Gas troubles with my harley davidson

derka derka

Hi i have a harley davidson 3 wheel golf cart, im not sure what year it is but im woundering what draws the gas from the tank to the carberator because on mine there is no gas making it to the engin or the carberator its not drawing it out does anybody know whats wrong

BGW

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smkummer

Your carburator has its own fuel pump system. So it can be a clogged fuel filter, worn carburator or from what I have read here, the engine seals not allowing enough suction. I may have to rebuild my carb someday as I am needing choke to get it started on even a hot day. Although once it is started, it stays running without choke.

tew45

It could be several things even the check valve on the gas pick up in the fuel tank. The fuel pump, the reed valve, crankshaft seals or a fuel line leak or some of the things that will cause poor fuel delivery.

Don B.

I found a busted reed on one of mine; you can buy stainless ones for <$6. the original ones awere brass which does get brittle just like any other metal;
Alot of places sell the "reed plate assembly" for ~$35ish; I doubt you'd need the whole assembly; once you take the carb and reed plate off there's 1 screw that holds it to the plate..... it too is brass, mine "twisted off"; I put a standard #10-24 machine screw and nut on mine with the "star" type lockwashers;
just make sure the "leaves" are centered over the holes in the reed plate when that screw is tight....

Don B.

and oh; finding that bad reed was sheer luck; I had to pull the carb "anyway" (it was missing parts) had I not had to yank the carb "anyway" I'd have been going crazy trying to figure out why my engine wouldnt draw fuel; I know it runs on its own power as I sprayed gas into it from a Windex bottle; but IDK yey (hoping not) if I "also" have a crank seal issue.

vwralfy

gadzooks! let us know what you find out, derka derka!

HDinsane

I have just recently had the same issue. My result ended up being total engine overhaul so make sure you have good compression case seals etc. This also included rebuilt carb etc. basically everything but the crankshaft and case replaced. After all this the system still didn't want to pull fuel so I installed an external micro fuel pump (2-3.5 lb. flow. I found this at the local auto parts supply store for around $50.) and supplied power at the solenoid connected where the accelerator is connected and grounded to the frame so I didn't have a constant running pump. Anyway, to make a long story short, this eliminated my fuel flow issue. Hope this helps!

tew45

When I first started a rebuild on my basket case Harley, I found water every place it could possibly get. Even in the crank case. The check valve ball was rusted. I replaced the ball and machined a new seat but the fuel pump could not pull fuel from the tank because the check valve would leak back some or the pump itself was weak. I installed an outboard motor primer pump and had to use it a couple of times a week. That was 8 years ago now I almost never have to use it. I use it when I run the tank dry or purge the fuel system when I suspect condensate in the tank. It seemed to heal with use so I really don't know exactly what the original problem was. But the fuel pump or primer pump both will work satisfactory.

Lochlin

I think the very, very first thing you want to do is check your engine compression. If it isn't good then that must be taken care of before anything else can happen. Even if the engine compression isn't the root cause of your fuel not making it to your engine it will be next to impossible to figure out what is the root cause if your compression isn't confirmed as being ok.

To check the compression go out and get a compression gauge. Harbor Freight has them for $10. Are they good quality? No. Would you want to check a car with it? No. They are ok for a golf cart though.

The compression gauge screws into your spark plug socket. Once in place hit the gas and see what the guage says. If it's less then 90 psi you have a little problem. If it's less than 80 psi you have a bigger problem.

I am offering this up in that with many older carts decent compression seems to be prevelant. It is impossible for piston rings to last forever hence the prevelance of poor compression in these older carts.

Please excuse my amateur lingo here. You may well know how to check these things. I didn't which is why I am throwing it out there.

tew45

My compression on a rebuild usually runs about 85# and after break in around 90#. I have run them on 70# but they tend to deteriorate rapidly. If the compression reads 80 expect a top end rebuild in the near future. On a fresh top end before break in the compression will be a little higher in reverse because the engine will turn faster and will read a little higher. after break in the compression will read about the same in F as well as R.