Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

Okay, i just put an engine in my 84 spree. I transferred over a lot of parts like the starter/oil pump/carb. meanwhile today i went to start it up and nothing happened when i did the push button. I measured for voltage and wasn't getting any at the red wire going to the starter. The lights work, but the battery itself is only measuring 9.5 volts with the multimeter

I have a jumpbox that i hooked up to the battery as well as i could even though the terminals/clamps didn't line up very well. Even with this, still nothing.

When i sent 12 volts to the starter red wire the starter turned (with the key in on) but it didn't start because the gas wasn't going.

My ultimate question, is my battery the problem or is it something else? I had the bike outside all winter but i just feel that with the jumpbox hooked up it should be starting (even though it's a jumpbox from a car so basically a car sized 12 volt battery)

Thanks for the input guys

Battery is not the problem. These bikes will run fine with no battery at all installed. With the motor turning, and the hoses properly hooked up, the vacuum should open the petcock and fill the bowl of the carb. Does the carb bowl have fuel in it?

-aseigler

no, i pulled both the gas lines off and nothing from them... and when i jumped the starter per say it doesn't even sound like it want's to start.

I have no idea what to diagnose next.

When i press the start button there's not even 12 volts getting to the starter... so could it be the starter relay?

It doesn't really seem like the carb is getting much vacuum, or else i feel like it'd be releasing gas from the tank.

How many psi is it supposed to produce in order to let the fuel valve allow fuel to flow?

And what is the electrical bit that's running to the gas tank? Is that for the gas gauge?

My suspection is with the fuel valve... because unless it's just not getting vacuum, it's not working. Otherwise it'd be sending gas

So there's a couple of things at play here. When the key is on, a brake is applied, and the starter button is mashed at the same time, the starter should spin at least. If not, there is an electrical problem, more than likely in the front end. Have fun with that one. Get the wiring diagram and a multimeter and find the break.

The wires going to the gas tank are for the fuel gauge only. The bike will run with them completely disconnected, missing, etc.

It does sound like you may have a fuel valve (petcock) problem. On the petcock, which is the thing that is attached the the gas tank, there are two ports. The top one, which is larger, is the delivery port, while the bottom one, smaller, is the vacuum port. When vacuum is applied to the bottom port, the top port opens and sends fuel to the carb. I don't know how much vacuum is required, but it doesn't seem like it needs very much. Typically petcocks get stuck in the opposite way, where they dump fuel in the carb vacuum or not.

So i bought anew battery for it and now this is what's up:

- The starter turns and it's sucking fuel down into the carb now.
- It's not starting... i'm not sure if i'm getting spark...


My question is what do i have to do to make sure the carb is set correctly?

There are three screws on the carb. From top to bottom i think it's the following:
-idle adjustment
-air fuel mixture
-carb bleeder screw

Is this correct? If not which is which and where do they need to be to make sure it's not the carb as to why it's not starting?

Greetings:

Your carb screw surmisal is correct. Don't mess with it. If you've already screwed it up, put the idle mixture at 1.5 turns out from lightly seated, close the drain screw all the way snug, and turn the throttle stop screw in enough to lean lightly on the slide.

Then pull off your plug wire and install a NEW plug. If you lay the plug on grounded metal you can see it spark when you crank the engine, as long as you apply the brake while you do it. The easy way is to set the parking brake.

If the carb is getting fuel, your plug is new, and that new bore has compression, it should at least cough.
If not, examine the reed valves for tight closure.

Okay, so i ran a compression test and I'm not even able to build up 30 psi...
so i see that it says to look at head gasket... yada yada yada

I looked at the reed valve, and it's for sure closed and not leaking there.

I took the head off and there's decent carbon build up ontop of the piston, and on the bottom of the head. I don't see how this could cause 30 psi.

How would i know whether it's the head gasket failing to seal or not? I figured i could just get some of the copper spray a gasket type stuff and just tack on the top and bottom of the head gasket and put it back on?

The only other two possibilities i can think of are: rings, or the jug itself. It looks like there's one spot on the jug thats maybe fingernail deep that might be causing it problems, but idk it doesn't look too serious from my prior knowledge. I can get some pictures i guess but my question is what do you think it is and what order would you recommend i proceed in?