No idea why this 3 wheeler isnt starting?

[d.walker43]

Hey guys. I have a 1984 200s that I picked up recently, and have been fixing up. Ive checked it for most of the main things it needs, and I think it has everything so im not sure why it wont start. The fuel tank is somewhat dirty but its not terrible, I took out the petcock and cleaned it (blew compressed air through it) and it lets gas through, it did not before. It has pretty strong spark. I did not have an air filter while I was trying this, but that's not a required part, correct? I had all of the common sense stuff like killswitch was on run, had it in neutral, etc. I don't think I was missing anything. It sounds like its kinda close to starting, once or twice its gotten pretty close. My buddy thinks I need to tear apart the carb, but I don't know for sure, the tank is pretty dirty but the carb was a brand new carb put on not too long ago. I am kind of running out of ideas. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[Jmoozy27]

Start with the cheap stuff. Carb cleaning, tank cleaning, check compression. See what that does and report back.

[Kismet]

fuel tank is somewhat dirty

Which means carb is somewhat dirty. I see an in-line Fuel filter in your future, after the carb cleaning.

Then, it will be something else. Just how the system works. :)

Report back, OK? Goodluck

[d.walker43]

Alright, looks like tomorrow I'll take a look at the carb. I actually have 2 carbs for it, the original Honda one, and a new one that was put on by the previous owner, I havnt researched it at all yet, I can read "ISO Performance" on it. All I know about it is that it is an aftermarket performance carb, I don't know anything else about it. It looks clean on the outside, but obviously that doesn't mean anything about the insides of it. I also have the fuel tank taking a 1 week vinegar bath right now, in a week I'll empty it out and try it again. I also have a new air filter in the mail too, should be here tomorrow or the next day. I'll report back after I get the tank cleaned, carb cleaned, etc. and see whats up. Thanks for the responses.

[oscarmayer]

a dirty tank can plug up the carb and make it not allow fuel to flow. you need to drain the tank, and do a acid wash on it. once it is done, fill it with fuel completely and you should be ok.

[d.walker43]

a dirty tank can plug up the carb and make it not allow fuel to flow. you need to drain the tank, and do a acid wash on it. once it is done, fill it with fuel completely and you should be ok.

Yea, that's sorta the vibe I was feeling, tonight I emptied the tank and filled it to the brim with vinegar, I'll let it sit for about a week then fill er up and try it again. Also might take the carb apart and clean it out too, look at my above post for info on that. Thanks.

[fixer2u]

Also just for grins make sure nothing made a home in the intake. You said there was no air filter on so maybe there is a nest in there or something. Same thing for the exhaust pipe, take a look in there and see if there is maybe some blockage. I have had mud daubers make a home in there before on other ATVs.

[thcowboy]

Crank the engine a bit, then pull out the spark plug to see if its wet. (Means its getting fuel) its got spark, and it sounds like you have compression. You need fuel, compression, and ignition to start an engine so it just sounds like no fuel.

[d.walker43]

@fixer2u, I will check again later but when I was cleaning the whole thing I took an air compressor and blew it into all of the nooks and crannies, I assume that would have cleared any nests inside but i'll check again later.

@thcowboy, I agree it sounds like im not getting fuel somewhere. I wasn't getting gas through the fuel tank petcock so I took that off and blew compressed air through it, a burst of dust and stuff came out the hole and I put it back on the tank and gas came through it, but the tank was somewhat rusty as well so there may be blockage in the carb. I'll take that off later and look at it. Ive got the tank filled with vinegar right now and i'll let it sit for a week or so to eat away at the rust. When we were trying to start it yesterday I sprayed some ether into the cylinder and the spark plug, but it didn't sound any different then before. whatever, once I clean up the tank and carb i'll report back.

[Racer-X]

My best guess is the floats are stuck holding....(.for lack of better words, the fuel pin thingy that the floats push up when full to stop more fuel from entering into the carb) stuck in the closed position. Especially with no air filter there is definitely some dirt sediment in there. Its always going to look clean when looking straight through it. The dirt is gonna be in the bottom of the carbs bowl. PS double check you have spark again too. I would imagine that even with the carb completely missing and a shot of ether in the chamber it should have at least sounded like it was trying to start?

[hoosierlogger]

What does it do when you spray gas into the carb with a spray bottle? If it tries to start, you got supply problems. If nothing, then maybe you aren't getting your spark at the right time.

[350for350]

Just remember that with no filter, you're running a little lean. If you don't have a lid on the air box, you'll be running REALLY lean. It should still start, but won't run very well like that.

[prometheus]

Do you have a way to check compression?

[CRAZY70MAN]

Dirty carb. Take it apart and soak it for a while, carbs are precision metering instruments, it takes very little to "unprecision" them. Get ya a wire from a wire brush and run it thru both jets after you remove them. Compressed air and do it again.

[MPDano]

Do you have a way to check compression?

I believe this is the first thing to check before going any further. If you don't own a tester, sometimes you can borrow one from the local auto parts store. Low compression - no starty. Report back with your readings.