ec300 fouling plugs after jetting

[ec300 dave]

Hi, I have a problem! My 2000 ec300 is costing me a small fortune in plugs even after i paid for a dealer to set up the carb correctly for me Since having the bike setup it does go like stink pulls strongly from low to mid in the rev range then its spaceship time! but still it eats a plug every 30 miles or so. I am very confused any body have any idea if any thing else could csuse this? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated..... Dave.

 

[HuskyDude]

Not sure what you mean by Eats plugs.
Is there any way of posting a picture of the plugs you are referring to?
You plug should be a light to dark tan color. If not you better stop riding and look at the jets again.

Here a good read for ya. How to read a Spark Plugs

 

[ec300 dave]

Thanks for that huskydude. By eating plugs i meant fouled a plug.My plug doesnt look like any of them its just visibly wet. So is it possible that the bike could run sweet and the jetting be wrong? Carb set up at the moment is 42/175 needle on the middle clip not sure what needle think it is the standard 1 and standard slide air screw 2 turns out.

 

[jostby]

My '00 was the same originally. The LTR kit was the cure but I'm not sure they are available any more. GoFasters might still have them or they might have the JD kit which is similar. The needle change was the big difference.
Did your bike foul plugs before the dealer had it? It's also possible they set the float a little high and that could be contributing to the problem but if so you should be seeing some fuel leaking from the vent/overflow hoses that come off the carb too.
My bike still runs pretty rich. I changed plug types and no longer use the BR8** plug (R=resistor), changed to a B8** and have never fouled since but some bikes are sensitive and it can cause problems with the electronics or your computer if you use one.
One other thing, are you sure you have a EC? Where does the wiring come out of the flywheel cover? 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock? If 10 o'clock position and you have usd WP forks I suspect you have the more aggressive XC model that uses the 2K2 ignition (same as mine). Or look at the serial number on the steering head. It will referance either EC or XC. Get the head and carb done by RBD and the jet kit and never worry about it again.

 

[Todd5774]

You do have the plug gap set correctly? After i jetted mine properly i had to open the gap on the plug just atouch more or it would foul plugs after about 10 miles, havent replaced aplug since, and that was 6 months ago.

 

[gasgasman]

For you guys on a budget.
You can soak the plugs in vinegar for a couple hours to clean them. Comes out like new.
Or, save them for when your buddies foul a plug.

 

[kendunn]

My sons was doing that and it ended up being the float level was too high. These bikes seem to like the float to be a little lower than spec'ed. Bend the tabs to where the floats are a little lower than they currently are, bet that fixes it!

BTW, I bought a Harbor Freight plug cleaner for like $10 when his was doing that. Its just a little sandblaster thing, but it works fine (I used to use a little sandblaster to clean them, just get all the sand out!).

 

[ec300 dave]

Thanks for all the helpful info guys will have a look at the float height but wouldnt I notice excess petrol comming out of the overflow if that was set too high? I think I'll also get a new needle just incase mine is worn ( would that cause it?). The bike is definately an EC even though it does have the wps on the front (not sure they did the xc in the uk) so I suppose its just a suck it an see sort of thing especially with the bike running so well. I'm ver happy with the bike in every other way it actually makes me look a far better faster rider than I am! Oh and thanks gasgasman for the vinegar tip I'll sure be trying that on the 8 fouled eix plugs i have.

 

[socalscott]

May need pilot block o-rings and gasket. There is a security torque screw tool at the auto parts house.

 

[gg3]

Thanks for all the helpful info guys will have a look at the float height but wouldnt I notice excess petrol comming out of the overflow if that was set too high? I think I'll also get a new needle just incase mine is worn ( would that cause it?). The bike is definately an EC even though it does have the wps on the front (not sure they did the xc in the uk) so I suppose its just a suck it an see sort of thing especially with the bike running so well. I'm ver happy with the bike in every other way it actually makes me look a far better faster rider than I am! Oh and thanks gasgasman for the vinegar tip I'll sure be trying that on the 8 fouled eix plugs i have.

I had the same model untill a few months ago(wp forks/ohlins rear).Never had any plug fouling problems though.If it's any help I ran a 40 pilot,180 main,original needle (N1EF I think) middle clip & 1.5 turns out on the air screw,float height 11mm,motul 800 at 40:1 with 10% ethanol gas.Riding 0-1000m at 12C to 28C.Did always run a NGK iridium plug.Bike was way more responsive & cleaner on the ethanol gas.Bit of a strange one?If the float was too high you wouldn't have it running as well as you say,it would be boggy & not as responsive.If the fuel valve or float was sticking it would over flow.
Really stumped it can be running so rich but running so good?
Could it be an electrical problem?When it stops with a fouled plug ,have you ever let it cool down a bit & try & start it?

 

[ec300 dave]

now I really am puzzled!

Well thanks for all the advice guys I am awaiting delivery of a new needle and float valve( I noticed that both appear a little worn) hopefully that will remedy the problem along with resseting the float height im sure i read that it should be 16mm not 11mm anyway i need a little help with this does anybody have any tips on how to do it easily an what it should be? I took the bike out sunday (weighed down with a bumbag full of plugs ) did about 50 miles and it did not foul the plug I had a br8 standard plug instead of the usual eix i use could it be that my bike doesnt like the posher plug !

 

[Todd5774]

Mine will foul up the iex plug very easily, but then i can putput around all day on the br8 and never have a problem, i just use the cheap plugs now!

 

[ec300 dave]

Weird eh its notoften the solution to a problem is to use a cheaper item! I have just been doing a little bit of reading on the ngk website and it says the gaps aare set larger in the eix maybe this has somehing to do with it?

 

[Gassey fan]

i had same problem on my 07 so i dropped the needle 1 clip to 2nd from the bottom no problems now

 

[kendunn]

Thanks for all the helpful info guys will have a look at the float height but wouldnt I notice excess petrol comming out of the overflow if that was set too high? I think I'll also get a new needle just incase mine is worn ( would that cause it?). The bike is definately an EC even though it does have the wps on the front (not sure they did the xc in the uk) so I suppose its just a suck it an see sort of thing especially with the bike running so well. I'm ver happy with the bike in every other way it actually makes me look a far better faster rider than I am! Oh and thanks gasgasman for the vinegar tip I'll sure be trying that on the 8 fouled eix plugs i have.

His didn't overflow any fuel. Funny thing, my 300 would take spells where it would overflow when I stopped, but never fouled a plug. His seemed to be a problem when he went down a long downhill, it would flood out and his plug would foul. Since I lowered his float it has never done it again, and that has been months ago. I think it was a combo of the extra fuel getting into the cylinder and not being able to open up the throttle enough (steep downhills) to clear it out. I have also lowered my float and it doesn't overflow anymore. I had a little trouble jetting mine, but think I finally have it.