HARD TO START

been having trouble starting my xj at 1st i thaught it might be just the carbies drying out but now it wouldnt start on prime either. i took the taknk off and pulled the fuel hose and it was chockers full of fuel so i blew on it then tried starting and it did. so i hooked the tank back up wouldnt start again so i blew on the fuel hose again and it started bit slugish at 1st but going strong after a few revs and messing around with the idle screwd .oes anyone know what this problem might be its bound to happen again tomorrow too. been like this every time since i changed the jets around to right size because before it was running way too rich

 

Weak battery will do that too

 

Have you rebuilt the petcock and gas cap?

Gary H.

 

blowing in the fuel line ,pressurizing the fuel supply may force gas up pilot jets, main jets or enrichment circuit. when did you clean your carbs last?
after checking your battery if that does not work for you clean your carbs do not forget the passages and the enrichment circuit (Starter FUEL Jet ).
how long has it been sitting ?
DID you find your leak yet.

your other thread
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/wont-start-unless-prime-1st.86927/#post-508035

 

carbs are ultra clean and i put a carby kit through it was starting fine when i had the jets the rong way around and was running ultra rich now i put them rite its hard to start .it doesnt have a fuel filter on fuel line could be that . i put the battery on charge see what happens

 

Did you wet-set the fuel levels?

 

diddnt wet set ..the enrichment circuit if by you mean the choke works when i put the choke on

 

Are the air jets correctly installed?

Gary H.

 

if you mean the jets facing the air filter side of things one on each side of the mouth the kit diddnt come with any of these so i diddnt touch them

 

i did mess around with the screws with the rubber caps on them air fuel screws i set them 1.5 turns out

 

Baseline is 2 1/2 turns out for the pilot circuit air screws, unless you have earlier carbs. Which model and year XJ do you have?
Also, if you did not remove those screws and clean the idle air passages, you didn't fully clean the carbs.
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/in-the-church-of-clean.14692/


You need to make sure that the fuel levels are within spec, particularly since you used new float needles and seats. There is only 3mm of wiggle room.
http://www.xj4ever.com/setting fuel levels.pdf

By air jets, he means the ones under the top hat, below the slide diaphragm. All of the service manuals have their positions labeled incorrectly.
This is the corrected image:

 

thanks for that i will look into it

 

+1.

Gary H.

 

i set mixture screws too 2 half turns i hadnt started it yet when i did still had to blow on it but maybe it needs to be that way from last time it started it seemed to start and idle more evenly without any popping and without having to fiddle with the idle adjuster

 

That's only one complete turn.... Not enough--- you'll be running a lean idle mix

 

2 1/2 turns = two-and-one-half turns.

 

If you're saying that to me, I know.

I'm assuming a typo for the word "too". Therefore it says " set to 2 half turns". Whether a typo or not, ' 2 half turns ' is not the same as ' 2 and one-half turns ' .

If you're saying that to him.... I just helped to clarify the difference.

2 half turns = 1 whole-turn
2-and-1/2 turns = 5 half-turns

 

I was clarifying my own post.

 

i turned the screws full circle 2 and a half times any more and i think it would pop out

 

K-moe, understood.

Ant-- ok, so that is two and a half turns. That should be from a soft- seat. That being the case, you'd stil have another 3 or 4 full turns til it pops out. If you fall out just after 2.5 turns, you're not seating it properly first.

 

all good i will see if it starts tomorrow if not i will check fuel hose for blockages and air jets hopefully i can get to jets without taking carbies out

 

You can get to the air jets with the carbs on but it's not easy.
How does. It start after it's warmed up ?

 

yeah starts 1st click when warmed up its only if its been sitting a day or so its hard unless i blow on the fuel line then it fires up

 

After you let it sit have you tried setting the petcock to prime, waiting 30 seconds, and then starting it?

 

yes have tried that and thaught it was the issue ... i think it might be good now though after setting the mix screws too 2 .5 turns yesterday it started 1st pop this morning

 

That's a good sign.

 

yep thanks for everyones help

 

turns out when i took the top lid of the carby back one of the diaphrams must of popped out of its seat and was sqeueezed between the lid ..for those trawling for answers

 

Good to know

 

thanks for posting the the fix to your problem.
many will not post about assembly errors made when they find them.

 

I ALWAYS post them......

 

Mistakes are best when shared.