honda gxh50 fuel problem

A suspected "stuck float" can possibly be remedied by LIGHTLY tapping the carb float bowl area with the handle of a screw driver. The vibration may un-stick it. It may not. This may assist in clearing up a no fuel problem or a flooding problem if related to the float. Be easy here. We don't want to whack it so hard that you end up sheering the carb off the engine:devilish:.

I always treat my fuel with Pri-G. It tends to prevent or minimize fuel related fouling of the carb (gumming and varnishing) while sitting over time and not being used. Maintain a clean air filter at all times. Your piston rings, lands, skirts and valve faces/guides will last a lot longer. So will internal bearing surfaces. The engine oil will remain cleaner from external abrasive particulates.
 
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Make sure you have oil and then disable the low oil sensor (mine stays off) by disconnecting the wires. That will at least rule out a malfunctioning low oil sensor.

I cannot ride mine with it connected because it shuts off every time I hit a bump, which is why I know to unplug it anyway.
 
Clearly this is fuel related. If it was the low oil, he couldn't keep it going by fiddling with the choke.

Are the governor linkages freely moving? What about if you control the engine speed with the throttle butterfly directly instead of the governor?

Also, take the fuel line off the carb abd let it run into a gas can. Does it run 100% freely? It should not dribble, it should be able to gravit drain about 1/2 gallon in 2 or 3 minutes.

You say you used 2 filters, but I never ran without a filter and still got stuff in the carb. Are your filters paper filters or something like this?

http://www.manddsmallengine.com/briggs/parts/images/298090S.jpg

If it is like the one linked above, it is a screen filter and will let large enough bits in to clog the jets. Guess how I know that. Only use a paper filter something like this:

http://www.bearperkins.com/images/fuel_filter_0012.JPG

There are many good ones and one is plenty.

Unfortunately, once the carb is clogged, the only way to make sure it is good to go is to take it off and clean it part by part. Again, guess how I know.
 
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Yes I'll bet you the answer lies in HoughMade's & Honda 50's comments. I'd first check that the shonky little filter inside the tank isn't blocked and that the shonkier HT fuel cock hasn't got dags of alloy that are blocking the flow. I'd take the whole fuel cock assembly out and throw it over the neighbours fence and buy a brass barb to fit the tank and a on\off inline fuel switch and use a paper filter. Then if the problem is still happening I'd take the carby apart as per the instructions above. All the new Hondas have that cursed low oil cut off and I'm glad I read that it needs to be disconnected because it operates on bumps. Is this absolutely true? All my previous Hondas didn't have this oil cut off thingy.
It has to be the fuel line that is causing this problem somewhere between the carby and the tank.
 
I run the low oil switch without any problems.

Also, the GXH50 I have has a fuel shutoff at the engine, so like you said, I just have a barb and a hose that runs to the filter and from the filter to engine.
 

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I run the low oil switch without any problems.QUOTE]

Thanks HoughMade, so I don't need to take off the low oil cut-off gear which added $40 to the motor's price. I can't see your cut off wires on any of my large library of pics of your bike. My newest Honda has the electrical box thingy under the engine casing with wires leading up to the on\off switch and then bunched up just below the on\off switch in a rather ugly fashion. I was just going to wire the kill switch into the wires as per normal and hope that the cut\off switch will work OK. It is imperative to have a thumb-controlled cut-off for when police get too nosey. If this doesn't work I'll have to take the engine out and remove the whole kit & caboodle and that is a pain. It would be good to know at the outset if it is going to work. If you say yours doesn't cut out at 40 mph thundering over the bumpy plains of Indiana then I guess it has to be OK.
 
I run the low oil switch without any problems.QUOTE]

Thanks HoughMade, so I don't need to take off the low oil cut-off gear which added $40 to the motor's price.

Only you can say. I bought my brand new Honda and every time I went over any significant bump the whole thing shut down every block or two.

Disconnected the low oil shut off wire and its run flawlessly since. My sensor may have been more sensitive than others, I just know I can't ride with it connected.
 
Only you can say. I bought my brand new Honda and every time I went over any significant bump the whole thing shut down every block or two.

Disconnected the low oil shut off wire and its run flawlessly since. My sensor may have been more sensitive than others, I just know I can't ride with it connected.
The Honda 50 engine(with cut-off switch) is designed to work to a maximum of 15 degrees from horizontal before this switch automatically engages....possibly your engine is tilted too far forewards to start with,or u have a faulty(over sensative) switch.Dunno exactly how the switch works,might just be a simple mercury switch.
Whatever the reason your engine should NOT be cutting-out with large bumps/general hard riding alone.........not unless your a secret Crusty Demon & havn't told us. :D
 
I have the rear mounted rack Staton gear/chain drive set up. If I go over some really rough bumps, at high speed, my engine will stall. I kind of expect it to stall over such a surface and besides it's seems to be unsafe under such conditions, ripe for a wipe out or close to it. Whether the stalling is caused by oil slosh or fuel bowl slosh, I don't like taking the bike over such rough paths at high speed anyway since it is not good for the bike in a general way, like my rims. I don't beat on my expensive toys. Sometimes you just can't help it. For me it's somewhat rare to stall out, but it has happened to me too. I'm not too concerned. So, when I do stall out, I get the feeling I was riding too fast over too rough terrain. So now I try to match the speed to the terrain or road surface when possible. And that seems to work out for both bike and myself.

With any four stroke, mounting it level as mentioned above is critical. On my set-up, I have to take into consideration what final position the engine winds up in after the chain tension is set. The engine pivots on a long bolt just behind the seat for adjustment. I have already removed a link or two from the chain to compensate for chain break-in and allow the engine to remain in a near level operating position to ensure the crankcase oil is level as well.
 
I know this is an ancient thread, but I came across it, and right away I knew what it was, and can't get over that feeling of the kid in class waving his hand in the air, "I know! I know! I know!": This is a vaccume leak, probalby the manifold gasket, you are sucking in air somewhere, choking the carb enriches the mixture enough to compensate. This engine should not be able to run at all with the choke on, period, and if it can, then you are sucking in extra air, someplace. I went through a lot of this adapting a walbro type rotary valve carb and it's manifold to my engine, by trial and error.
 
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