No pressure in the fuel tank

[Wes-1993]

Hi guys. New here! From Scotland.

I own a Millenium edition gtx ski. Going great so far now got 118 hours on the clock and fingers crossed it's going great. Only problem I had today was, it went really really low on fuel and cut out on me. Wouldn't start again. My mate towed me back to the slipway and I got it back onto the trailer. Went round to the petrol station and stuck 20£ of petrol in it. It still wouldn't start. On opening the fuel cap there was no hissing noise which told me there was no pressure. I undone a jubilee clip on one of the fuel lines going into the filter and manually put pressure into the fuel tank by blowing into it. And it started first time! Anyone any ideas as to why I'm not getting pressure? Thanks in advance

 

[AdamXP800]

Carbureted or fuel injected?

 

[Wes-1993]

Carb matey!

 

[Wes-1993]

Bump to the top

 

[Strizzo]

Did you switch to reserve when it cut out and then wouldn't start? Your selector could be plugged on that side or you might not have cranked enough to get the lines filled back to the carbs.

 

[Wes-1993]

Put it to reserve and still nothing after cranking it a good few times mate. Any advice as to what to take apart first? Cheers

 

[68ragtop]

How long are your cranking? While I would never recommend a long crank without giving the starter a break, Once all the lines have air in them, it can take a really long time to get the fuel back into the carbs. Its just a simple diaphragm fuel pump that keeps up just fine for the engines fuel needs, but has its work cut out for it when the system is empty.

My guess is, you either haven't cranked it long enough, or the machine stopped running for another reason. you could also try pulling the plugs & putting a 1/2 teaspoon or less of fuel into each cylinder & see if it fires up. However, its best to use a mixture of injection oil/fuel when doing this. The raw fuel will wash some of the lubrication off the cylinders otherwise. all it should really take is about 10 drips.

 

[Wes-1993]

I'm not really keen on doing stuff like that mate I'm more likely to break it lol. Once I manually blow pressure into it it starts fine and idles fine. Should I just fill it up and take it a blast and see if it cures itself? Thanks

 

[68ragtop]

double post

 

[68ragtop]

I'm not really keen on doing stuff like that mate I'm more likely to break it lol. Once I manually blow pressure into it it starts fine and idles fine. Should I just fill it up and take it a blast and see if it cures itself? Thanks

If it will only run with you pressurizing the tank, it sounds like you possibly have a failed fuel pump. It should suck the fuel out of the tank no pressure required at all.

 

[Wes-1993]

So the diaphragm could be needing replaced? Is it a case of taking the top off the carb and the diaphragm is easily accessible? Or is it much more complicated than that? Cheers

 

[soccerdad]

You need to pull the carb to replace it. So that means pulling the airbox, FA, and both carbs. Not tough but a little more than taking the top off the carb. The fuel pump diaphragm then is really easy to get to. http://www.mikuni.com/pdf/sbn_manual.pdf The manual should help you. You should at least open up both carbs and make sure the internal fuel filters are clean while you have them off. Also, check the carb sticky at the top of this forum section for more info. You can do a quick cleanup while you are there. You should get a carb kit with the new diaphragms and gaskets. It included the fuel pump diaphragm and gasket.

 

[Wes-1993]

Ok great thanks. Any idea price wise what I'm looking at for the parts? Thanks a lot appreciate the help!

 

[soccerdad]

In the US they are in the $40-70 range I think. The mikuni kits are recommended by many. There are others out there as well. I got a cheaper one and it worked fine, but have heard of quality issues on some.

 

[Wes-1993]

Ok thanks well obviously I'm from the UK. But I'll have a look and see what I can get! Cheers