Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

[tudiebird]

I can squeeze the primer ball as much as I want and it won't get hard. Why? And its new too!

 

[shamus2]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

is the arrow on the bulb pointing towards the fuel tank or the motor? Unless you did something REALLY stupid (like I did a couple of weeks ago) and had the fuel line connected to the tank the wrong way. I somehow had the fuel line connected to the tank breather and the breather line connected to the fuel... took me a week to realise why the bulb wouldn't go hard!!!!

 

[mikesea]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

sometimes you just need to get it primed,disconnect from the engine side,squeeze then place a finger over the end that goes to the eng.it,let it expand ,then remove finger,squeeze again doing the same thing, should start to pull fuel after doing this a few times you will feel it,or you could have a problem on the tank side ,like a broken pick up tube ,assuming its a built in tank,AND sometimes new balls arent good

 

[licketdsplit756]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

if ya bought it at walmart its junk i just bought one and it never held pressure from the get go. ask all kinds of people what the problem could be. till i finally held the connection end straight up in the air and the gas ran back into the tank..

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

the float needles in the carbs are stuck, not closing. you are just pumping gas thru the carb.

 

[tudiebird]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

I did get it from walmart!!! Wow, good guess. But I am confused by the carb needles comment? What are those and where are they located? Its facing the right way. The arrow is pointing towards the engine. For the gas comment, do I take the fuel line off then squeeze and watch for gas to fly out? Could this be the reason my 115 Johnson is slow off the start?

 

[F_R]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

They are crummy primer bulbs. I have two of them and neither one is worth a hoot. They never do get firm, but the motor starts and runs OK anyway. Hold it so the arrow points straight up while you squeeze it. Someday I'm going to go get a real one from a dealer.

 

[simpkinslarry]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

Re the float needle post. If your floats are jammed down for some reason (unlikely that all of them would be) the float wil not lift as fuel enters the carb bowl therefore the float needle valve will not shut and fuel will continue to flow into the carb while you are pumping the fuel line bulb. This will be obvious as fuel will be pouring out of the carbs/air box assembly somewhere. Tempco fuel lines from West Marine and other proper boating dealers are good quality alternative to OEM but even with them you some times have to put your finger over the motor connection end and make it act as a non-return valve until you get the fuel flowing. Once fuel is in the line and the primer bulb the internal non return valve works perfectly. Remember to open the vent on the tank if it's a portable one! I didn't do that once and the motor sucked my plastic tank into a real funny shape. The motor fuel pump has quiote a bit of suck.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

A couple of other thoughts. You could be sucking air - check the o-rings in the connectors. And when you squeeze the bulb are you holding it in a vertical position with the intake at the bottom? If not try it that way.

 

[mikesea]

Re: Primer ball won't get hard. Why?

yes,you need to take the fuel line off the ball so you can put your finger on the engine end of the ball,the side the arrow points to,do it til you get a good shot of gas out,be careful,you can use a small length of hose to do whatever works and is safe,as mentioned by many already,some of the balls are cheap pieces of crap.and dont be suprised if (that is if this one works)it splits in a few months,for a few bucks more I like to stick with original equipt.