zen 260 wont't fire.

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tmunn

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
1,560
need a little help guys my 260 zenoa wont start it was starting fine.

I tried it out 2 weeks ago and it strtrd easily..

It has fire and fuel.

It has gas on the plug whenever i take it out.the spark looks nice and blue.

I purchased the fuel about 6 -8 weeks ago and have it mixed properly.

I posted here becuse i don't know if i can get on to the dock <_<
 
my 260 did the same thing, it was running great and then, iwould not stay running so i change the spark plug, it ran fine after that. my old plug showed fire too, but for some reason it would not start the motor.
 
Hi,

I'm certainly no expert on little 2-stroke motors, but try a new plug. or take the old plug out and get it warm on the stove or with a torch. you'll need a glove........... you don't want to get any thing near red hot, but it should be hotter than you can handle with bare fingers.... put it back in as quickly as possible and try to start the motor

this little trick gets my tough to start snowblower going most of the time.

Bob the Fool :blink:
 
Terry,

I just check on the Doc, and one guy had the same problem.

He tried a new plug, checked his fuel, checked his fuel lines, removed carb checked it and tried a new one.

at the end the problem was a ring, as soon as he replaced the ring she fired right up.

Do you have a compression gauge tester, if not I have one and I think I have the adapter to fit. We can do a dry and wet test to check the compression, if its a ring it will tell us.

Dan.
 
It sounds like it's oil fowled. If you run the boat slow before you put it up the engine loads up with fuel. If the fuel is left in the motor the gas evaporates but the oil doesn't. The next time you try to start it the plug fowls. To prevent this from happening you need to lean the motor out before shutting it off & putting it away by pinching off the line until the motor starts beeping. Do not leave the fuel line connected when you put it away.
 
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Joe that is exactly what i did i ran it slow because the pond was too small.I shut it down and stored it with the fuel line attached.

what is the best way to get it going ........ <_< that I have learned that lesson.

Dan

It has a lot of compression and what it kicks you have to be careful not to pull it off the stand..

jeff/ bob

I have tried a new plug as well as heated the tip of the old one with a mini torch.

The mixed fuel is about 6-8 weeks old could that have anything to do with it ?

terry
 
Joe that is exactly what i did i ran it slow because the pond was too small.I shut it down and stored it with the fuel line attached.
what is the best way to get it going ........ <_< that I have learned that lesson.

Dan

It has a lot of compression and what it kicks you have to be careful not to pull it off the stand..

jeff/ bob

I have tried a new plug as well as heated the tip of the old one with a mini torch.

The mixed fuel is about 6-8 weeks old could that have anything to do with it ?

terry
Pull the plug out and replace it or soak it in straight gas overnight. Also only mix your gas 1 gallon at a time using good oil like Maxima, Yamalube or Silkolene. Get a Ratio Rite cup and mix it between 40 & 50:1. 25:1 is way too much oil and you end up leaning the motor out too much to get it to run.
 
I tried a new plug and that did not work.i tried heating the new one with a mini torch that did not work .

Each time i tried the plug was wet...put the plug in the cap,hold it on the engine and lots of fire.

I took a little fuel from the boat put it outside on the rock and she burned pretty quick.

Terry
 
Hi Terry , ok my 2 cents

If your sure its not a fuel problem , and you have replaced the plug

try and borrow a grey coil from some one , chances are its dead , just because you have spark on the plug when its out of the engine it doesnt mean it will have spark inside the combustion chamber , its a very different environment in there

and grey coils are notorious for being the weak link . some times they last years other times days ...

you may want to also check the air gap between the red coil and the flywheel , stuff a buisness card between it to get your gap , tighten the screws and remove the card , it will get you remarkably close to what you need

I also use NGK plugs not Champions

and although other people have had problems , i have never disconnected nor drained fuel nor run the fuel from the engine , and have stored it with line connected for up to 3 months - then primed the engine ( trying to start engine with finger in carb till it fires once )

then the engines runs next pull

I run them at 30:1 using Motul 600 TT synthetic oil , engines run clean and never had a problem, 25: 1 is certainly not a problem either - your lawn mower has been running fine on that mix for years :lol:

Zenoahs are pretty **** tough , seen them run without water for an entire race and survive , if they dont start easily in my experience its cause something ( plug or a coil ) has died

I hope that helps

Andrew
 
Some of us run about 1/2 oz to the gallon of Sta-bil. This product prevents fuel from going bad in the carb during storage etc. I run it all the time, along with 9 1/2oz of oil. No problems starting the engines. I personally like the HP2 Honda oil, but QuickSilver TC3 works fine too.
 
I am using 8 oz of hp2 honda to a gallon.I have what seems to be good compression, spark.I looked into the exhaust hole cannot see any scoring and the ring looks fine.I set the gap on the magneto with a standard thickness business card as suggested on the dock.

no excess fuel in the engine , turned it upside down and pulled it over nothing came out.

tried a new plug, new fresh fuel still won't fire.

terry
 
just humour me and change the grey coil - borrow one to try if you need to
 
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Krusty I would if I could but there are no other gassers in my area to borrow from.I belive you could be correct.

Terry
 
Terry , maybe try to pick up one cheap from ebay ,

and although it may not be the problem , but if you are going to play with zenoahs you will need one sooner or later ,i dont know anyone who runs a zenoah for any length of time and has not changed a grey coil or two

I run 3 gas boats and have changed 3 grey coils :rolleyes:

Hope it solves the problem - they can just as frustrating as nitro

Andrew
 
Some of the zenoah piston rings stick in the groove, lowering compression and it wont fire, we have had this happen in a couple of cases. Also check the flywheel key if its sheared even slightly it wont fire either, there was a run of engines awhile back that had the flywheels come loose. Another thing to check is the pulse port, if its blocked it wont run, but may fire a time or two if the engine is primed.

some things to try

mike sr
 
I'll go with Dan on this one. I have seen it myself. Broken ring and the engine doesn't hit ...........ever.
 
I can get it apart no problem,will I need a ring compressor to get the cylinder back on.

The person I bought it from just put a new ring on it before he shipped it to me.

I have only put 10 oz of fuel threw it so far. :(

it pulls over very hard ??
 
No compressor needed. Just be sure to align the ring when reinstalling.

Even with a broken ring it can feel fine.
 
It sounds as if you are over choking it or low end needle is to rich.

If there is to much gas/oil in the cylinder it will not fire.

Zens flood easy,

Rings yes will cause problems, but i am thinking its being over choked.

give that a try and see.

carbs 2 low 1 high is a good starting point.
 
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