Gas Tap Issue?

noodoggy · Post by **noodoggy** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 3:16 am

The past several weeks I seem to be having a fuel issue. Just want to bring it up to see if anyone else is having the same problem with their Stella. I have a 2008 Stella and it seems to act like it has run out of gas, when I still have about a gallon or so left. Even if I turn the lever to reserve I cant seem to keep the fuel flowing. Anyone else having this issue? It is annoying mostly because I have to fuel up more often, but other than that, the Stella is running fine.

viney266 · Post by **viney266** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 3:33 am

Sounds like the reserve tap is clogged. If the tank is full will it run on reserve then?

noodoggy · Post by **noodoggy** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:26 pm

It runs when on regular and reserve, but seems to act like its out of fuel after about a gallon or so has been used. Nowhere near the 2+ gallons of fuel capacity the Stella is supposed to have. I have swung the lever back and forth hoping to unstick it or whatever, but no such luck. The first time this happened to me I looked on some forums and started running it on reserve only. Now it seems to be doing it on reserve now too. I dont know if there could be a vaporlock? I thought I read that only happens on the 4 strokes but I could be wrong. Thanks for the reply!

desmolicious · Post by **desmolicious** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 6:53 pm

Check for vapour lock by opening your gas cap next time it does it.
If that cures it, then clean out the vent hole on your gas cap. Also make sure when your seat is down it is not pressing on top of the gas cap, in essence plugging the vent hole.

Simple things first.

Lokky · Post by **Lokky** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:52 pm

noodoggy wrote: Nowhere near the 2+ gallons of fuel capacity the Stella is supposed to have.

Well the Stella actually only has about 1.8 gallons to the tank, if you fill it to the brim it will take about 1.6 gallons before it hits reserve. Are you sure you aren't just hitting reserve?

Your best bet is to open the cap when it runs out of gas and check your float, if it's floating then there is some kind of issue, but if it's sitting at the bottom of your tank you have simply hit reserve .

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 11:56 pm

On my 4t, it seems like it's running out of gas when there is still a lot left in the tank. However, I think it may be due to gravity. The carburetor gets gas from the tank through gravity - there is no fuel pump. It will start to sputter at just below a half tank IF I am going 50 or above. It probably can't get enough gas to the carburetor at that rate. However, I can go a lot more miles on the tank at slower speeds. Oh, and I leave the reserve on/open all the time.

Has anyone noticed something similar?

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Thu Feb 16, 2012 8:32 am

Good suggestion to clean out the vent. I usually use a paper clip

SIP does make a fast flow fuel tap but they are generally only needed for kittied and highyly modified motors.

Ethenol is tough on all rubber parts in contact with fuel.

When did you last rebuild the carb?

You may need to rebuild the tap or your screen may be getting plugged. Rebuild kits are abailable.

You need a special tool (or a plumbing basin wrench) to remove the tap.

Get in touch with the Orlando Scooter Society. Good bunch of scooter trash that will be glad to give you a hand!

http://www.orlandoscootersociety.com/

desmolicious · Post by **desmolicious** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:45 am

rondothemidget wrote:On my 4t, it seems like it's running out of gas when there is still a lot left in the tank. However, I think it may be due to gravity. The carburetor gets gas from the tank through gravity - there is no fuel pump. It will start to sputter at just below a half tank IF I am going 50 or above. It probably can't get enough gas to the carburetor at that rate. However, I can go a lot more miles on the tank at slower speeds. Oh, and I leave the reserve on/open all the time.

Has anyone noticed something similar?

It has nothing to do with gravity. You are suffering from the blocked EVAP valve which is not allowing your tank to vent properly.

There are several threads here which detail how to fix it.

noodoggy · Post by **noodoggy** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 10:31 pm

BuddyRaton wrote:Good suggestion to clean out the vent. I usually use a paper clip

SIP does make a fast flow fuel tap but they are generally only needed for kittied and highyly modified motors.

Ethenol is tough on all rubber parts in contact with fuel.

When did you last rebuild the carb?

You may need to rebuild the tap or your screen may be getting plugged. Rebuild kits are abailable.

You need a special tool (or a plumbing basin wrench) to remove the tap.

Get in touch with the Orlando Scooter Society. Good bunch of scooter trash that will be glad to give you a hand!

http://www.orlandoscootersociety.com/

Thanks for the tips! I think there is something with either the screen being blocked or the tap valve not working right (leaning towards the latter) I have been leaving the fuel tap on reserve, and I am having no issues. Instead of turning it off just leaving it to on all the time. I do not seem to have any issues as far as flooded engine (hopefully the float in the carb keeps working like it should lol) My guess is the end of the lever has some kind of contraption on it that opens and closes to let gas in from different inlets from the tank. Being that it is a round lever, i am sure it is hard to secure that contraption to the lever, thus it is "slipping" on it. Thus the more I turn the lever to on, reserve and off, the more slippery it becomes and doesnt engage correctly or open correctly. Now that I seem to have it set to reserve without an issue I am going to leave it for the time being. Aint broke, dont fix it. =) Thanks for all yall help. Wish I had a fuel tap diagram or actual one in hand to see if my theory could be correct lol

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:49 am

desmolicious wrote:
rondothemidget wrote:On my 4t, it seems like it's running out of gas when there is still a lot left in the tank. However, I think it may be due to gravity. The carburetor gets gas from the tank through gravity - there is no fuel pump. It will start to sputter at just below a half tank IF I am going 50 or above. It probably can't get enough gas to the carburetor at that rate. However, I can go a lot more miles on the tank at slower speeds. Oh, and I leave the reserve on/open all the time.

Has anyone noticed something similar?
It has nothing to do with gravity. You are suffering from the blocked EVAP valve which is not allowing your tank to vent properly.

There are several threads here which detail how to fix it.

Well... it runs perfectly, at WOT, until about half tank. And I can drain the tank pretty low if I'm going 30-50. It only cuts out at WOT if I'm under half tank. Are those symptoms of the infamous EVAP system issue?

rondothemidget · Post by **rondothemidget** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:04 am

I think I may have solved my problem of it acting like it wasn't getting enough fuel around half a tank. The fuel line connector from the tank points left but the carb is on the right . The fuel line looked like a sink p-trap as it dipped down and over to the carb. I just unhooked the fuel line from the metal hook so it would sit lower and have a more direct path. Two tanks and no problems... so far.

Before:

After:

jimmbomb · Post by **jimmbomb** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:41 am

rondothemidget wrote:I think I may have solved my problem of it acting like it wasn't getting enough fuel around half a tank. The fuel line connector from the tank points left but the carb is on the right . The fuel line looked like a sink p-trap as it dipped down and over to the carb. I just unhooked the fuel line from the metal hook so it would sit lower and have a more direct path. Two tanks and no problems... so far.

Before:

After:

Good eye!!!! And good job!! And good info for other users... thanks for posting your fix!!!!

Modern Buddy

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