Columbia with HD engine no start
 

Brought it home yesterday. Engine turns over in forward and reverse. Has spark but weak. When cranks it seems slow. With plug out it's a lot quicker. Do these starters get week? Battery is questionable. Had charger on it. Might swap batteries if I can find my Optima. Cart takes side post.

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

Your battery probably lost a lot of cranking amps. When you crank with the plug out compression drops to zero which would lessen to need for good amps from the battery.

Starters will get weak when the brushes get worn down and need replaced but you should try a new battery before you mess with the starter.

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

ill take battery out of one of my trucks and see if changes.



so if crank slow possible to rebuild starter?

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

Those starters can be rebuilt for sure. It can be as easy as a brush replacement but I like to replace the entire top with one of these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/19424756862...SABEgKYUvD_BwE

Note that I am not endorsing that specific one and only posted the link to provide an example of what I mean.

Replacing the whole top get you new brushes and springs which do wonders for these old starters.

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

Swapped out battery and cranks much faster. Now looks like a week spark. Barely can see it. Should be able to hear it pop with a blue spark. I'll get a new plug and clean all connections. Might need points adjusted if it has them.

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

I used the same kind of kit on my yamaha's Hitachi. Makes the job real easy :thumbup:

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

fresh gas, changed filter, the correct spark plug and battery on charger , I got it to run but rough. Gas was dripping pretty fast off the carb. Probably just order a new replacement one.

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

Check out the fuel draw sticky on top of the HD section as well. While gas dripping out of the carb can, indeed, be a sign of a bad carb, it can also be a sign that your engine isn't developing the vacuum needed to draw it from the carb to the cylinder.

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

Update, new carb put on the cart. had to do a little work to get the cables to attach to the carb. air cleaner on order, stock wont work. Ordered a Uni air filter. The engine spits and sputters and needs about half choke to run. Dont usually run fast enough to get the clutch to engage to move. The engine will clear out enough and engine runs fast enough to spin tires. Have it jacked up with back wheels off ground. When it runs blue smoke pours out of muffler. Thinking running way rich or not getting good spark and flooding. How do I test coil to see if not week? what other areas con I test or look at?

Re: Columbia with HD engine no start
 

I'm no guru on these units (yet :lol:) but I'm thinking you're on the right track. It could be a combination of those two things. Before really tearing into it all, I'd suggest testing out your coil, plug wire, and then checking to see what shape your plug is in now.

I was in similar situation where fuel was pushing back into the air and out the screw on the bottom - ended up doing complete carb job, but it was only after I found a faulty plug wire and coil that it rectified. Not saying that's your problem, but worth a check and see.

Test your wire on the bench with an ohm meter, and while it's reading, move it around to see if continuity breaks anywhere. That short little wire should have very little resistance.

I believe there's a sticky on testing the coil too - both of these will require a digital multimeter.