Help! Can get my Baja Reaction 150 to start

[dirtybuggy133]

Hello! New member, great site! I have own my Baja Reaction 150 for 3 years now. I haven't used in in about 6 months and now it wont start. I drained the gas, changed the spark plug and oils, and clean my carb. Still won't start! It sounds like it wants to start but wont stay on. Please Help!

[Miamieddie]

Charge that battery. Try jumping it with ur car for now to see if it will start first. Make sure to keep ur car off not on when jump starting ur buggy.

[Miamieddie]

If it starts then you need to charge ur battery.

[dirtybuggy133]

Thanks for the help! Tried to jump it. Still didn't start also replaced battery still no starting. I have the same problem every summer and usually take it to the shop for a temporary fix but that option is getting very expensive. Any more suggestions? Thanks Again Miamieddie!

[toomanytoys2]

1st do you know that the shop does when you take it in?

If the engine is turning over, but not starting, I would bet that you have a clogged idle jet. The opening in this very is very small and will usually clog up if gas is left in the carb. Once the idle jet is clogged, carb cleaner and compressed air won't clean it out. I cut a wire from a wire scrub brush / barbeque brush etc. hold it with needle nose pliers, then run it through the idle jet.

Gas sitting in the carb and clogging the idle jet is probably the main reason that buggies will not start after they have sat for a period of time. I always drain the carb when I park my toys.

[Miamieddie]

The only thing i can think of and it will probably be the answer is to adjust ur valves. .004 on both intake and exhause...go to youtube and type in"how to adjust valves on a 150gy6 motor....Eddie.

[Gawald]

You have probably checked the basics, but just in case, you need spark at the plug, compression, and fuel to start the buggy.

Have you removed the spark plug, put it in the spark plug wire, and grounded the plug on the head to confirm that the ingnition system is delivering spark to the plug?

Have you checked compression? (a valve might be stuck slightly open)

Is the spark plug wet with fuel when you remove it or is it bone dry? A dry plug would support the clogged jet suggestion.

My Carter Talon was turning over and almost would start. I had disassembled the carb and cleaned it. I found out my idle screw adjustment on the throttle was set for too low an idle speed. I adjusted the screw for higher RPM and the buggy fired right up. You may wish to check your idle speed adjustment.

[Miamieddie]

I agree with these guys do first what they mentioned.

[dirtybuggy133]

@ Toomanytoys2, unfortunately I don't know what the shop does, I did thoroughly clean the jets with wire. @Miamieddie im gonna adjust my valves first thing in the morning right after I pull my plug out to make sure im getting a spark and compression Thanks Gawald. Thanks for the help guys, i'll keep you guys posted.

[x-bird]

I have a reaction 150 as well that was giving me fits at the end of the season and just this week. now this week it had a load of stale gas--end of season, no, but same problem. flushed the system, clean gas and a spare clean carb. It would still do the same thing, fire up and die.

over and over.

just a quick "burble".

If i held the key switch on it would continue to run in a hit and miss manner--but without any real power. after a lot of continual, near starter cooking cranking it finally started reaching beyond idle revs. got me to thinking it was electrical.

took the keyswitch out of the panel to compare it to another i have, and with it hanging down i tried again.
It fired, and ran normally with it released. likely was some moisture inside. now it fires right off and is fine.

just something easy to check.

[dirtybuggy133]

ok, so here's an update of what I've done. I changed my ignition switch and it started up but shut off after about 20 seconds then I noticed smoke coming from my electrical box. I tried to pin point where it was coming from but couldn't. I also noticed the wires coming from the battery where very very hot. I was thinking of ordering a new cdi from ebay, are those any good?

[Miamieddie]

Make sure all wire connections inside ur black box are snugg /tight and nothing is grounding out in there. Take ur time. Thats where ur problems at or you'll burn out any new parts you replace.

[bear]

I agree with eddie, make sure all is well in the electirc dept. before you put in any new parts or you'll just burn them up!

[toomanytoys2]

If you had smoke coming from the electrical box, more then likely you have a short somewhere, especially if the battery cables were warm. That is quite a bit of current draw. I know that the wiring in the elec. box looks like a rats nest, but you are going to have to do some tracing.

1st cut any zip ties, wire ties, etc. so you can examine the wires carefully. Then with a "GOOD" strong flashlight, examine the insulation of each wire. Look for a wire that has insulation that is brittle, has changed color, or, is not round. These are some of the indications that the wires have gotten hot.

I would also trace and disconnect any wiring that goes to lights, horns, turn signals, etc. What you want to do is to isolate the engine from the rest of the buggy's accessories. That way, a short in a light will not affect what is happening with the motor.

However, like mentioned before, don't start throwing parts at it until you find the main problem. I really doubt that the CDI is causing the problem. The CDI is not a device that pulls a lot of current (even if they go bad).

To be truthful, I am not that big of a fan of "High Performance" CDIs. I bought one of those blue ones with fins and some kind of graph on it. I didn't really notice much of a difference power wise. However, it did give me grief. It caused a phantom drain on my battery that would kill it over time.

[dirtybuggy133]

Thanks, toomanytoys2, bear and Miamieddie. I'm gonna trace the wires as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully I could pin point the problem.

[dirtybuggy133]

ok I put a freshly charged battery on it and it started right up at first try for about 15 seconds then it cut off, I looked for discolored wires or cracked wires but couldn't find any. I did notice the wire from the starting relay going to the starter was very very hot, The + wire from the battery to the starting relay was also hot. Any ideas of what it could be?

[x-bird]

Could be a loose or damaged wire or corrosion at the ends in that same run--too much resistance making it heat up.

[Gawald]

Very hot wires going to the starter make me suspect the either the relay or starter. Something is causing the heavy current draw, so I would look at the starting circuit. If you have a spare starter, try switching it out.

[dirtybuggy133]

Thanks for the HELP! I found the problem, I changed the starter and while doing that I noticed that the positive and ground wire where burnt together. I separated them fixed the parts that where peeled with shrink tubing and it started up fine. Not more hot wires. But now I have a new problem. It starts and idles but when you try to accelerate it drive it it cuts off. What could this be? Any HELP?

[Miamieddie]

When idling for the heck of it check for air leaks around the carb area. With carb cleaner and see if idle changes if so you have air leaks.

[toomanytoys2]

It could be that your pilot jet is clogged. When you 1st start it up the choke is richening the mixture, but when you go to accelerate the clogged pilot is not letting any fuel through.

However, do the spay check with carb cleaner first. Spray it around all intake joints, manifold carb, head. The carb cleaner will actually make the rpm drop since it doesn't burn as well as gas.

If that doesn't work, pull the pilot jet out of the carb and run a very fine wire through it. I snip of a wire from a metal parts cleaning brush, barbecue brush, etc. Hold the wire with needle nose pliers and run it through the jet. Pilot jets are notorious for clogging when our toys have sat for awhile. Generally carb cleaner and air will not clean them out, hence the wire method.

Good luck

[dirtybuggy133]

ok, so I checked for air leaks and didn't find any the carb has a plastic hose on the bottom with a flat head screw to adjust when I loosened it gas just kept on pouring out and buggy would not start any more could this explain why its not running?

[Masteryota]

If it is on the very bottom of the carb, that is a fuel bowl drain, and drains the fuel out of the carb for extended storage. It would explain why it won't start if it is still open and draining. The pilot screw is near the intake hose leading to the engine, I would not mess with the screw settings till you double check the pilot and main jets are cleared. Even then, screw it in taking note now many turns it takes to seat, and put it back in the same setting during reassembly.

[dirtybuggy133]

Thanks everybody finally got it running, cleaned my carb again, and found a short in the wire coming from battery. Thanks for all your help.

[bear]

Good deal, always best when yuo figure it out yourself!