Starting probs with an Elite 80.(fuel starve)

[mrpaul]

Hello all,
Having a little trouble starting my '87 honda elite 80.......
Last friday she wouldnt start at all and after a weekend of tinkering and reading forums (this one especially) I managed to work out that the starter relay had gone kaput. Today I managed to bypass the relay and get the starter to work ( proving that the starter wasn't the prob).
Now I have everything back together and I find there is no fuel reaching the carb. I admit the scoot was at an odd angle while I was working on her....maybe the fuel drained out of the carb....... do i have to prime it or anything, is there a fuel pump i might have disabled by bypassing the relay.
All help will be appreciated, I was hoping to take an 800 mile trip on the old gal this coming week-end.

Thanks all.

[motormike]

There is no fuel pump on the Elite 80.
There is, however, a vacuum controlled petcock that will fail to open should the vacuum hose to it become dislodged or split.
You may have emptied the carburetor float bowl if the scooter was tipped over to work on it.
It should refill once the engine is being spun with the starter to create the necessary vacuum.
Those petcocks have been known to get stuck in the OFF position.
To CHECK : remove the fuel inlet hose at the carb inlet.
Remove the VACUUM hose at the intake manifold inlet.
Using great caution, slowly pull a vacuum on the vacuum hose with your mouth,
and fuel should flow from the fuel inlet hose.
There is a rubber diaphragm inside the petcock that acts as the "on-off valve"
and it can get stuck or damaged or clogged up with sediment.
I believe the petcock can be dis-assembled to repair and clean.
Good luck with your investigations....

[mrpaul]

Thanks Mike.
Everything you said makes sense, however, for clarification, if I put suction/vacuum to the intake manifold hose and nothing comes out of the carb inlet hose, is that telling me that the diaphragm is stuck in the "off" position?
Also if I apply vacuum and the carb inlet does flow, should i reconnect the carb inlet and keep applying vacuum to fill up the float bowl in the carb?

Thanks for your help to a noob.

[hondafan]

If you disconnect the fuel line from the carb no fuel should come out but a little it should not continue to flow. It should only flow when vacuum is applied. If you were cranking it over and over you may have flooded the motor. Pull the plug and see if wet.