Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

My 1985 Honda Spree will not start. It has not been ran for the last two years and has sat with bad gas (I know I'm an idiot). I cleaned the carburetor, put in a new spark plug, drained the old gas, and I the put in some new gas. After doing this I got it to start for about two seconds and then it died and I have not been able to get it started since. Any ideas before I take it in?

Clean the carb again. Something probably got loose in the bowl and got sucked into the idle circuit.

Also you should probably replace your air filter, or at least inspect/re-oil it.

I have re cleaned the carb two times already. I do plan on replacing the filter once my new one comes in.

Have you done anything to verify the itsy-bitsy idle circuit is clear?

You can also try blocking off the intake with a rag (or disconnecting the airbox and using your hand directly on the carb). If it runs like that then you have a clog.

devenex wrote:Have you done anything to verify the itsy-bitsy idle circuit is clear?

You can also try blocking off the intake with a rag (or disconnecting the airbox and using your hand directly on the carb). If it runs like that then you have a clog.

This is the right advice too start with. Sometimes the carb gets air locked and won't get fuel when it first gets put back together. You don't need to pull the air hose off, just reach up under the plastics and choke the two intake holes on the top of the air box. Also if the battery isn't quite charged up enough it won't spin quite fast enough to pop the mixture off, no matter how much you crank it. Make sure you ste the ilde air mixture to the manual spec before you try to start it. If the idle air screw is all the way in it will be too rich to start right, too far out it will be too lean. And the small hole that devenex mentioned is in the float bowl, it is what feeds the pilot circuit fuel from the bowl. If it sat and the carb was all green and gummed up, no doubt that orifice is clogged. A small piece of wire and some carb cleaner and go at it. My spree was clogged like that when I got it years ago, I cleaned it before I did anything else and been fine ever since. My express was also clogged, and took an hour and a half to get it clear it was so bad. Worth checking so you don't go round in circles. Also open the float bowl drain screw after you crank it a bunch to confirm you are getting fuel from the tank, as the screens can get varnished up and junked up if the fuel went real bad in the tank.

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I would say 98% of all no starts on Spree's is the carb. If you remove the air/fuel mixture screw and spray brake cleaner in where the mixture screw goes you should get spray out of 2 places. The throat of the carb and the pilot port. If it doesn't do that it is still dirty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbNzbwbuqL8

Here is a video I shot showing this passage in more detail.

Good job, I've used a high power LED flashlight (or the sun) to get a view of the pilot jet

-- If your flashlight batteries are dead, or the sun is not out
Can of carb cleaner with the squirt tube works too, blast up the pilot jet. If clear, there should be carb cleaner dripping out the carb body on the other side. Another way is to remove the air mixture screw, and blast carb cleaner, it will flow out the pilot jet (and other places too) if the pilot is clear.