Idle issues lo206

Ajl1031

New member
So me and my dad both bought two brand new lo206s because we heard they were super reliable. We both did the proper break ins we changed the oil after 2 soft sessions not revving it up then we went hard on the karts and have been changing the oil after each practice day (we don't race). we have used the motors 3 times now and today i went to the garage to warm them up since we wont be riding for the next few weeks and heres what happened.

I go to turn mine on and it wont turn on unless i am holding the choke and if i let it go once on it will shut off. i get in the kart pull the chord and hold the choke and i am able to get the kart going by stepping on the gas immediately. I drive around my neighborhood a few times to see if it needs to be warmed up and now when i come to a stop it only idles at 1100 RPM when it used to idle at 2000 perfectly the last time we ran the karts.

I take out my dads kart after getting frustrated with mine and its the same thing as what was going on with mine low idle and needs choke to stay on...

The fact that its happening to both karts makes me believe that something is affecting them both in the same way. The temperature is usually around 85-90 when we ride and today it was 80 but i don't believe 5 degrees can really have that much of an impact on idle?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we are both extremely disheartened...
 
If they have been setting for awhile, I suspect the gas has dried up in the carb. If ethanol in the gas, deposits have partially plugged offices and fuel passages.

Carbs need removed, disassembled, and cleaned.

Several builders recommend draining fuel and flushing with wd40 after each race day.
 
Is there anyway to unclog it on its own? This is gonna get pretty annoying I usually ride every other week and don’t want to be having to disassemble the carb every single time. We read up on buying these motors and for the most part everyone said just oil and that’s it for maintenance. Will riding it how it is harm the Motor or potentially help unclog it?
 
It may be dirt in the air bleed.
Remove air filter. Look in end of carb.
There are 2 small holes visible. Spray carb cleaner down both of those.

If still don't idle, have to be cleaned.
Maintaining your engine is part of the game. And the fun.
 
First a bit of prevention. Drain gas out of carb after you finish if it's going to sit more than a day or two. With a short piece of fuel line on the carb blow something like WD40 in to carb. This should help you for the next time. You may need to pull the float bowl off remove the jets and clean them ..not hard but inconvenient at best good luck .
 
I should also mention that on both karts when I pulled it one time it sounded like it was gonna turn on but then it just like coughed up a puff of white smoke through the filter
 
as mentioned above clean clean clean.. depending on what you've adjusted .. you may want too go back to a base line setting.. check the briggs web site look at the two screws... make sure you are at the base line setting.. ALSO if you went right from the box to the kart.. you may need to set float drop ...i've got a motor that's never given me a bit of trouble.. today i had to adjust several things and clean it... just nature of karting.. No worries.. you'll get there
 
Is there anyway to unclog it on its own? This is gonna get pretty annoying I usually ride every other week and don’t want to be having to disassemble the carb every single time. We read up on buying these motors and for the most part everyone said just oil and that’s it for maintenance. Will riding it how it is harm the Motor or potentially help unclog it?

No riding will not help.
Modern fuel is not any good at long term storage.
The ethanol in it will corrode all most all small engine carbs even the weed eater manual says drain fuel and run till it stops as normal routine maintenance.
You need to remove one carb and take the float bowl off , get you a piece of wire off a bread tie a can of carb cleaner , safety glasses and clean it up .
You tube a vidieo or two.
It's not overly complicated.
The other option would be an ultrasonic cleaner , still may need to use a wire depending on how bad. Faster motors.com has some carb pics and good info for this task.
 
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If you get a puff of white smoke that means it's flooded. Just hold the throttle open while you crank it so it gets more air.
 
So me and my dad both bought two brand new lo206s because we heard they were super reliable. We both did the proper break ins we changed the oil after 2 soft sessions not revving it up then we went hard on the karts and have been changing the oil after each practice day (we don't race). we have used the motors 3 times now and today i went to the garage to warm them up since we wont be riding for the next few weeks and heres what happened.

I go to turn mine on and it wont turn on unless i am holding the choke and if i let it go once on it will shut off. i get in the kart pull the chord and hold the choke and i am able to get the kart going by stepping on the gas immediately. I drive around my neighborhood a few times to see if it needs to be warmed up and now when i come to a stop it only idles at 1100 RPM when it used to idle at 2000 perfectly the last time we ran the karts.

I take out my dads kart after getting frustrated with mine and its the same thing as what was going on with mine low idle and needs choke to stay on...

The fact that its happening to both karts makes me believe that something is affecting them both in the same way. The temperature is usually around 85-90 when we ride and today it was 80 but i don't believe 5 degrees can really have that much of an impact on idle?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we are both extremely disheartened...
Two near identical engines , two near identical issues. 85-90- your either in the desert or south Florida desert would be dry , less corrosion then the beach / swamp.

5 degrees ain't it.
Fuel / corrosion problem.
 
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My guess is that Your idle jet is clogged because you left gas / alcohol (gasohol) in the carb after the last time you used it!
Drain the carb after each race and spray WD 40 in the fuel inlet nipple, the main air bleed and the idle air hole.
Let it drain out and then put the plug back in.
 
It may be dirt in the air bleed.
Remove air filter. Look in end of carb.
There are 2 small holes visible. Spray carb cleaner down both of those.

If still don't idle, have to be cleaned.
Maintaining your engine is part of the game. And the fun.

This is the only possible solution before disassembling.
I've not seen mention of a fuel filter, do you have them ?
 
If the Air bleeds are plugged it would cause a rich condition and you would not have to use the choke to make it run.
If it's 85 to 90 degrees in your location fuel is going to evaporate from the carb leaving "varnish" or trash in the idle jet.
If it's that warm outside what is it in your garage?
The spec for idle jet is .011" to .013"
Take the idle jet out and hold it up to the light. If you can't see through it you found the problem.
Soak in carb cleaner and blow out with compressed air. If that doesn't work you either need to get a new idle jet or an .011" drill bit.
If this is used for kart racing you better be very careful drilling the jet.
I have a set of precision wire gauges as well as a set of carb drills and reamers.
I also found a piece of wire from a small cardboard tag that has a .011" wire on it.
Maybe you might find one also.
Let us know what you find::)
 
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