Solex Flooding???

Hey all,

Well, I "wanted" to drive the Jeep to werk today with the weather darn near perfect for such things. However, I couldn't get it fired up.
I went through my normal routine, that is, pull the choke out part way, pump the gas pedal about 10 times, and turn the key. I got the normal quick fire for just a second, which tells me that I need to pump the gas pedal a couple more times. But it never did fire after that. All it would do is crank and crank with no sign of life.

Here's what I know....

I have 12 volts at the coil.
I have fire at the #1 plug.
#1 plug looked dry.
Pulling the throttle linkage produces a nice wet squirt inside the carb.
I have fuel pressure at the carb.
Distributor is still snug and didn't move freely.

Unless I'm missing something, all the above should eliminate most troubles, so I'm thinking I may have flooded the engine. I did try holding the pedal to the floor while cranking, but no results there either. So before I go nuts and start pulling everything apart, here's what I'm asking...

What is the symptoms of a flooded engine? Is it similar to my situation?

If I get home tonite and it still won't fire, should I try some starting fluid?
I'm thinking that if it'll fire with the starting fluid, that'll eliminate electrical.

Have any of you guys had similar troubles with Solex's being cranky?

Thanks in advance...

 

Yeah, that makes sense. I had just ran it on Monday, so it could have still had gas available. I'll try again tonite....

Thanks.

 

:?

The #1 looked good and dry, a light grey color.
What's the thinking behind replacing the plugs? Does flooding
the engine foul them or something? FWIW, plugs are as new as
the engine is, only 260 miles on them....

 

Second to what Billy says. I flooded mine on a really cold nite when I needed to plow. Fought with it like you did, pulled the plugs and replaced 'em. Boom! fired right up. Cold start after sitting: pull choke all the way, ONE pump ( just to get a shot in there) and crank it over. Starts every time. If you look at the fuel load you're putting in with each pump of the pedal you see why it'll flood. BTW I use a 6v starter on mine, really spins it over on 12v.

 

OK, that's all I need. I trust your experiences, so I'll buy TWO sets. One for now, and another "just in case". So now the real question....Which plug? Champion R45's, right?

Thanks!

 

Hey Guys,

OK Update. FIRST THING when I got home (much to the dismay of my wife who missed her hello kiss...) I went out and fired it right up. I simply pulled the choke out, and didn't even touch the gas pedal. It went VROOM! within the first second or so.

Also related, I did stop and buy some replacement plugs, but Old Bill ran just as strong as always without changing them. I may still do that, but after wonheluva week, I'll pass on that tonite. It was enough to know that it was only flooded.

Now I'll get to drive it to werk tomorrow!

Hope this helps someone in the future...

 

I have a solex carb and thought it was having problems. Turned out it was the fuel line clogged from the gas tank to the fuel pump. Check my post under engine stalling.

Five dollars for a new line and it was fixed.