No Start, Not Sure What Else it Could Be!

[peak incompetence]

Hi, I recently bought a beat up Hawk 250. Not ridden very hard, just poorly modded. The battery it had was too small, so I had to kick start it to turn it on, but once on it would stay on. There was sputtering when I went full throttle at low RPMs, but otherwise, it was fine.

I was able to ride it 40 minutes to car wash, then, after a hard start, about 15 minutes back home. The next morning, I was able to start it and run it with a very high idle until it was warm enough to change the oil.

Once I changed the oil, all bets were off. Could not start it. There seemed to be no spark, so I bought this kit.

I ended up removing the wiring harness from the bike, and installing this kit except for the key and killswitch. I now have (weak, but consistent) spark.

The bike came with a Nibbi carb and an aftermarket exhaust. The carb has a 105 jet and the needle is set to the 4th notch down. The air/fuel screw is 2.5 turns out. I have fuel flow to the carb; the bowl fills up. I'm unsure if I have fuel leaving the carb, but when I use starter fluid, nothing happens. Altitude is 925ft.

I adjusted both valves to .06mm, spark plug gap to .032", and I've checked all the connections. The ignition coil has 1 ohm resistance.

One thing of note is that the old CDI was 6 pin, rounded connectors, and the new one is 5 pin, square connectors. Could this be a timing issue?

When I try to start the bike, I put it in neutral, turn off(on?) the kill switch, and press the starter. All it does is turn over. I've tried spraying starter fluid directly into the carb, to no avail.

This is my first Chinese bike, first carbureted bike, and first time I've taken over somebody else's project.

If you have any ideas for troubleshooting/tuning the Nibbi carb, I'd love to hear them because as of now, I'm at a stand still.

[JerryHawk250]

Make sure you have an AC CDI and Not DC.

[peak incompetence]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Make sure you have an AC CDI and Not DC.

Would AC vs DC create a no start situation? Do they make AC CDI's in the 3+2 square connector config or do I need to rewire for the 4+2 round connecters? Is there a specific CDI you could point me towards that you know works for the Hawk? Thanks!

[JerryHawk250]

This is a direct replacement. https://amzn.to/4d2meLo

[Megadan]

Which nibbi carb is it? 28 or 30mm? Sounds to me like the pilot jet is the wrong size, so you are having a double whammy of poor fueling and ignition issues.

Don't forget to check the ground for the primary side of the coil. Also test the coil as it could just be bad/weak. (assuming it isn't the CDI you bought)

[Bruces]

What happens when you spray starter fluid in it ?does it fire for a second or two or nothing at all ?

[peak incompetence]

Originally Posted by Bruces

What happens when you spray starter fluid in it ?does it fire for a second or two or nothing at all ?

Nothing at all. No sign of life.

[bigdano711]

I'm at 6000'+ elevation and I'm using a 108 main jet, about to go 110, so I'd say definitely up that main jet...120 or 125. What pilot? I'd go 40 on the pilot just to be sure there's fuel, but you might need a 38. Put the needle back to middle and set the air mixture screw to 1.5 turns out. With the air mixture screw at 1.5 turns out, you have half a turn (roughly) of adjustment in either direction. Choke on?


Also, since it was running with the old wiring harness, I'd go through it checking continuity and if good, I'd go back to it...maybe put new waterproof connectors on it.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by bigdano711

I'm at 6000'+ elevation and I'm using a 108 main jet, about to go 110, so I'd say definitely up that main jet...120 or 125. What pilot? I'd go 40 on the pilot just to be sure there's fuel, but you might need a 38. Put the needle back to middle and set the air mixture screw to 1.5 turns out. With the air mixture screw at 1.5 turns out, you have half a turn (roughly) of adjustment in either direction. Choke on?

Rough Density Altitude adjustment for jets is 1 point per 1000ft. So if you are running a 110 at 6000ft and you came down to 1000ft, you would want to up to a 115.

[Bruces]

Originally Posted by peak incompetence

Nothing at all. No sign of life.

You have no spark .

[bigdano711]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Rough Density Altitude adjustment for jets is 1 point per 1000ft. So if you are running a 110 at 6000ft and you came down to 1000ft, you would want to up to a 115.

Good call, Megadan. I read that at one point but my mind is like a sieve. Retention at all time low!

[peak incompetence]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Which nibbi carb is it? 28 or 30mm? Sounds to me like the pilot jet is the wrong size, so you are having a double whammy of poor fueling and ignition issues.

Don't forget to check the ground for the primary side of the coil. Also test the coil as it could just be bad/weak. (assuming it isn't the CDI you bought)

It's the 30mm carb. Do I just need to play around with different sizes or is there a way to tell whether I need to go up or down?

The coil is directly grounded and has 1ohm resistance. Are there better ways to test than checking resistance?

[peak incompetence]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Rough Density Altitude adjustment for jets is 1 point per 1000ft. So if you are running a 110 at 6000ft and you came down to 1000ft, you would want to up to a 115.

Cool, I'll try 115/40 and see how that does.

[peak incompetence]

Originally Posted by bigdano711

I'm at 6000'+ elevation and I'm using a 108 main jet, about to go 110, so I'd say definitely up that main jet...120 or 125. What pilot? I'd go 40 on the pilot just to be sure there's fuel, but you might need a 38. Put the needle back to middle and set the air mixture screw to 1.5 turns out. With the air mixture screw at 1.5 turns out, you have half a turn (roughly) of adjustment in either direction. Choke on?


Also, since it was running with the old wiring harness, I'd go through it checking continuity and if good, I'd go back to it...maybe put new waterproof connectors on it.

Yep, choke on. Going to try 115/40 and turn the screw to 1.5 out. Also installing the new AC CDI tomorrow so hopefully that combination does something for me.

I only changed out the harness because it wasn't starting with the old one.

[peak incompetence]

Originally Posted by Bruces

You have no spark .

I can visually confirm that I have spark. It's a weak looking spark, but it's there. Going to try out the new AC CDI and see if that gives me a stronger spark.