath. The small hose on the bottom of the carb is the overflow hose. If the carb bowl gets too full, gas will run out of this line to the ground. These hoses are connected on one end only, the other end is usually routed to the bottom of the bike.
Now, with all that said, check to see how much gas is in the tank, disconnect the fuel line at the carb. Find a small container that will hold gas and not evaporate, turn on the fuel valve to ON and RES and see if fuel runs out. If it does, you know your getting gas to the carb. If not, the fuel valve may be plugged. You may have to pull the carb and clean it if there is trash in the bowl or the float needle. Also check the spark plug. It may be fouled from flooding. Clean or replace as needed. I hope this helps. Mark
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Thanks:
Scotty: Did I try the Reserve? I have a little more then 1/2 tank of petro. Didn't think the Reserve would be a problem w/that much petro. ;) My lines are discolored and I plan to change them out this winter/early spring & will put a filter on then. :)
Dew: I didn't see any crimping. Will check again. When the line is off & the fuel on, petro flows unrestricted. ::)
Mark: Thanks for the explanation of the lines. Makes sense. The spark plug is a month old, so will pull an clean/change as needed. When the throttle cable was replaced an the carb open all parts look good & I didn't notice any trash, but will look again. :)
I appreciate all the comments, suggestions & ?s. Now to go an try to correct the problem!
Cheers.
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Did you check your main fuse. I think the starter will work even when the fuse is bad, but it won't start.....Dew.
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Dew is right
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I may be misunderstanding things here, but the little plastic line dangling on the right of the carburetter - is this the the tube from the carburetter to the PAV unit inside the left-hand toolbox? I accidentally knocked mine and it became disconnected at the carburetter end. The bike was very hard to start and ran badly until I noticed it and reconnected it.
Tom
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Filled the tank w/petro. It was lower then I realized. ::) Also added oil. Checked the fuse an it looked good. Will go out tomorrow and look again at the fuse. Mark, I'll change the spark plug tomorrow.
When I tried starting her today, the starter kicked out (made a whirring sound). So I have the battery on a trickle charge now.
Spitting Bull: Hoppyre (Mark) gave a good explanation of the lines coming out of the carb. I will look closer at the lines inside the left hand tool box when I recheck the fuse tomorrow. However, I don't think mine is not long enough to reach the left tool box.
Again thanks for the good inputs. All tidbits are being placed in the old memory bank for future reference. I've said it before, and I will repeat it, you guys really treat those of us not mechanically inclined w/patience. :)
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I may be misunderstanding things here, but the little plastic line dangling on the right of the carburetter - is this the the tube from the carburetter to the PAV unit inside the left-hand toolbox? I accidentally knocked mine and it became disconnected at the carburetter end. The bike was very hard to start and ran badly until I noticed it and reconnected it.
Tom
Hey Spitting Bull, the hose that goes to the PAV valve should be connected to the bent metal pipe on the intake manifold between the carb and the head. If it comes off, it makes a very big vacuum leak!!!!!! I don't know what year your bike is, mine is an 06 Sixty-5, and that is where it was. Mark
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Mark you're absolutely right - on my 350 the little hose does indeed connect to the bent metal pipe on the spacer behind the carburetter, not on the carb itself.
Tom
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V-max, I would replace the fuse, you can't always tell they are bad by inspecting them.....Dew.
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SB.
That pipe goes onto the inlet manifold which is beyond the carb so if the plastic pipe drops/gets knocked off the effective result is a weak mixture due to that small amount of air diluting the intake charge. Hard to start? I'm not surprised! :o
VMAX. Whatever age we started tinkering we were all mechanical beginners at some stage so glad you found this excellent forum. NEVER, but NEVER be afraid to ask what you might think is a 'dumb' question 'cos I bet there are a few others 'out there' that want to hear the same question answered but are afraid to ask!!!! ;)
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V-max, I would replace the fuse, you can't always tell they are bad by inspecting them.....Dew.
If any lights come on when the ignition is on, then your fuse is ok.
You might want to pull the plug and see if it is sparking when you spin the starter. Also, check the ground behind the battery box. And speaking of grounds, I have become a fanatic about using dielectric grease on every contact that I mess with. That big tube that CMW sells is a good investment!
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Well guys, the saga continues:
My fuse is good. As Bill said, turn the key on & I have lights. Went into town to have my battery checked. I bought it on 04 Aug 07. Turns out the battery was bad. :'( The good news is that I had 3 days left on the warranty. ;D So I bought a pkg of 20 Amp fuses & a new trickler. Came home w/ a new battery. Will prep it tomorrow. Will also put a new plug in.
I hope that solves the problem of my ES kicking out on me.
The days have been nice for riding. Right now it is 36 degrees F. A bit too dark & far too cool to be outside.
Have a wood fire going decided to enjoy that. Will let you know what happens. Any other suggestions are welcome. :)
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go out every night and use the kick starter,, it's good exercise.. sometimes I think I actually have it down and use th thumb jUmP instead
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Now Scotty, don't ye know, I can always count on ye for a good bit of sound advice. However, I am not educated in the finer points of life, so would ye kindly explain the "Thumb Jump". ;)
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Thumb-jump.......is that like someone hitting your thumb with a hammer just to watch you jump around. Hey V-Max, find your problem yet...........Dew.
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Dew:
I think the problem was a combination of low petro (as Scotty suggested) and the bad battery. Just enough juice to do something but not enough to do it well. I really appreciate all the input & support. :) We're having a cold spell right now in NW WI, w/40-45 mph winds. Aside from the cold, the winds make things very interesting on my hack! :o
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Today has been mighty cold in MW IN too - the wind is straight sideways, and very cold - I chose not to ride the rig today, but drove the truck.