Re: 443 died, now will not start

Posted by Spencer B. On 2023/8/25 14:29:03

So some further updates on this. Yesterday I removed the plug at the bottom of the carb jet and cleaned what I was able to with that removed, including the high tech solution of a paper clip to scrape away and remove any gunk from the spray tube. After doing this it started and ran very well. For about 20 minutes when it promptly killed again.

So after charging overnight, today I repeated the process but more thoroughly, also removing and much more thoroughly cleaning the spray tube. Also got inside the float chamber, removed the float and cleaned inside there, and also took out and removed debris that was resting at the bottom of the glass bowl below the vacuum tank. After doing that I ran it again and it went beautifully.

Obviously though it seems that there is some crud somewhere in my fuel system that I will need to get out. It feels like the next step might be to see if the fuel line from the vacuum tank to the carburetor is all clear (I attempted to remove this but I couldn’t loosen it at the screw where the line meets the glass bowl - will try again soon), and then check the vacuum tank itself for contaminants.

Also a question - has anybody ever attempted to add a fuel filter? It seems if one were to do this, the the right place for this would be above the fuel line, right after the bowl outside the vacuum tank. Is this even a good idea?