06 DS stopped running and now won't start

[kev2504]

my buddies 06 DS just stopped running while driving. The motor turns over but won't fire. pulled spark plug and there is spark. pulled gas line off fuel pump and while turning over gas comes out of the hose. we did not check the battery voltage. we put a different spark plug in and still no fire, pulled the spark plug and it was pretty wet. I personally did not check the spark, but my buddy did.
We were thinking it is the carburetor. any help would be great.

[CP241]

I'd have to guess one of 3 things...

Either there's dirt in the carb keeping the needle open and it's flooding
He has old ethanol gas and his carb is full of water. Motors can't run on water.

or, there's spark but it's not strong enough of a spark to ignite. The spark should be fat and blue. If it's white or yellowish then it's not going to be strong enough of a spark to run.

[kev2504]

We did have him order a new carb. We will put that on with a new plug and see what happens. We'll check the voltage as well.

[CP241]

If the starter is spinning the motor over, battery voltage is not the issue.

I would highly recommend just cleaning the carb. If the tank is full of water from old gas, cleaning the carb (free) vs. buying a carb and spending money is a no-brainer. Plus the aftermarket carbs have shown to be "less than desired" quality and frequently create more problems than they solve. A $3 can of carb cleaner and some compressed air on the OEM carb works a lot better than replacing it with an aftermarket carb, and a lot cheaper than spending $200 on a new OEM Keihin carb.

Further, if there IS water in the gas/bad gas, you will want to COMPLETELY drain the tank. in a DS you can't remove the tank without removing the body, but you can take a length of fish tank hose and siphon the tank as dry as you can get it. Then, use a flexible claw tool and shop towels to dry it out the rest of the way. Replace fuel lines and filter and fill with fresh gas. I personally never keep more than a gallon or two of gas in my cart. Even though I use it every day, I don't drive it enough to go through the gas before it goes bad if I fill the tank.

And check spark to make sure it's fat and blue. Not just "yep, it's got spark". If it's white or yellow in color, it's probably not strong enough to ignite the air/fuel mixture to make the engine run. And that is likely caused by a failing ignition coil (no fun to replace).

[kev2504]

Thanks for the info. I don't believe there is water in the tank. I will double check the spark. my buddy did buy a knockoff carb. He didn't want to deal with cleaning it or having it rebuilt. we'll see what he wants to do. Not really my problem, just trying to get as much info for him to try. I have enough of my own stuff to worry about.

[kantuckian]

Weak Coil

[NeoZ]

I had a similar issue with mine and it was a weak coil. I got spark but not strong enough. Replacing the coil did the trick

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Usually this is the result of a bad RPM limiter. The RPM limiter is mounted above the oil drain plug on the front of the engine. It's a little black box. Reach behind the RPM limiter and you'll find a small metal band, somewhat like a twist-tie, holding the kill wire circuit and bullet connector. Unravel the band and pull the wire out. Unplug the Bullet connector. This will allow the ignition coil to function on it's own without the RPM limiter or the kill-switch in the circuit. Fair warning though, the engine will not shut off on it's own after you unplug this wire so don't be alarmed if it tries to idle when you release the pedal. You can hold the choke button to kill it. Try driving it with this wire unplugged and see if the problem goes away. If the problem no longer exists, the RPM limiter is your issue. If it still exists, it's in the coil. Once you determine the problem, order the correct OEM replacement part to fix it. Don't buy aftermarket ignition components. They're junk.

OEM Coil #101909201
RPM Limiter #101909401