Not a hot enough spark?

[Raveller]

Hi,
I am the proud owner of a geely 50cc Retro 4 cycle with 1000 miles on it. I can't get it started!!! It sat for a couple of months and now it will turn over(with a little help from jumper cables) but it does not fire at all. I went over the carb and all seems ok there. If I pull the plug I can see spark when I turn it over but it appears to be rather small. Not like a good jolt that I am used to seeing on a Briggs & Stratton 4 cycle. Does the ignition module go bad like this or maybe the coil? Any help or pointers will be greatly appreciated.

TIA
Greg

[strangerdejavu]

I'm no professional, but it seems to me that that'd be a fairly cheap and easy thing to do to fix. If it's the stock plug, it might not be very high quality to start with- so after 1000 miles and a few months of inactivity, its days may be done. However, if you were to buy a new plug (maybe a fancy iridium one?) and that still doesn't fix the problem, you now have a nice plug and a spare should you need it!

I wouldn't think that the fuel should be going bad quite yet, if the scoot has only been sitting for a couple months. Have you taken a look at your fuel lines to make sure they aren't clogged or kinked? I'd probably go ahead and replace the plug to see if it helps. If that doesn't do anything, start looking elsewhere!

[Raveller]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply Strangerdejavu. I failed to mention that I did get a replacement NGK sparkplug that seems to make no difference. The fuel is definitely getting to the carb as the float chamber was full when I opened the carb up. The fuel smells normal and not like it has turned bad. Still looking.............................................................Thanks

[medman1952]

I assume you already checked all the connections, they have to be hooked up to get any spark at all, but I'd make sure nothing is corroded, then I'd start replacing the cheapest parts first, probably the coil would be my next thing.

I don't know about these scooters but I remember back in the seventies having a Honda 450cc that I put automotive coils on, I read that they would put out a lot hotter spark than the Honda coils did, they worked, and the Chevy coils were available for about ten bucks, I just had to get creative with placement. Having said that, this is not something I am recommending. If anybody wants to try it though, well, I'd like to know if the scooter burns up or not.

[Jacine]

If you have to jump start it, the battery may not be holding a charge or be charging. If the battery is going bad, then sitting will usually cause it to fail. Recharging will allow it to start, but of it sits again it will drain.

On most bikes the batteries will no charge until approx 3000 rpms are reached, so just idling will not recarge the battery.