Just want to share this interesting unit on someone's garage. A customer who contacted me for help regarding his newly purchased new Victa VSX160 mustang which starts but doesn't revs and ask me for help us suggestions. He sent me this photo and in my surprised it's quite really brand new unit. What do you think is the problem? Do you think it's best to fully rebuild the carburetor or just replace the return spring or main jet. But I think it's not a good idea to replace the spring and main jet as they are original and unlikely to fail especially the engine runs but only doesn't revs. What do you think about this unit? It's really great find, right? How much you think it worth in it's current condition?
I've had tons of Victa 2 strokes that people leave the throttle control in the stop position and after some time of compressing the spring in the carby the spring will loose it's tension and no longer open the poppet valve when the throttle is pushed down to full throttle ,most G4 /LM carburetors I will stretch the spring so the poppet opens and after I turn the mower off I will leave the throttle control in the full throttle position so the carby spring isn't under tension this also stops the kill switch rubbers deforming from constant tension.
My grandson got a brand new one a few years ago, out of the box it worked for a short while and then would not rev up. I modified the carby and he has not had a problem since. Wish I could find mowers like that Max for $50/$100
Wish I could find mowers like that Max for $50/$100
You must be looking in the wrong places again Norm as I see them at the side of the road ,I just scrapped one ,not worth my time to get $50. , then I just get lots of messages for $25 .
People can put high prices on them but I don't see them sell ,even at $170 you probably won't get a call.
I've had tons of Victa 2 strokes that people leave the throttle control in the stop position and after some time of compressing the spring in the carby the spring will loose it's tension and no longer open the poppet valve when the throttle is pushed down to full throttle ,most G4 /LM carburetors I will stretch the spring so the poppet opens and after I turn the mower off I will leave the throttle control in the full throttle position so the carby spring isn't under tension this also stops the kill switch rubbers deforming from constant tension.
Cheers Max.
"Okay Houston, we've had a problem here".
Having a problem and my research lead me to this thread, need some advice.
Seven years ago put my Sunbeam Tiger160 High Arch (rebadged Victa 2 stroke) into storage. It was running perfectly and, as is my wont with petrol motors being put away, the tank was drained and the motor was run until it stopped.
Last night it was fuelled up, petrol tap turned on, given a shake about, throttle put to " cold start", and no signs of life after many pulls and many changes of throttle positions.
Removed plug and even after thorough cleaning couldn't get a spark, another known good plug also no spark.
Never had probs with electric/electronics due purely to time in storage apart from rodents chewing stuff.
Sounds like it might be throttle spring/kill switch troubles similar to above. I'm no stranger to motors but have no experience with Victa carbs and electricals and am daunted by the throttle cable running inside the air tubing and talk of poppets...
Hi MM As I have so much trouble with the kill switch setup I do away with them but in your case I assume you want to try and keep it original. First think I would do is get the wire that goes through the side of the rubber boot out without disturbing the wire that comes into the end. This will isolate the kill switch so you can test for spark. If you don't have spark then it is time to fit an ignition module to it and that should bring the spark back
Originality with mowers is a non-issue for me, you may recall seeing my various "dodgy" mods from my Introductory post :-)
I'm about to head to town and will be seeing my mower/chainsaw/brushcutter men ( if they are open ). When you mention ignition module does that mean a Victa part or a generic - if so any recommended generic?
Hi MM, If you just want the mower to work for another 20 years then as I do with everyone I do and that is modify the carby. Bit of work to set them up I say about 2 hours to get it right. As for the module any Victa module is fine, easiest ones to find are the ones fitted to the earlier powertorque motors or if you can't find one of those you can buy new modules for about $20 on ebay. I assume this mower still has the points condenser setup and the module means you don't need them, just leave them in situ, don't bother removing them
As Norm has said it’s 9 times out of ten the kill switch.
It’s very likely just that the rubber insulator has broken down which is simple to fix, either that or the insulation on one or both the kill switch wires has worn off.
It’s a five minute job if the first; you replace the insulator but you need to get one, still available from most decent suppliers. It’s a black boot thing about the size of the end of a kids finger. One wire goes in the side the other in the end.
Ten minutes if the second. You pull both wires, clean the terminals and resolder before sliding on some heat shrink insulation to replace the worn bit(s) of insulation.
Yep, the rubber boot has turned to mush. Ran out of time when in town yesterday so didn't get to the mower shop - any repairs over the next few days will be a cobble-up with whatever I have lying around on the property.
While the cowl is off and the carb detached I may as well pull the flywheel and have a looksee underneath. Is that top nut a RH thread?
First time fiddling with one of these Victa carbs..... Can see why another ODK poster having carb woes wanted to just whack on an Amal ;-)
Hi MM, Which motor are we talking about a PT or a F/C. These carbs are very simple what kills me with them is the primer caps and float needles. No point in going to the mower shop they will probably only have plastic needles anyway. Only way I can get them to work properly is by doing a full carby mod, cutting the cam to get rid of the lumps Victa put on the cam so the cable has problems getting the lifter to climb over the lumps. There is a lot of info on how to modify the carb I can look it up if you want me to Lot of reading but here it is. One thing I don't think is in here is that I now file the throat of the carby where the cable enters the body, the reason being is because the cam is lifted higher because of the washers under it and the body needs to be filed to prevent bending the cable when you are clipping it into place. I might put a pic on the topic to show what I mean
I'm hoping not to have to delve too far into this Victa carbie world but do appreciate your help.
It was running perfectly when put away and would be great if just disabling the original klll switch would get me a spark, although I would also want to make some mechanism to kill the motor for safety reasons.
Although it was stored in a dry shed we had constant heavy rain from October 2021 to July 2022 and then just rain/drizzle for months - this created a bad humidity problem and I suspect there will be some fungus under the flywheel.
And, there's always a back story.....
When found by the roadside this was surprisingly complete and ran OK but smoky and no compression. I put it aside and by chance found a NOS Victa 2nd oversize piston later, then took off the cast iron barrel, had it bored and fitted the new piston/rings/pin, and it ran superbly. Then into storage.
Thanks to the heavy rain mowing or doing just about anything outdoors was not possible until only a few weeks ago and the grass and weeds are "as high as an elephant's eye".
Next, headquarters at a certain unnamed emergency organisation I work with demanded we dump and replace all our petrol supplies for 2 and 4 stroke stuff. Somehow I ended up with all the "dumpings" including way more "old" 2 stroke fuel ( which I had personally mixed ) than my chainsaws and brushcutters would use in a year.
Been mowing a lot and thought it a good idea to break out one of my stored 2 stroke mowers to chew up the free fuel. The Sunbeam with its hardly used piston seemed a logical choice.
Every time I store these points mowers in a shed and after not being used for a few months the motors won't run next time without pulling the flywheel off and cleaning the points.
I prefer to use a electronic coil from a side pull full crank but it must be installed backwards onto the E core when used in this 2 stroke full crank motor. I haven't tried just using a Module on the points coil but have heard they take more turning force to start than using points.
Just put a module on it and forget about the points and condenser, leave them in there just connect the module to the kill switch wire and you will have spark. Any module will doe F/C, PT.or one from ebay, I have tried them all and they all work fine. MM, some reading for you if you have the time https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/u...arby-repair-modifications.html#Post82288
Couldn't undo the top nut but seems all my banging and (gentle-ish) bashing must have shaken the bits under the flywheel enough to get a spark. Turning the motor off is just a matter of earthing the wire.
Happy camper ;-))))
Edit - don't need to earth the kill wire to stop the motor. Pulling the throttle lever right back past Cold Start shuts it off.
Done a little mow. Great mower, plenty of power and so light to push. I'm becoming a Victa fan.