Bought a new SM Honda Lite 35cc auger from Cabela's last week. Dang thing was very difficult to start (with multiple cranks), and could only get it to idle roughly. Even after 3-4 minute warm-up, it would stall as soon as I attempted to gently throttle up. It acted as though there was minimal or no fuel flow to the carb. Tank had adequate fuel, and the cap was opened several times to avoid any vacuum inside the tank. Checked the plug gap. Nothing seemed to help.
Then I noticed that fuel line between tank and carb was routed around a C-clamp to keep it out of the way of the primer bulb, and it seemed to have a kink around the bend. Pulled the fuel line off the tank and sure enough, it had a stiff >90 degree bent sleeve over the fuel line keeping it bent & kinked. I imagine the sleeve was designed to prevent kinking around the clamp, but IMO it was the main culprit causing the kink. Pulled the stiff sleeve off the fuel line, shortened the fuel line slightly so it ran fairly straight between the tank and carb. Access to primer bulb is not an issue even with the more direct routing of the fuel line. Presto! Started on the first crank, and throttles up to max speed beautifully. That little Honda engine runs great now.
Don't know if others have had this problem with stalling out when applying throttle, but thought I'd put it out there in case someone is having a similar issue. I consider this to be from a poorly routed fuel line from the factory, which thankfully I was able to correct and re-route more directly between the tank & carb. I definitely love the Honda.
