white lift trouble

[dsweld1]

im new hear great site. i just got an old white forklift with a 4 cylinder continental.my friend put new points coil condensor plugs wires and got great spark...then put a new vaporizor in it but the electronic selonoid came up missing... so weve been just pushing the button on the back of the vaporizor to get propane to flow to the carb.will the selonoid not being there and just pushing the button put to much propane in carb??if i flutter the button the lift will run for a few seconds.any help is welcomed thanks

 

[willie59]

If your talking about that round solenoid coil that mounts to side of vaporizer, that is to assist in cold start up, typically connected to a push button on the dash of the machine to give it a shot of propane to start. Once engine is started, shouldn't need assist coil to run. The new vaporizer has to be properly matched to the engine and carb as these regulators come with different size springs inside for the various engine applications. If engine won't continue running, could be wrong vaporizer, clogged filter element in lock off valve (if one is fitted, or problem with carburetor.

 

[dsweld1]

thanks willie59, i will check the vaporizor for proper match. the lift ran 2 days ago for about 5 mins... then the next day the lines were freezing and now wont start.i happend to change the lines because one was leaking.now all i get is flutter like its flooding out if that makes sense.so if i understand correctly the solenoid just is there for cold start up. should i be pressing the button on the vaporizor to try to start it or just start without that??

 

[BillG]

Are you talking about the primer solenoid on the vaporizer or the propane lock off valve (goes in the fuel line between the tank and vaporizer)? Is this an MA series such as MA30, if so these originally came with a G85 Century vaporizer and later an Impco. Do you know what brand that you have? As far as freezing fuel line goes, frost appears at the point of restriction and allows the liquid propane to vaporize and therefore act as a refrigerant and freeze the line causing frost to form. At what point is it freezing? Also it is not necessary to press the primer button on the vaporizer unless it is cold and limited cranking power is available.

 

[dsweld1]

thanks billg, the origional vaporizor is a model g85 century,the new one is the same model g85.the freezing was heppening when the lift wouldnt start after a few min of having the tank on and cranking without starting. i changed the propane lines tonite now it doesnt seem to freeze.as far as i know the selonoid was mounted to the vaporizor with 2 wires, i was working on another project when it was removed.

 

[BillG]

At cranking speed the vaporizer should never freeze unless there is no coolant. Make sure that the coolant lines from the engine are clear and the vaporizer isn't air locked after you get it running. The Continental engine is easy starting as long as everything is working properly. Propane like any fuel can flood the engine and prevent starting but turning off the fuel and leaving it set for a couple minutes will usually get things going. I never worked on an MA series even in cold weather that needed the primer.

 

[dsweld1]

thanks billg the thing must have somethin my friend and i are overlooking.the coolant is full to my knowledge i know fuel is getting through to carb maybe the govenor is not hooked up right. i dont have a manual nor did i take it apart just tryin to get it goin.my friend says that he will get me a new duel gas/propane carb this week.hes goin to see if it runs on gas then propane i guess.as long as i can move stuff it will all be good thanks for your help

 

[willie59]

To back up and refresh, as I read this, it seems you obtained an old lift, decided to give it a "tune up", new points, plugs, etc, and put a new vaporizer on it, now have problems, you didn't mention if machine ran properly prior to changes. It ran for appx 5 mins two days ago, now have problem with line freeze, is it just a fuel line that freezes or the vaporizer itself? As BillG mentioned, check those coolant lines, which in the case of propane regulators are not for cooling, they're for "warming" the vaporizer unit. Many times those units use small coolant hoses with small ID hose barbs, doesn't take much to clog one of those hose barbs and restrict coolant flow.

As for the cold start solenoid, your going off on a rabbit trail on that, the cold start is a "bonus feature" on a vaporizer, makes for quick cold start up, but a system that is in proper working order really doesn't require that cold start solenoid, your engine running problem lies somewhere else.

 

[TD24]

Hit e-bay with "White forklift manauls".
There is a parts catalog listed, also one for the upright.

 

[dsweld1]

the lift ran a couple times over a three yr period before i got it.i never heard it run till the other day.the fuel line and vaporizor would both freeze.the solenoid was just a guess as i didnt know what it did thanks for letting me know.the lift has spark so its not that it seems to have good compresion fuel is getting to the carb. my friend did most of the work on it when i took overit was in pieces carb of and limkages to govenor and throttle. he had plans of a new carb to convert it to gas and propane to avoid the propane i guess.i would like to just run propane or at least find out why it wont start .will not having enough coolant in the engine cause it not to start? .thanks

 

[willie59]

Ok, thanks for the further details. Check those coolant lines, make sure that there is good coolant flow going through the vaporizer. As for running on gasoline, with the alcohol gas we have nowdays, I'd take a proper running propane unit any day. But it's a tricky thing, propane, as opposed to gasoline, is far more picky about air/fuel ratio mixture. If things are just a little out of whack, it's a no run situation. BTW, what propane carb does that thing have on it?

 

[dsweld1]

the carb ill know tomorrow i know that coolant is as full as i can tell.maybe just adjustments on carb but i think its more of it needing a bfh upside the roll bar

 

[TD24]

Coolant being full does not mean it is going thru the vaporizer.

Open the return line at the vap to the block and see if water flows.
If not, remove the feed line from the vap and see if water is going down to there.
Water coming thru the return line, all OK. Water is circulating.
Water coming out the feed line but not the return means your vaporizer is
plugged someway.

Actually your trouble is probably in your carb linkage adjustment.
If it is a Century carb, and has a little link built like a tie rod (can turn center knurled part
and lengthen or shorten/ has jam nuts) and it is not within proper range, you are not
getting LP thru it to the manifold.

If it is screwed all the way short, or all the way long, it is not right. Play with it and try to
get it to the middle of it's length. If you can hit a length where it will crank and run, while
running screw it in and out to find and sweet spot. Lock the jam nuts and dare anyone to
touch it.

Only other way I know to find out how to set it is to find a machine running the same carb
and count the threads on each end of its rod and set yours the same. That will crank it at least.

If it was a new carb out of the box, it probably was center set and will crank anything.
If it was used, old, a take off, then your linkage could be bad off. A few turns can make a
big difference.

 

[dsweld1]

thanks td24 hopefully a new carb is going to show up this week for now its just lawn art.but ill keep ya posted thanks

 

[dsweld1]

ok i put a gas carb on the machine and screwed with the distributor a little bit runs great.i need to hook up throttle properly.but it runs lifts and moves.the old carb seemed to be week in spring and the linkage was binding up.with the carb and timing this is probably why it was not consistantly in running.would the timing be the same on a gas system as propane?? i appriciate everyones help and will continue to chime in.thanks great site