Need help finding qualified mechanic in Raleigh NC area.

[pistolpete]

The short version is that I have a Manco Kart with a Subaru engine . It's in excellent shape and I bought it off of Craigslist for my kids for Christmas. I initially had some issues with the carb, but got some help with disassembling it here -> http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23751

and after that it ran perfect. It would start on the first pull on a cold morning. The kids and I ran it around for a few days starting on Christmas day and it ran perfect. We must have put about 3-4 hours on it in a few days. Then on day three the kids are slowing cruising around the yard and it just dies. I now can't get it started no matter what. Yes it has almost a full tank of brand new Ethanol free gas (That's all I use in my small engines). I haven't dug into it yet (started a Tree house project for the kids last week), but I don't have a lot of experience with these small engines. I will check if it has spark. It does seem to smell like gas when I'm pulling the pull string. Like it's getting flooded.

I have a feeling that I'm going to need an expert to look at it. Does anyone know of a qualified person/place that can look at it in the Raleigh NC area? I've taken a generator and a push edger to two different places in my area of Clayton (south east of Raliegh) and they both sucked and didn't seem very honest.

Any advice is welcome. My kids are being very patient, but obviously they would like to get their Go Kart running again.

Thank you in advance for the help.

Pete

 

[landuse]

I am sorry that your toy is out of commission. You might find that the carb has gotten blocked again. I would give it another clean just to try and rule out that possibility.

What you can try is take the spark plug out, put a teaspoon of gas in the hole, replace the plug and try start the engine. Does it try and run for a second or two and then die? If so, then it is a fuel delivery problem and I would be looking at your carb to see what the engine is. Check to see if you also have spark. You can either hold the plug against the engine block (while connected to the plug boot) and pull the cord. If you see spark then you are OK. You could also just hold it in your hand and if you get a shock (not too nice) you are OK.

Report back with your findings

 

[Half-breeder]

... Then on day three the kids are slowing cruising around the yard and it just dies. I now can't get it started no matter what.

Mine did that acouple times in the past... found a short in the kill switch wire under the seat(got pinched and grounded out). Took forever to troubleshoot it on my own.

Pull the wire for the kill switch off the motor n see if it starts... may be all there is to it... just run another wire/switch.

 

[zbuck]

On the just dieing part. Did it just cut off or did it act like it was starving for gas, such as the gov'r hunting? Pull it over a few times and pull the spark plug to check if its wet from gas. If so, then check for spark, if no spark, pull the kill wire off the mag and check for spark again. Also does this engine have a low oil shut down?

 

[pistolpete]

I am sorry that your toy is out of commission. You might find that the carb has gotten blocked again. I would give it another clean just to try and rule out that possibility.

What you can try is take the spark plug out, put a teaspoon of gas in the hole, replace the plug and try start the engine. Does it try and run for a second or two and then die? If so, then it is a fuel delivery problem and I would be looking at your carb to see what the engine is. Check to see if you also have spark. You can either hold the plug against the engine block (while connected to the plug boot) and pull the cord. If you see spark then you are OK. You could also just hold it in your hand and if you get a shock (not too nice) you are OK.

Report back with your findings

Mine did that acouple times in the past... found a short in the kill switch wire under the seat(got pinched and grounded out). Took forever to troubleshoot it on my own.

Pull the wire for the kill switch off the motor n see if it starts... may be all there is to it... just run another wire/switch.

On the just dieing part. Did it just cut off or did it act like it was starving for gas, such as the gov'r hunting? Pull it over a few times and pull the spark plug to check if its wet from gas. If so, then check for spark, if no spark, pull the kill wire off the mag and check for spark again. Also does this engine have a low oil shut down?

Thank you all for the great troubleshooting ideas. My kids were riding it at the time and say it seemed to die as if getting starved of gas. Though when I try to start it I smell gas very strongly and it doesn't even come close to catching and running which makes me think that there is a problem with the kill switch. It has a red kill switch on the engine which also wired to a kill switch on the steering wheel.

I will then run through the steps that you've all recommended starting with the kill switches, checking for spark, checking the oil level, and then taking the carb apart again. I'll report back with my findings.

It would be great to get this thing running again. Thanks a bunch for all of your input. This is a great forum with very helpful people.

 

[landuse]

Thank you all for the great troubleshooting ideas. My kids were riding it at the time and say it seemed to die as if getting starved of gas. Though when I try to start it I smell gas very strongly and it doesn't even come close to catching and running which makes me think that there is a problem with the kill switch. It has a red kill switch on the engine which also wired to a kill switch on the steering wheel.

I will then run through the steps that you've all recommended starting with the kill switches, checking for spark, checking the oil level, and then taking the carb apart again. I'll report back with my findings.

It would be great to get this thing running again. Thanks a bunch for all of your input. This is a great forum with very helpful people.

No problem. Check for spark first, because that will tell you if it is a kill switch problem or not

 

[pistolpete]

No problem. Check for spark first, because that will tell you if it is a kill switch problem or not

Thank you for the tip landuse. The name of your location made me curious so I looked up some pictures of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. It looks like a beautiful place. How long have you lived there and how do you like it?


I lived in Costa Rica for a little while when I was 21 and have tried to convince my wife to move there for years.

 

[landuse]

Thank you for the tip landuse. The name of your location made me curious so I looked up some pictures of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. It looks like a beautiful place. How long have you lived there and how do you like it?


I lived in Costa Rica for a little while when I was 21 and have tried to convince my wife to move there for years.

Thanks. I have lived here for nearly 9 years now. It is a nice smallish town, and I like the fact that you can get anywhere you want to withing 10 - 15 minutes or less. Before I moved here I used to live in Johannesburg. That was too big for my liking, and people used to drive like maniacs on the highway. If you didn't keep up with the speed you could cause some accidents

Costa Rica also looks nice. I have only seen parts of it on TV of course, but I imagine it would be nice to live there

 

[machinist@large]

Thanks. I have lived here for nearly 9 years now. It is a nice smallish town, and I like the fact that you can get anywhere you want to withing 10 - 15 minutes or less.

Sounds a lot like my neighborhood; with decent traffic, I can make the run from home in farm country to work less than a mile from Down Town Grand Rapids MI in ~30 minutes. The last few days, though? It's looked like this...VVVV

Before I moved here I used to live in Johannesburg. That was too big for my liking, and people used to drive like maniacs on the highway. If you didn't keep up with the speed you could cause some accidents

You just described my commute the last couple of days....

Costa Rica also looks nice. I have only seen parts of it on TV of course, but I imagine it would be nice to live there

The #1 reason it's such an enticing place to live is because it hasn't been "DISCOVERED" yet; the people who announce these "DISCOVERIES" are the harbingers of doom for anyone who wants to stay sane....

 

[pistolpete]

Thank you all again for your help. I first checked the spark plug and it wasn't sparking so the kids and I went to the auto parts store and bought a new one. Put it in and the engine started right up. The kids rode it the whole weekend and it didn't miss a beat.

Thanks again for helping me!!!!!!

 

[OzFab]

That's why we're here, glad you got it sorted without having to resort to "professional help"

 

[landuse]

Yeah! I am glad you got it sorted out

 

[jandj]

Anyone remember the good old days when Champion plugs would die once they got "fuel wet"? Used to keep a couple extras in the saddlebags on the Shovelhead...