Honda gxv390

[john2189]

13 hp pull start motor. I can pull this with the choke on til I’m blue in the face, no start. Give it a shot of starting fluid, it fires right up, take the choke off and it runs great. I’m sure it’s a dirty carb, but does it hurt anything to use starter fluid?

[Urbish]

I would guess that your choke isn't closing all the way if it is running good once it gets going. Do you have the ability to partially disassemble the air intake side enough so that you can seal your hand over the intake of the carb to choke it and see if that works? You could inspect the operation of the choke at that time too.

I've used starting fluid only in limited occasions. If you have to use if every time, it's worth digging deeper to solve the underlying problem. That said, there probably isn't any concern with using starting fluid. As an alternative, you can put some gas in a small spray bottle (of a variety that won't decompose from the gas) and use that instead. It's much cheaper! As always, beware using either starting fluid or a spray of gas as any residual bit that doesn't make it in the carb can ignite if the engine backfires or if you have a stray spark.

[Urbish]

I found some information at this link: https://www.outdoorking.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=36768

Reading down through it, some people replace the choke spring with a weaker one to resolve this problem. You'll want to pull your air cleaner off to look at the choke operation and see if this is causing your problem.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Don't overlook the possibility of the carburetor bolts being loose, that will give the same symptoms

[john2189]

Jim, I read the link you sent and the choke does close and seems to be working. It doesn’t want to idle, so could the idle circuit be plugged?

John, the carb bolts are tight

[Urbish]

Ahh, if it won't idle, then you need to clean or rebuild the carburetor.

I have in a few instances 'cleaned' a carburetor without taking anything apart. I drain the fuel bowl, then fill the fuel bowl (through the fuel line) with carburetor cleaner. Full choke and crank it over to the point of flooding. Walk away for an hour, then reattach fuel line and try to start it.

[john2189]

Yes that might work if it’s gummed up.

Would the idle stop it from starting?

[Urbish]

Would the idle stop it from starting?

It depends on the carburetor design, but generally no. The idle fuel circuit is separate from the high speed fuel circuit. I'm not familiar with that engine or the particular carburetor design. Maybe somebody more knowledgeable will chime in.

[Don McCombs]

I’m not familiar with that carburetor, either. But, you can do some degree of cleaning, while the engine is running, with Deep Creep. It’s basically Seafoam in a spray can. Follow the label instructions.

[john2189]

Ok thanks

[MiCarl]

I have also seen this with engines that have very low compression. You don't get enough air drawn through the carburetor to lift fuel from the carburetor when cranking (or pulling). Once you get it spinning fast on the ether it draws enough to get fuel.

[john2189]

Seems to have good compression, it is rope start

[staninlowerAL]

You could check the valve clearance. I had a B&S engine once that the valve clearance was next to nothing and would not let the valves seat. Adjusted the clearance and solved the starting problem.

[john2189]

I will check the valves. Easy to do

[john2189]

Checked the valves. They were good