The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 216 hard starting

got a stock 216 new/rebuilt/everything...been driving it regularly the last 4 year no trouble starting in any condition 0-100 degrees...however starting yesterday, its been hard starting it just turns over and sputters alot, eventually it does but by the time it does start the battery is almost dead and will run fine but what is going on with it never used to do this till yesterday

Check the voltage at the coil + terminal while cranking. If it's much below 5 volts, start looking for loose, dirty wire connections from the ammeter, to the ignition switch to the coil. Dirty points can also drop the firing voltage enough to starve the engine for spark. Clean, tight wire connections everywhere are a must, especially with 6V electrical systems.
Jerry

My bet is crusty points. Normal wear and tear. Clean them up. Sometimes they need it in less than every 10,000 miles.
Carl

Hmm I already replaced the points about 200 miles ago, but I'll check gap & give them a visual inspection

Did you clean the new points when you installed them? Sounds like a dumb question, but some of the new points have something on them which causes them to perform poorly.
Carl

Check fuel supply. To determine if fuel starvation is the cause, fill the carb float bowl using a squirt bottle. If it cranks easily and runs for about 10 seconds or less, you can bet that somewhere in your system is a fuel choke point. Check screen plugging in your fuel pump bowl screen. Takes about 2 minutes. Mine plugged twice last week with very fine rust (time to clean the old tank).

Depending on which year and model you have, there is a short (8 inch or so) fuel line starting at the tank needle valve down to the edge of the frame. It appears to be a cloth covered line, but premium gasoline reduces the coating inside the cloth covering the flexible line to what appears to be viscous tar (had to replace mine with a copper compression line today).

If you have an Eectrolock, check grounding of the wire coming from the key switch where it exits the Electrolock at the coil. Hotrodlincoln is dead on about clean connections in a 6 volt system. He gives very good advice.

If you want a 6 volt battery that will crank a 216 all day without dying, try a NAPA Commercial. Mine went through 3 days of cranking before it bit the dust. At 6 amps, it took 2 days to recharge it. They run abut $140 all day long, and I highly recommend them.

Good luck.

Jim