Carb floods if I leave the fuel tap on overnight

[Steam]

The carb floods if I leave the fuel tap on overnight. I have to drain it in the morning so it will start.
Simple solution though, I flick the tap off every time I get off the bike, but I wonder what could cause that?

It's an old 1988 KLR 250, Kawasaki.

[Ixion]

Leaking float valve, or fuel level too high. Pull car, remove bowl, check float height (you'll need a manual for the height). If the valve is brass you can lap it in with brasso (assuming it's not too bad). Otherwise you need a carb kit. The damn arz'ole is doing the same thing. On the right hand cylinder. BUT -- the plug on the right says it's very happy with life, thanks, it's a wonderful chocolate brown world. Whereas the left hand plug (the side which ISN'T flooding) is over rich and fouling. Go figure.

[Steam]

Thanks Ixion, I may have a look at those options one wintery weekend, if it becomes annoying enough to force me to.

[skidMark]

Leaking float valve, or fuel level too high. Pull car, remove bowl, check float height (you'll need a manual for the height). If the valve is brass you can lap it in with brasso (assuming it's not too bad). Otherwise you need a carb kit. The damn arz'ole is doing the same thing. On the right hand cylinder. BUT -- the plug on the right says it's very happy with life, thanks, it's a wonderful chocolate brown world. Whereas the left hand plug (the side which ISN'T flooding) is over rich and fouling. Go figure.


OMGODS HE MADE TYPO's


!!!!!!!!!

the only way this cld be better is if it was hitcher. :jerry:

[yod]

OMGODS HE MADE TYPO's


!!!!!!!!!

the only way this cld be better is if it was hitcher. :jerry:


:laugh:

nice try but whereas is actually a word

[pete376403]

Does the KLR250 have a vacuum fuel tap? If so are you leaving it in the "prime" position (which doesn't require the engine running - intake vacuum) to allow fuel through)

[Steam]

Does the KLR250 have a vacuum fuel tap? If so are you leaving it in the "prime" position (which doesn't require the engine running - intake vacuum) to allow fuel through)

Nope, a simple tap, one in, one out. Good idea though.

[surfer]

Its gravity doing its work. Your carb is gravity fed.
If you don't turn the fuel tap off and this continues what you may find is the fuel will trickle through the carb and into engine and mix with the oil. Then you will be royally fucked as you will have fouled the oil.

If left to continue the first you will notice is your engine making nasty knocking sounds before all of a sudden goes bang and ceases to work.

My 2c worth, check the consistency of the oil, if it feels gritty it has petrol mixed with it. You need to do an oil change. And always turn the fuel tap off when you stop riding.

[terbang]

Quite simply its your float valve leaking. Get a replacement part and you will probably find that your bike will run a bit better too. A lot of bikes have an auto on/off fuel tap that is vacuum operated, in other words it turns itself off when you shut the engine down and reopens when the engine is running. Its an idiot device really. However, if your bike only has a simple on/off/reserve type tap, then for reasons already mentioned, its a good idea to turn it off after you shutdown rather than just relying on the often unreliable float valve.

[Shadows]

Its gravity doing its work. Your carb is gravity fed.
If you don't turn the fuel tap off and this continues what you may find is the fuel will trickle through the carb and into engine and mix with the oil. Then you will be royally fucked as you will have fouled the oil.

If left to continue the first you will notice is your engine making nasty knocking sounds before all of a sudden goes bang and ceases to work.

My 2c worth, check the consistency of the oil, if it feels gritty it has petrol mixed with it. You need to do an oil change. And always turn the fuel tap off when you stop riding.

Surfer's on to it. You'll potentially be washing the oil out... no good at start up in particular.

[skidMark]

:laugh:

nice try but whereas is actually a word


but he said car instead of carb ha!

[yod]

but he said car instead of carb ha!

yep, car is a word too

:lol:

[F5 Dave]

Sometimes it is worth pulling out the float valve, hair can get behind it & stop it sealing. Valve itself will be vitron tipped, brass only went out many decades back. Sometimes can help a leaky seat by placing a ball bearing down the hole & giving it a smart tap with a punch. Check float level not too high. In the old days brass floats could leak.

[Ixion]

,, Valve itself will be vitron tipped, brass only went out many decades back. ,,.

Buggers can never leave anything alone. Turn y' back for a few seconds (so to speak) and they've messed around with it.

I'm sure I've seen brass valves on comparively recent bikes. Recentish , anyway. Brass carb BODIES, now those I'll grant you went out of fashion a while ago.. And wodda they make floats out of now, then.?

[kinger]

..... hair can get behind it & stop it sealing.......

My old car had a similar problem. Wouldn't start, fuel on the garage floor etc.
Mechanic, an elderly lad with a world of knowledge and experience, had it fixed in minutes.
I asked him what caused it, how did he fix it?
He replied, simply, "shit in the carb".
My reply......


















"How often do i need to do that?"

[pete376403]

.. And wodda they make floats out of now, then.?

Plastic, for the last thirty odd years

[Ixion]

Plastic, well that's a sort of brass, ain't it.

Supoose I ought to have a look at a modern carb, can't say I've noticed the absence of brass. Don't approve of it either, how do you solder plastic, eh?

EDIT: Actually seems to have been a LOT of things happen in the last thirty years that I've not noticed , and that I dont approve of. Orere Point road sealed, plastic carbs, what else I wonder?

[xwhatsit]

Yep, plastic float. Funny magic-metal float needle. All of this in a carb design dating from 1979 (30 years ago).

Plastic floats are nice, according to my Haynes. It talks about checking for leaks, but says something along the lines of `modern plastic floats almost never develop leaks, this being a problem of traditional brass floats'. So no soldering.

Still plenty of brass though, don't fret! Main jet, needle jet emulsion tube thingie. Jet needle looks kind of brassy, don't think it is though. Pilot mixture screw.

[F5 Dave]

Good old RG50s that are a mere 20 years old had brass floats. Predictably they had a habit of falling off & running pretty rancidly as far from home as possible.

It's incredible what one finds in rural Petrol station workshops posing as soldering irons that can't get enough heat together for the job. In the Electronics industry we have pissy little irons, but never have I seen such utter shite with some sort of coil for a tip & push a button to get it to go. Bah!