Grrr!!

[steve24265]

I think I already know what the response is going to be. I have an 84 spree. I have spark, compression and fuel. The issue is it won't start, won't even catch when I spray ether into the carb. The scooter didn't come with a carb and I bought one from the Jeff bezos company. This was before I read all the other posts. I'm getting gas to the carb as I can drain the bowl. In fact, after cranking it for a long time, gas will start to spill from the air intake. I'm a little confused with the carb, there's an extra fitting that I don't have anything to connect it to.
I also replaced the reed valve, which I bought from noisy guy. I didn't toss the original metal one, so I can reinstall it if necessary. I can't believe the Chinese carb is giving me that much issue. I did notice that I also am missing that plastic spacer between the manifold and the carb. How necessary is that and how much does that replacement cost? I'm seriously considering putting it on marketplace, I'm very frustrated. The brake light is on when I turn the key and I have the brake lock engaged too. Is it supposed to be brighter when the brake is engaged? You know, like on a car. I took the instrument panel off trying to chase down an electrical gremlin, horn still not working. Would that prevent it from starting to?

Thanks for any help, I thought I nailed this thing when I finally got spark to return, pulsar coil pickup was gapped too far apart

[Meatball]

You havent failed until you stop trying. Keep at it and you’ll get it going, man.

[vintagegarage]

I have spark, compression and fuel. No you don't or it would fire up and run for a few seconds at the least.
Fuel in the bowl is a good sign, but doesn't prove that you have fuel in the intake manifold. You might be missing the main jet or have something in the carb plugged up. Forget this for now, as it isn't relevant at this point.
Unrelated to this, but to answer one of your questions, the tail light should come on when you turn on the key, and should be brighter when you apply the brake. Either the second filament in the bulb is burnt out, or the switch in your brake lever is defective or you have a wiring issue with the switch. Since your engine turns over on the starter, forget about your brake light bulb for the moment. You can trouble shoot that later. It is not your problem now.
How are you measuring the compression and what is your reading?
What prompted you to change the reed valve? They almost never go bad. If you have good compression the reed valve is fine.
Stop using ether. Simply unscrew the top of the carb, and squirt a bit of gasoline oil mix into the carb slide. Then put the cap back on the carb and turn the engine over. If you have spark and compression, the engine will run for at least three seconds. Using ether makes one think that you are trying to start your spree with no air filter in place. Don't do that.
Your problem is not the Chinese carb. They do work, but not as well as OEM.
Without knowing what carb you bought, the fitting that has nothing to connect to may be a connection for the vacuum line to the petcock. You probably have a fitting for the same purpose on the intake manifold, so simply plug up the one on the carb. You don't need it.
After you get it running, you will want to find and install the plastic spacer (called the insulator) between the carb and the intake manifold and make sure both o-rings are good and in place. You can get the o-rings from any Honda dealer or online Honda store for less than $10 the pair. You will have to find a used insulator, as the NOS are no longer available. The insulator's most important job beside keeping the carb cooler is to provide a perfect seal between the carb and the manifold. Missing the insulator is not causing your problem, but you will need it in the future when you want to make the engine work as designed.
Steps:
1. Plug up the extra fitting on your Chinese carb and install it as best as you can.
2. Install the stock air box and good air filter.
3. Double check your brake light switch. With the key on, and the brake off, the motor should not turn over on the starter. Hold the brake and if the motor now turns over, you have proven that your brake light switch is working. Forget about whether the bulb is good or not.
4. Put in a new spark plug.
5. Unscrew the top (the part that the throttle cable runs through) of the carb and squirt three squirts of gasoline oil mix into the top of the carb slide using a squirting oil can, and put the top back on the carb.
6. Turn the engine over. If is doesn't fire and run for three seconds, then you either don't have compression, spark or both, plain and simple. If you have enough compression to blow your finger out of the spark plug hole, most likely you have enough compression for the test. Once you have the engine running for three seconds, you can work on the rest of the issues to make it run longer and correctly.
Please report back what you find.

[steve24265]

Okay, finally spent the money about bought a compression tester. I'm certain I did it right, but it only read around 35 psi. I know the manual state it needs to be around 115. I'll ask my mechanic neighbor if he has one. I can hold my thumb over the spark plug hole and I feel force pushing it. If the compression is truly only 25psi, what are my options? I watched a video where a guy replaced the head, piston and rings and he says it was around $50 in parts. I feel like I was "so close" to having it running. At least this will be a winter project. All the help and guidance is greatly appreciated

[vintagegarage]

Take a look at your left crank seal. At this point it is your easiest next step:

http://hondaspree.net/phpBB3/viewtopic. ... shaft+seal

[Meatball]

head gasket?

[steve24265]

It's been a while since I provided an update. I ordered the new seals just before Christmas and came about 2 weeks after that. It was too cold to be working in the garage so I postponed any repair time. Finally today, I had the time. Pulled off the cover and was surprised to see a double but at the end of the shaft, but since this is electric start only, I figured the diagrams I looked through were for the kick start also. Anyway, the seal wasn't blown out like side of the pictures I've seen, but there was a lot of oil in the case. Pulled out the seal and installed the new one, I seated it with taking a deep well socket over the shaft and a rubber mallet. It was a pain to remove. Anyway, buttoned back up and still at 25psi. Head gasket is the next step? I mean, I've seen a whole head assembly on Amazon for around $60. I just want to get it running before I spend the green on a new exhaust, carb and bigger head. Also, I seem to be missing the tube from the air box to the carb. Is eBay my best bet for these?

[MINICooperS]

Once again . . . my money is on the bystarter or lack thereof

[noiseguy]

You need to drain that oil from the bottom end. It won't start like that if it's full. Requires pulling the jug and inverting the case.

You need to do compression test with throttle open and fully charged battery. Anything over 60 PSI will fire up, but 100 PSI is closer to where it should be.

No idea on carb until you post pics of it.

[bonesv]

You need to drain that oil from the bottom end. It won't start like that if it's full. Requires pulling the jug and inverting the case.

I tried out this idea to pour a cup or so of gasoline into the spark plug hole (adjusting the crankshaft position to bdc) and let the oil mix with the gas and so more easily, and completely removing the unwanted oil. Just remove the carburetor, reed and intake manifold and lay over on it's side and drain out. It was a lot easier than pulling the whole motor out of the scooter.