[lovetofish]

Hello all,

I have a 3 years old strike master (solo engine) gas auger that was not used a lots. I took it out last week, started and went on drilling holes; half way through the ice, the auger started loosing power then die. I re-start again and continued on the same hole and same thing happened again. It took me few minutes to drill through a hole that normally takes seconds. I went home, emptied out the gas, put in new gas, replaced the spark plug, started right away, looked and sounded strong when I pressed down the level. I took it to the mountain this past Sat, started real easy, waited a minute for the engine to warm up then proceeded to drill hole. Same thing happened again, half way through the ice, the engine lost power then die. Anyone know why and how I can fix it. Thanks in advance.

 

[ghostman]

Is there a vent screw on top of the gas tank lid?

 

[albow]

Check wires; on mine one of the connectors got loose and it acted like that. Then check hoses. They need to be replaced once in a while. A shot of carb cleaner in your fresh gas (I like seafoam) can help clean up small amount of residual gum that may be hanging out in your carb from old gas.

 

[lovetofish]

Is there a vent screw on top of the gas tank lid?

I don't think so, will check it out today after work.

 

[dujo]

My Strike Master's vent screw on the gas cap vibrates shut when it's running. This makes it vapor lock and shut off. Just have to watch it while it's running. Not sure if that's your issue, but mine does that every time.

 

[Bronco]

Try running it 1/2 choke, check the air filter if it has one, sometimes there's a small screen leading into the exhaust that gets plugged up with carbon. Run some seafoam or amsoil through it maybe one of the needles in the carb has junk in it. Last try adjusting the carb screws, just use small turns to see if that helps.

 

[slayerfish]

SOLO engines dont have a gas cap vent. Since OP says it wasnt used a lot, my bet is Schmegma in the carb.
There is, however a vent line behind the carb. Could be- maybe

 

[fischer]

page six on the solo manual pdf has info on the vent line. might check for pinched gas line

http://www.rapala.com/Owners-Manuals/strikemaster-customer-manuals,default,pg.html?fdid=strikemaster-product-info&id=11

 

[hobiecat]

SOLO engines dont have a gas cap vent. Since OP says it wasnt used a lot, my bet is Schmegma in the carb.
There is, however a vent line behind the carb. Could be- maybe

Sounds like it's starving for fuel...maybe because of that vent line...Here's some info.

"Mike from Strikemaster called me this morning and explained what to do to see if it's a venting issue. One of the tubes that comes out of the gas tank goes to the primer bulb and the other hangs behind the carb and is the vent. He had me take the white plastic piece (might be red or others)off the end of the tube and crank it up. Got it started and after warm up it ran at full throttle. Actually I couldn't get the plastic piece off the hose without cutting so I removed the rubber stopper in it. The rubber stopper has a hole in it for air. When I looked at the inside of the stopper you couldn't see a thru hole so I rolled it in my fingers and you could tell it was stuck together.........bang!! the reason for no air. Once broke loose I put the stopper back and ran the auger, again, no problem at full throttle."

 

[ghostman]

Yeah, sounds like a vent issue to me. Try loosening the gas cap a few turns and run it full throttle for a minute or so and see if that resolves the problem. If so, clean the vent line.

 

[pilotjones]

Had a similar problem with mine last week. Turned out it was a broken fuel line in the tank, would start and run at idle, but then die at full power. Really frustrating to get all the way up to the lake to find that out. Fixed now and runs great.

 

[lovetofish]

Thanks everyone, I will take a look at those in few more days.

 

[Grumpie.]

This wouldnt happen if you had an ION heip. izza:

 

[fischer]

I am sure the Ion is a fine machine, but when the ice is 24-30+ thick and I'm runnin' & gunnin' all day, I'll stick to gas.

small engines are simple things. batteries and circuit boards, not so much.

 

[Grumpie.]

Cuss it.

 

[snagged up]

More Info

Did this set for an extended time with gas in it and no stabilizer? The last time you used it did it run OK? If you answer yes to these questions, the fuel system has gummed up some where IMO.

As mentioned run some Seafoam through it.
:thumb:

 

[lovetofish]

Did this set for an extended time with gas in it and no stabilizer? The last time you used it did it run OK? If you answer yes to these questions, the fuel system has gummed up some where IMO.

As mentioned run some Seafoam through it.
:thumb:

I checked the vent hose to make sure that it was not plugged like Hobie suggested, no apparent leak in the gas hose couple days ago. I started this morning and the same thing happened. The last thing to do was to buy some Seafoam and added to the gas (that thing is not cheap); run and gave it a full throttle, died a couple times and then it stopped dying on full throttle the third time. I shut down the engine and re test it again for an extend period, it looked good going strong. Now I need to test it out on the real ice. Thanks again everyone and snagged up.

 

[snagged up]

FYI

IMO
Run some Seafoam through it in more than 1 tank. Let the Seafoam clean it out and it wont hurt it.

When your done for the season either run it out gas (i prefer this method ) or put Seafoam in the gas tank before storing it.

I run all my motors out of fuel for winter idle time. Why leave gas in them to gum things up. I never have a problem with them with this method.
My outboard is 12 yrs old, lawn mower 18 yrs old , leaf blower 10 yrs old, and weed whacker 12 yrs. old.