carb problem

i cleaned the carbs and reinstalled them. did it right I thought. put gas in tank. hooked up hoses. opened petcock. turned key gas everywhere.
What did I do wrong?????? please help. XJ 750 84

 

hi britcan, floats in upside down, float needles sticking, throttle shaft seals ruined with carb cleaner, shall I go on?

 

Did you do a float level check before you put them back on the bike?

 

Like wizard says, could be a lot of things. The carbs are the most sensitive part of these bikes. And the float valves are especially sensitive. After my first clean I had problems with flooding for several reasons.

It's a pain in the ass, but consider taking the carbs off again. If you set them on the bench with a line to the a fuel tank tank above them, you use the petcock to control fuel, and test which carbs are actually flooding. From there you can try different fixes and see if they work, without having to take the carbs on and off again every time.

But make sure the floats aren't upside down first.

 

If the bike has vent hoses from the carb Ts (not the fuel line T) they have to be connected to the airbox to prevent flooding. Another common cause is hung up fuel inlet valves (under the floats) inspect these first. Check float heights, do fluid-in-the-bowls test.

 

Float valves in an empty float bowl can "hang up" and get stuck in the open position. Happens to mine about every other time I drain them dry. A few whacks of a plastic screwdriver handle on the float bowl frees them up.

 

Make a tight "Roll-up" of some 3,000 Grit Finishing Paper.
Twist the tight roll into the cylinder of each of the Float Valve Bodies.

As the Finishing Paper becomes "colored" with brass and tarnish; slice the colored section off the roll and continue refinishing the Float Valve Bodies.

Use some 3,000 to burnish the "Edges" of the Valve Pins.

Install the Pins on the Floats and "Check the Geometry"
Watch the Pin get lifted-out of the Valve Body by the Tabg on the Float.
If the Wire "Hook Guide" which is attached to the Pin causes the Pin to shift to the left or right ... remove the Pin and reverse the Wire Hooks position on the Tang so that it won't cause the Pin to shift and gets pulled straight up and down.