I have read every post on this great site about starting issues on the s83p minitrucks and I can't seem to fix my problem. So here we go. It started with the patient starting out fine when it was cold and was running great. When I parked it for a few hours with the temperature around -6 Celsius and I go to start it to warm it up. It caught and started but here's the problem it would labor at a very low idle and shudder but it wouldn't speed up. I had pumped the accelerator a few times to prime it and when I let go of the accelerator it would die on me. After that I couldn't even get her to catch again I checked the timing of the valves and it's all peachy. That solenoid that you guys mentioned in posts with the two wires. Mine only has one wire going to it. I took it out and checked it and it is working fine. I will say that I am running purple gas on it but it would run fine for a few days and then it would throw a tantrum that drives me crazy. Ideas.
As long as the choke linkage is free to move easily ( they get corroded and gummed up ), when cold, I just press the accelerator pedal once to the floor, pause and let it return. This seems to set the choke. Engine then starts easily and goes into high idle. As the truck warms up, the idle speed slowly comes down and everything is great. If it is still warm when restarting, I don't touch the pedal at all. If it has sat for a bit, I usually reset the choke with the pedal. The choke will not reset if the engine is still warm enough, but the shot of fuel from hitting the pedal seems to do the trick. Repeated pumping of the pedal can quickly flood the engine, especially if the plugs, wires etc. are not up to snuff. Also check your wiring harness: Where the battery cable connects to the starter, is also where the main power enters the harness. Be sure that the connector there is good. Mine was not - actually broke when I disconnected the cables from the starter. The starter was getting a great connection and would spin the engine all day, but very little was getting to the rest of the harness. If this is the case, voltage to the ignition system could very low, causing a hard start issue.
So I cleaned up the Carb and it didn't seem to be any sticking. I fine tuned the carb and ol betsy seems to throw a few less tantrums. The odd time I have to lean on the starter a little bit longer than I like but she starts up. When I have her running it seems that the motor is missing sometimes. It only does so at an idle, every few seconds it seems like there is this hiccup in the exhaust. Is this normal or is that a sign of something else going on. Other than that she runs like a well fed kitten sitting on your lap.
i just bought a s83 she was running great but now won't start she's been sitting for a while corrosion in the distributor system? any other ideas
Take the center plug off the distributor and see if it sparks when hold it to a ground while starting. If it doesn't it's most likely your ignition coil. If it does then your carb has probably gummed up from sitting there.
thank you yardman. should i be changing the fuel filter too? is that what might be leading to a gummy carb? how do i clean a carb once its gummed
The easiest most reliable way to make sure the carb is clean is to take it off and slowly take it apart and cleaning everything with some carb clean or sea foam and putting it back together. Or if you want to try soaking it in sea foam carb cleaner before you take it apart you can try that first. Take off the gas intake hose on the carb and push the tube from the sea foam into the fitting and spray the foam into the carb. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then do it again. Wait about ten minutes and let the stuff do it's magic Then you can try starting it. Definitely replace the fuel filter.
The first pic is the fuel filter. Never seen the other two items. They seem to be connected to the vacuum system so I'm thinking vacuum pots or filters. Anyone can correct me on that?
Thank you. Is the fuel system pressurized? Will I need to do any steps before I just unattach the hoses and pop it out?
Thanks for your great speculations about the little pots. Now that I've identified the fuel filter do I need to de pressurize the system before I take it out to replace?
Take the lid off the gas tank to release any air pressure and then you can remove the fuel filter. System doesn't need any pressurizing.
So I am happy to report back that my Hijet is starting and running again. Thanks for all the help and suggestions. After identifying the fuel pump it was easy to secure a new one and replace it. She started up right away and continues to do so. A bit hesitant and requires more fuel when restarting once warm, but all seems to be holding. For now
I'm joining this thread in case someone is looking for any help with running and idling, maybe they can just find this one. My problem is that the truck dies when the gas is let off. There are four (or more?) screws on the carb (story no photos). If standing on the Right side looking at the carb, the idle set screw is on the left side, up next to the throttle cable. On the other side of the carb are two screws - a big one and a little one. I *think* these have to do with the vacuum advance or something? Then there's one back on the left side closer to me that is facing horizontally away and I think is related to the choke. Do I have figured out correctly? If so, the two vacuum ones are the ones that seem to be what need to be adjusted. Is the big one a corse adjustment and the smaller one a fine? What happens when you turn them clockwise verses counter-clockwise? Thanks
One of the biggest things about the older trucks is build up of oxidation inside dist. cap. This simple little thing has bit me in the ass a number of times.
