Need help with Carbide frankenbeast
 

I have been looking for a buggy for my son and I and think I found a great deal on a Carbide but need some help with getting it running. Below are some clickable thumbnails of what I found after taking off the electrical box cover :eek: and a few pictures of the motor.

My Question is what should I do first to get this thing running? I really need to have a test drive soon or the boss is going to think I have wasted some money here. The guy I bought it from said the cart would idle but die once you gave it any gas and thought the carb needed cleaning/adjusting. Instead of trying to get the carb working I have just ordered a new one. I have not been able to get the motor to start. Sometimes it will turnover but most of the time it does nothing aside from lighting up the speedo which then goes blank when I try to start it. I would guess this is due to the wiring. The previous owner had said he thought the kill switch on the dash was bad. Should I go ahead and replace the switch? I ask because I'm wondering if this thing ever ran and might be looking in the wrong place based on the fact he said it ran great and pull he and his son to 40+ at one time.

Something you may notice in the pictues is that they put a 5 pin cdi on the motor. He did say the motor was replaced but I'm not sure why they used a 5 pin. Is this a 150cc? Most of the 5 pin cdi seem to be on the smaller motors although it looks like they are basicly the same as the six pin units. I have also ordered another 5 pin cdi and plan to buy a new coil and voltage regulator in my process of rewiring the electrics.

What type of connectors do you recommend I use to clean up the wiring or should I just start over and buy a new harness and the correct 6 pin cdi?

I also see that Tom's shop is less than 1.5 hours from my house but I would really rather wait until I have driven the buggy a bit and then take it to Tom for all the go fast goods. That and the fact I have nothing at the moment to take it down there.


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http://www.buggymasters.com/forum/at...4&d=1270002300. The attatchment is another version with a remote shut-off. I'd start at the engine and verify all the components are there and connected properly-then work your way towards the ignition. Connectors are a matter of preference. I use solderless connectors and shrink tube for splices this takes up less space then wire nuts.

Thanks. Well I know the electric choke is not connected properly because it's ground is not going to the resistor first.

What would you use to reconnect the wires? I know just electric tape can't be the way to go.

Have you used shrink tube before?Simply strip wire about 3/8"-1/2", slip a piece of shrink tube 3 times the length of the splice,twist wires together and slide shrink tube over splice, heat the tube till it shrinks tight around splice (I use a Bic lighter but don't burn it!)Better than electrical tape because it doesn't come loose with time or contaminates.

I have not used them before but will give it a try.

Thanks

Got it running
 

Ok. I decided to just a get a new wiring harness from gokartsru. After wiring it up the buggy started right up! I mean turned the key and it was running. But if I gave it gas it would die. I thought it must be a dirty carb so I just replaced it with a new one. This made no difference so I then replaced the cdi, coil, all fuel and vacuum lines, petcock, fuel filter, voltage regulator, spark plug and cheked gap and adjusted the valve clearance with no change.

It's as if the motor is not getting air when opening the throttle. The plug turns black pretty fast so I'm guessing it's getting plenty of fuel. Before it would die when opening the throttle to full but after turning the carb screw 1 1/2 turns out from closed it now stays running but does not rev much higher than idle.

What am I missing? Is there another place I could have a vacuum leak that would cause this?

When checking the spark what color is it. Were the valves adjusted hot or cold and what were they set at. Are you sure the engine was in time when adjusting the valves. What size carb was installed. The intake can have a vacume leak especially the plastic insulator under the intake, also check your o-rings on the intake and insulator.

TOM

Spark and valves
 

Thanks for the help Tom. It looks like the spark is blue. I set the valves at TDC and while the engine was cold. Is that what you mean by in time? I set them both at .005. Do you recommend a different gap? I replaced the carb with what I think was the same as stock a 24mm. What is the insulator?

Everything sounds good so far. The insulator is sandwiched between the intake manifold and head. It is a type of plastic and has a sealing o-ring, the intake also has a sealing o-ring. Sometimes if the o-ring splits or the insulator cracks it will cause a high rpm vacume leak. That is it will idle ok but when throttle is applied it will fall on its butt. Not being right there to see and hear the problem I would also suggest you check the variator rollers, clutch and springs. You can run with rear on stands and cvt cover removed accelorating the engine and watching that the cvt is properly working. But I would first check for the leak first.

TOM

Cvt?
 

Well it looks like it will now rev ok as long as the rear is in the air. It also does not idle as well when I press the brake to stop the rear tires from turning. Is the kick start gears needed? They fell out when I took the cover off to look at the belt. The last owner said he replaced the belt. I'm wondering if thats the problem. I'll take a couple photos tomorrow of the open CVT.

Sure sounds like the rollers/sliders are installed improperly or are wore out(flat spots).If the owner didn't pay attention to rollers in the variator when putting on the belt, it's easy to see how it would be messed up.When removing/re-installing the variator you have to hold everything in place with one hand as you put it back on the shaft.Kick start can be completely removed- just put a nut and bolt back in the hole on the cover. FYI-You'll need an impact tool to remove the nut on the variator.

Having some trouble with the nut on the variator. It seems to spin freely but not coming off.

Well that don't sound good. Are you speaking of the nut turning freely or the variator?

TOM

I can turn the nut and both the nut and bolt will turn. I know, Im almost ready to push this thing into the lake. After getting all the wiring and fuel problems worked out now this...

Don't understand what bolt you are talking about. The variator is secured with a nut to the crankshaft.

TOM

Sorry. I guess it's just turning the crankshaft and the nut while securing the variator. It's as if the variator is not connected very well to crankshaft and will slip when trying to remove the nut.

I'm wrong it's not turning the crankshaft or the variator. The nut will turn but does not back off the crankshaft.

This is a left handed rotation correct? Meaning turn to the right to remove? I read that it is but if not I'm sure that I messed up the threads of the end of the crankshaft. I'll probably have to cut this nut off and rethread it.

No you turn to the left to remove.

TOM

Thanks guys for all the help. She is running! My wife and kids are out for a test drive right now.

:hooaray::banana::banana::banana::banana: