Our first win followed by carb failure!

Hey guys! Been a bit a since iv made a post - been extremely busy.

Some time ago I made my first post - asking for thoughts an opinions on a kart I was looking at purchasing... Thanks to this group - I ended up being saved from a major headache.... I ended up not purchasing that particular car due to all the issues..... I did however purchase a kart from a person ( I now consider a good friend ) Chris cooper! He is also a member of the page! If it was not for y'alls help and Mr cooper I wouldn't be racing this year! I cant say enough about me cooper. Not only did he sale me the kart - he set me up with thing such as ( kart stand ) wheels and tires and so on..... Since my purchase he contacts me regularly to see how I am doing! Again couldnt have done with with out him....

Actually - we just won our first ( A main ) the first race of the year!


March 27th was our first race of the year..... However we only got the hear races in before we rained out - this ended up being a blessing..... We devolved a bad running condition in the heat - the engine acted as if it was running outta fuel..... Again thanks to Chris - we figured out the fuel cap was clogged and not venting as it should....

April 3rd we did a playday..... We pretty much got dialed end. Pretty much swapped tires around to get proper stagger - everything else was left how chris had setup it up when he owned it..... Again Chris helped with the stagger!

April 10th this last weekend - we mad up the ( A feature ) from the previous race - we ended up winning ( beating last year's points winner ) - plus we had the normal race events....... We started last in the heats - got into 2nd and was running down first - we ended up tossing the chain and had to restart last.... We got back up to 3rd and on the last lap / last turn tossed the chain again........ ( I have fixed the chain issue )

We ran the final ( A main ) and grabbed 5th ( should have been 4th but we ran out of laps )...... Started 9th.


The kart handles amazing - whatever chris and his guys did - they did it right. We are the only kart able to flat foot around the track!

Now for the bad...... We have devolved a carb issues - twice with two different carbs - under the same circumstances.....


Durning the playday - after running tons of laps - wide open - when I came into the pits the carb begin to flood.... We pulled the carb apart - cleaned it and checked everything - all appeared good..... But as soon as we fired it up ( it started flooding again )......

Chris recommend we get a blueprint carb - I'm not sure if our rules allow this ( stock predator class ).... Not knowing for sure - I just ordered the stock carb from tbrwins.com........ I got it installed a few days before race day and it has no issues..... On race day - again we ran our hotlaps - make up ( A main ) - heat races - ( Amain )..... Sure enough after finishing 5th in the final race - coming down pit road the carb flooded..... at first I thought this was pump related - something with the engine being at higher temps pulling a heavy vacum but I'm starting to think not...
Yesterday after setting all night I pulled the kart out - it was still having the issue - fire it up and fuel starts dumping out the carb..... I ended up ( partly ) closing the fuel valve on the carb - trying to see if I slowed the fuel down ( would it stop )..... It did..... But concerned this would starve the motor for fuel at wide open..... I tried several times to open the valve but it would - start flooding again..... I tried increasing idle speed to help the issue along and this did not seem to help...

I attempted to record the issue but as soon as I started recording - the issue fixed it's self???? I didn't even take anything apart - just messed with the cut off on the carb....

( I thought at first maybe the carb had to much fuel and the engine couldn't burn it fast enough - the pump is pumping to fast - cutting the fuel off allowed the engine to catch up ) ...... However - the first time this happened ( first carb ) - we took the carb completely off - emptying the fuel in the carb and lines....

I wanna order a blueprint carb but I'm concerned - what ever is killing these carbs will kill it as well....

No one else has seen this - at least not at the track we our racing at - the owner and his son have both raced for 20 years and they don't know what to think other then dirt in the carb not allowing the needle to seat.....

Can I get your guys thoughts and opinions on this -

Stock predator - weenie pipe - pvl fly wheel. Top plate with fuel pump tapped into valve cover.

Thanks guys!
 
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Glad to hear some positive news for a change and even thought I do not not know Chris Cooper personally, hats to off to him for making our karting world a better place.

Congratulations on your first A main win of the new year!
 
Foreign materal comes to mind .
Be it the fuel lines or tank .
No fuel filter ?
Another thing is the fuel jug it needs to be a dedicated to the kart use , and clean .
Filter the fuel as its introduced too the tank .
The gasket on the back of the carb has the vent hole it could be misaligned or partially blocked , do to swelling . Though unlikely .
 
Close inspection of the float hinge and needle . Anything that might cause it to hang up casting flash , a burr then polish the seat with a q tip and tooth paste .
Drain the carb into a clean container when the issue arrises so you can check for debris .
 
Foreign materal comes to mind .
Be it the fuel lines or tank .
No fuel filter ?
Another thing is the fuel jug it needs to be a dedicated to the kart use , and clean .
Filter the fuel as its introduced too the tank .
The gasket on the back of the carb has the vent hole it could be misaligned or partially blocked , do to swelling . Though unlikely .
This has been known to cause fires. Many a race shop have been burned due to the static the filter creates.
 
This has been known to cause fires. Many a race shop have been burned due to the static the filter creates.
There are several things in play when accidents happen .
Number one is the damage , IE a Fire .
Then there is the root cause . A spark .
Then contributing factors .
A spill , an ungrounded fuel can , smoking while fueling . Welding near by , fueling in an enclosed area , improper electric fuel pump connections and of course static electricity .
Fueling a running vehicle , fueling a hot engine .
All human error .
Fueling a racing kart without a filtered funnel vs with a filtered fuel or no funnel
I don't see the difference .
 
The API reported176 car fires at the pump from1992 - 2010 .
Most caused by reentering and exiting the vehicle . Cuasing static electricity too build up . Then discharge when touching the metal of the nozzle of vehicle .
For your teading pleasure .
Screenshot_20210412-134542_Drive.jpg
 
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