'84 Honda Big Red won't idle

[BigRed1984]

I'm having problems getting this Big Red to idle and run properly.

The carb rebuild kits just don't help. I rebuild the carb to spec and it just won't run. So I bought a $20 carb off ebay and put it on. It fired right up and ran GREAT, for about 20 minutes. Then it started sputtering and acting like it wasn't getting enough fuel, and wouldn't idle AGAIN.

I've taken the carb apart, cleaned it out, put it back together about a dozen times. There was not a speck of dirt anywhere in the carburetor. It made no difference. Wouldn't run for beans. Chalked it up to being a cheap Chinese knock off carburetor, got disgusted, and parked the wheeler in a corner for a couple years.

Last week I got inspired again, and decided to try another $20 carburetor off ebay. SAME THING... Ran perfect for 20 minutes, now won't idle, acts lean, sputters...

There is not a speck of dirt anywhere. Tank is clean as a whistle. Fuel is new non-ethanol. I know I'm not going to find anything if I pull the carburetor apart.

Normally this small engine stuff is a snap for me. This one has me stumped.

[fixer2u]

Have you tried checking the valves?

[BigRed1984]

I found two problems:

1. Fuel. Even though it looked like there was plenty of gas in the tank it would not run out the petcock. Added a gallon, now it runs.

2. Spark. The plug gap was way too wide. It was a new plug this morning, and I eyeballed the gap. Tightened up the gap and it is much happier.

It's still not 100%, but it never was from new. The spark seems a bit weak for my tastes. Always has been...

It has a new coil and plug wire. Not sure what else to change.

[oscarmayer]

If runs be happy. A weak spark could be the plug connector has some corrosion. I recommend unscrewing it, cutting 1/2 inch of the wire off and screw the cap back on. This should give you better spark. If all that is new then it could be the stator has corrosion on the wire connectors. Clean all connectors and plug back in. This should help.


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