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Post by ellpee on Mar 3, 2015 17:29:34 GMT -6
Putting along today, 2011 Roketa w/Honda clone has been fine for some time. Suddenly stopped. Electrical appears OK, gauges working, cranks well, voltmeter shows reasonable numbers. Sounds to me like fuel starvation, but what do I know? After if first acted up, would start a couple times, but died with any effort to accelerate.
Went home, got basic tools, opened peek panels, nothing obvious -- no loose vacuum or fuel hoses, etc., but it's not like you can see everything without removing plastics. But now it won't start at all, despite good strong cranking. GOT to be a fuel thing, right? Wide open to suggestions. Right now it's sitting in a nearby mini-mall parking lot, may have to get a trailer from somewhere and take it down to the one-and-only local shop, but in the meanwhile, if anyone has a helpful idea I'm all ears.
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Junior
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2008 Linhai Aelous 300. I ride it like I stole it.
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Post by bones113 on Mar 4, 2015 4:13:44 GMT -6
I suggest checking the kickstand switch for a short. I had a similar problem and that is what it turned out to be. Took me a little while to figure it out. I just bypassed it and its been cranking every time since.
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New Student
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Post by rks on Mar 4, 2015 5:10:09 GMT -6
""After if first acted up, would start a couple times, but died with any effort to accelerate.""
Sure sounds like a fuel delivery problem. This possibility would be eliminated if spark plug is wet after failed attempt to start, and tell you it's something electrical. If plug is dry after trying unsucessfully to start engine, then fuel is the problem.
Or...pull the plug....ground it on the valve cover....and hit the starter. If you get a nice blue spark....your electrics are fine, and problem will be found in the fuel system.
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Post by JR on Mar 4, 2015 6:03:52 GMT -6
Doesn't have a kickstand switch, check the CDI plug and make sure it's getting a good connection, remember it's a DC type CDI no voltage, no fire at plug.
JR
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Post by ellpee on Mar 4, 2015 8:43:26 GMT -6
The fact that it did re-start 2-3 times makes me tend to think the ignition circuit is okay, and it ran on residual gas in the carb until that was all gone. Those few starts seemed normal, but as soon as I tried to add throttle it pooped out. At any rate, I've rented a cycle trailer from U-Haul and will take it down to the shop today and let them figure it out. Whole lot easier to check things when its up on a proper lift, and if plastics have to come off, I really don't want to deal with it.
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Post by JR on Mar 4, 2015 10:32:35 GMT -6
The fact that it did re-start 2-3 times makes me tend to think the ignition circuit is okay, and it ran on residual gas in the carb until that was all gone. Those few starts seemed normal, but as soon as I tried to add throttle it pooped out. At any rate, I've rented a cycle trailer from U-Haul and will take it down to the shop today and let them figure it out. Whole lot easier to check things when its up on a proper lift, and if plastics have to come off, I really don't want to deal with it. You've got a fuel pump quit or a very stopped up carb, had the same thing happen to me once, bad gas = very stopped up main jet and idle jet was almost totally clogged.
JR
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Post by ellpee on Mar 4, 2015 15:18:28 GMT -6
OK, we'll see what they say. They (Kymco dealer) gave me the usual lecture about "we don't touch this Chinese stuff except for very basic, routine maintenance." Getting tired of hearing that, to tell the truth. They did say, however, that fuel pumps and carbs are generic enough that they might have the parts if needed.
But their closest equivalent to my Roketa is a Kymco 300 at something in the upper $3K range, pretty much twice what I paid for the Roketa. Hope to squeeze some more road miles out of the Red Rocket before I part with it.
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Post by ellpee on Mar 11, 2015 13:47:59 GMT -6
Updating: Scooter shop says fuel is getting to the carb just fine, it'll start and idle all day, but doesn't want to accelerate, and they suspect a carb problem. Asked if they could remove the carb and check for clogged jets, etc., but they are reluctant to do that and won't even attempt to order a new carb. I've already found some on line, but am somewhat annoyed that they won't do a simple task like try to isolate the problem a little more by looking at the carb innards. Can't believe in a city of close to a million there's not one shop that will do anything more than the most basic stuff to Chinese scooter. Guess I'll just have to live with it. Labor's probably going to be five times what the new carb will cost. Grrrr.
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Post by JR on Mar 11, 2015 19:47:45 GMT -6
Carbs are cheap but cleaning a carb is simple too? But I'm betting one thing they got right, stopped up main jet, happens all the time especially when the problem is like you described. Could also be a hole in the diaphragm? Easy to pull the top off and check it for a hole or tear? I had one that tore and patched it with silicone until I got a new one and it worked just fine.
JR
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Post by ellpee on Mar 12, 2015 8:07:16 GMT -6
Yeah, I chose to pay as I hate pulling enough plastic to pull the carb. It'd be a real favor to buyers if Ching Chong Industries would engineer in large access panels on both sides to let you get at things easier. The shop mechanic did mention the diaphragm as possible cause. I did the carb on my trike over in Ruidoso, which you can get at much better from above -- removed it, dismantled it, cleaned and checked everything, and wouldn't have hesitated to do the same with the Roketa except for getting access to it first. I will for darn sure get the old carb and overhaul it, and keep it as a spare if it doesn't have a big crack in it or something..
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Post by ellpee on Mar 26, 2015 8:47:32 GMT -6
New carb and three hours of labor fixed it, back on the road, and it ran as before on the way home, about 20 miles. Have the old carb and will be examining it closely to identify the problem, as the shop absolutely declined to do so. Couldn't even talk their guy into doing it on his own time. If nothing else I now have assorted spare carb parts next time a problem arises. Interestingly, this carb looks very similar to the one on my Magnum trike over in Ruidoso.
Update: tore down the old carb, looked it over carefully. Both rubber diaphragms seemed fine. Jets, large jet seemed fine, smaller jet, couldn't be certain. In any event, blew carb cleaner and air through jets and all other tubes'n'tunnels, ran fine wire through jets, followed by more cleaner and air. Checked enricher as well, though unlikely that was my problem -- all okay as far as I could tell. So at this point I THINK I probably have a perfectly functional backup carb. Aybody need one? Frustrating that the shop couldn't do what I just did, but it would have cost me the same three hours of labor, or maybe an extra hour; as it is I had to dump $80 into a new carb and now have a spare one sitting around, possibly never to be used. Grrrrr.
BTW, shop mechanic was telling me he had the Kymco 700cc monster up to 120 on the Interstate, and was still not at WOT. WOW!
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