Trouble with 87 SE 50 P, idles way too high

xtomx · Post by **xtomx** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:23 pm

I have an 87 SE 50 P. As is usual, it was sitting for years before I bought it last fall and started working on it.

I did a lot of the normal maintenance this spring (cleaned the gas tank, replaced the spark plug and air filter element, etc.)

It was very difficult to start. I had a mechanic take the carb apart and clean it out. This did not help.

It had a clogged petcock, so I replaced it.

The bystarter was shot, so I replaced it.

I reinstalled the carb. Now it starts, but revs at full power. I have tried adjusting the throttle cable, but nothing seems to help. It seems that it something is stuck.

The throttle attached to the engine moves freely back and forth, but turning the throttle handle does not change the revving of the engine (since it is already revving and full power).

The throttle valve is fully seated into the carb and does not move when the throttle is turned (I assume the needle is supposed to move up and down). The throttle cable moves the throttle valve and needle when it is unscrewed from the carb, but nothing happens when it is screwed onto the top of the carb (I can see it through the air inlet on the carb when I remove the air cleaner and look in the air inlet).

When I take off the air cleaner and restrict the air flow with my fingers, it slows the engine down, but turning the throttle does not speed it up (as it is revving at full power and restricting the air flow is not altering that fact).

I am at a loss as to what to do next.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Tom

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:11 pm

your throttle cable inst in the carb correctly

xtomx · Post by **xtomx** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:14 pm

I have unscrewed and reinstalled the throttle valve several times without success.

According to the owner's manual for an SA 50 from this website, (I do not have one for an SE 50 P), the throttle valve is to be installed with the "groove" (which I assume to mean the notch at the bottom of the valve and not the cut part into which the throttle cable slides) facing the throttle stop screw, which I am doing. Is this correct or should it go with the cut part facing the throttle stop screw?

How far into the carb should the throttle valve slide (the owner's manual merely states, "Slide the thottle valve into the carb body")? When I slide it into the top of the carb, I stop at the top of the carb. Should it be slid in farther?

Finally, could the entire throttle cable be stretched out? I know it can be adjusted at the handle and I have tried to adjust it, but with no results.

Thanks again.

Tom

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:34 pm

yep eour wrong the notch for removing the throttle cable is where the tab in the hole should ride.

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:36 pm

your wrong look ino the hole your dropping the slide into you will see a little tab. This is where the slot for removing the cable should ride.

xtomx · Post by **xtomx** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 5:00 pm

Well, the more I work on this, the more confused I get.

I have the throttle valve properly assembled.

I can slide it into the tube in the top of the carb, but it only goes as far as the top of the tube. It does not slide all of the way down the tube into the air inlet chamber.

There is no "tab" in the tube, but the throttle screw, if screwed all of the way in, rests against the pin.

Okay, so if the throttle valve were slid all of the way into the tube and down to the air inlet chamber, the throttle screw would rest in this notch in the bottom of the throttle valve.

The question is now, do I force the throttle valve all of the way down the tube and into the air inlet chamber? If so, how do I do it? A screwdriver? Lube?

I am really confused.

Thanks, again.

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:04 pm

just try turning it until it drops in

wikked_spree57 · Post by **wikked_spree57** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:18 am

Had the same prob with my 85 Spree when I first got it running. Someone had the throtte cable mis aligned, and when it started it ran wide open and vibrated itself off the kickstand. Let me just say it was no fun replacing a bumper hood aand grille on the Olds Achieva it hit when the kickstand fell and the back tire hit the ground @ full speed. It jumped off the stand and destroyed the nose of my moms car, and I swore I'd never start it near another car after that... LOL.

HuskieMobileMan · Post by **HuskieMobileMan** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:47 pm

Again, there are two slots in the slide. One slot goes the length of the slide, the other does not. The one that goes the length of the slide aligns with the notch in the carb. This is the same slot that the throttle cable fits into.

HuskieMobileMan · Post by **HuskieMobileMan** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:58 pm

wikked_spree57 wrote:Had the same prob with my 85 Spree when I first got it running. Someone had the throtte cable mis aligned, and when it started it ran wide open and vibrated itself off the kickstand. Let me just say it was no fun replacing a bumper hood aand grille on the Olds Achieva it hit when the kickstand fell and the back tire hit the ground @ full speed. It jumped off the stand and destroyed the nose of my moms car, and I swore I'd never start it near another car after that... LOL.

LOL, same thing happened to me with my NH80. The scooter did a 360 and smashed into some stuff in my garage.

mousewheels · Post by **mousewheels** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:10 pm

If it is any help - the long slot goes into the carb exactly 180 degrees from the idle screw. It's a reasonably close fit, so it can take a bit to get things lined up.

hondaman · Post by **hondaman** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:26 pm

That is definitely your problem. That throttle valve has to drop way down into the top of the carb. Lift up on the throttle valve ,turn it and try it again until it falls all the way in.

xtomx · Post by **xtomx** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 11:33 pm

Okay, a friend of mine and took the throttle valve apart again and took a really good look at it this evening. There was a lot of friction trying to slide it down into the carb tube.

Along the slit where the cable slides in, there were some very tiny burrs of metal, from where I had slid a screwdriver into the slot to move spring up when I was trying to remove the cable the first time.

We cleaned up the throttle tube and I took a nail file and removed the burrs from the throttle valve. Very little work to file them down. A thorough cleaning with Sea Foam, a bit of lubricant (also Sea Foam) and the reassembled throttle valve slid down into the carb tube and it slid straight into the tube, exactly at is supposed to do. I screwed the carb cap right onto the top and the throttle valve set up perfectly.

The lesson of the story is that even a tiny, tiny bit of friction is enough to screw things up.

It starts and runs perfectly. I have to reassemble the side housing and I am good to go.

As is often the case, it came down to looking at each part and figuring out why they were not working as they should.

Thanks for everyone's input.