Idling issues..... :(

[Kondoge]

ol' buster is at it again. this time just about stalling at idle. he runs good then sputters like he's trying to stall unless I rev it one notch, if I try to adjust the carb he just stalls. how can I get the idle faster without bending the throttle shaft to the governor rod (the only way that's worked so far). Buster has the 9N throttle and governor on the 8N engine if that matters. the screw behind the carb I think was for idle adjustment but I don't know how it works, the idle air mixture doesn't seem to do anything at all. It actually idles so slow the alternator wont even charge the battery (read on the amp meter) till I rev it up and the oil pressure sits at 8 on idle.

 

[soaked]

ol' buster is at it again. this time just about stalling at idle. he runs good then sputters like he's trying to stall unless I rev it one notch, if I try to adjust the carb he just stalls. how can I get the idle faster without bending the throttle shaft to the governor rod (the only way that's worked so far). Buster has the 9N throttle and governor on the 8N engine if that matters. the screw behind the carb I think was for idle adjustment but I don't know how it works, the idle air mixture doesn't seem to do anything at all. It actually idles so slow the alternator wont even charge the battery (read on the amp meter) till I rev it up and the oil pressure sits at 8 on idle.

This clone was made circa 2018-2019

Screwing in contacts the post, and opens the butterfly, raising idle speed.
Is your post missing, or not aligned?

 

[Jim L WA]

That screw behind the carburetor is for idle speed. If you look closely, you will see there is a little protusion that the end of that screw rests against. By turning the screw clockwise it will force the throttle open.

 

[OldBlue61]

Some have a thumb screw for the idle speed setting. Mine does.

 

[Kondoge]

mine does not have a thumbs screw and from looking it does look aligned but the screw appears to be all the way out

 

[OldBlue61]

If you're talking about the idling screw, all the way out is as low an idle as you can get. You need to screw it in while watching the RPMs. I believe low idle is 400rpms.

 

[Kondoge]

how do I do that without any equipment? is there a trick I can use or do I try to make a guess or maybe compare to a video of one running properly?

 

[Mad Farmer]

how do I do that without any equipment? is there a trick I can use or do I try to make a guess or maybe compare to a video of one running properly?

I''d try doing it by ear. Screw it in ~1/8 turn at a time. Give some gas and see where the idle settles at

 

[will-max dairy]

how do I do that without any equipment? is there a trick I can use or do I try to make a guess or maybe compare to a video of one running properly?

I get what you're saying. Our old 2N doesn't have a tachometer either. I essentially set the idle just above the level where it idles smoothly.


I'm not worried about the difference between 400 and 500 RPM at idle, or whatever... I just want it to not stall out at low throttle.

When these old engines are running right, they idle really slowly and just purr along like a sewing machine. I have no clue what our 2N idles at (because of how I set the idle above)... I just know its S-L-O-W...

 

[Kondoge]

thanks will-max dairy I will set the idle tonight

 

[will-max dairy]

thanks will-max dairy I will set the idle tonight

Good luck. I think you'll know if you are setting it high enough that you are essentially covering up for another problem.

But at either rate... just try to set the screw to some level where it will idle.

If you think it's too fast, you can always twiddle the low mix setting on the carb... and then back off the idle screw a little to see if it holds.

If you don't think it's too fast... then leave the idle where you set it and go do some work with Buster...

 

[Kondoge]

I also forgot an update from last night, I finally got the new distributor working and its points gapped at 0.15, the idle is now sped up a little tiny bit and sounds much smoother but I'm still gonna set the carb idler tonight