Monday, September 26, 2022

@#$%! Generator

Damn generator won't start.  It will almost start - start to turn over, but then shuts off.  Here's the situation:

  • Last time I ran it was when I got it, four years ago.  It's been in storage ever since.
  • I drained the gas tank and ran it until it quit before storing it, so it is unlikely that it's a bad gas issue.
  • I checked the oil.  Unsurprisingly, it looks pristine.
  • I filled the gas tank with ethanol-free gas.
Anyone have any thoughts?  I didn't take the carburetor out to check it because that's kind of a pain.


28 comments:

Thomas said...

Maybe try using some starter fluid to get it going, at least enough to get things moving through the carb?

MikeyB said...

Remove spark plug, spray starter fluid in cylinder, insert plug and try again. Might take a couple of ties to catch.

Rev. Paul said...

Dad & I spent hours trying to fix a balky carb on an old Chevy, back in the day, and it turned out that the float assembly was stuck - couldn't go up and down. We wiggled it, reassembled the thing, and all was fine thereafter.

1chota said...

Hammer?

blogger said...

Thanks for the starter fluid idea. That's a lot easier than taking the carb out.

- Borepatch

BobF said...

I go with Mikey. And start marking your calendar to put 1 cup of fresh gas in it every 6 months so you can start it up and run until dry.

BTW, this may be handy for you: https://stormcarib.com/closest.cgi

Get the lat/longs at the bottom of the Discussion section such as https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT4+shtml/260858.shtml?
Arrival time/date will be off, but you'll see distance and speed AT THE CENTER (not at your location.

And not wishing bad on the Panhandle, but I'm occasionally standing in the back yard and blowing westward toward Tampa. Keep that sucker going northward! And good luck with the generator.

bouff said...

Drain the fuel bowl it will hold water, more so if it has a plastic gas tank.

Old NFO said...

Hope the starter fluid works. Easiest fix, if not, then tear down the carb.

E M Johnson said...

alternatively, pour a can of SeaFoam into tank then top off with gasoline

Beans said...

What others said. Clean your carb bowl and make sure the float isn't stuck, drain the fuel line, pull the spark plug and do several pulls to blow out extra fuel. Drain the fuel tank and make sure the fuel filter and the tank aren't clogged.

And...

Check the air filter. Seriously, if it's sat for 4 years, there may be mud daubers who have plugged up or clogged the air filter and air intake. And do the same with the exhaust, as no ability to exhaust exhaust will cause the engine not to run.

Peteforester said...

I've been here before!

If the genny will fire with starting fluid, get it to fire and then spray shots of starting fluid into the carb throat. If the engine stays running as long as you're shooting starting fluid into the carb, it's a fuel issue; period. If it won't fire on starting fluid it's an ignition issue. Try the spark plug first. They DO go bad.

If it'll run while you're shooting starting fluid in, you probably have a gummed up carburetor jet. Sometimes you can get by with dropping the fuel bowl and shooting carb cleaner into the jet from the bottom. If not, there's no way around dropping the carb and cleaning the jet out. Some can be unscrewed, allowing you to clean the jets with a piece of wire and carb cleaner. I usually pull a bristle from a wire brush for this. If the jet can't be unscrewed, you might be able to get by with just cleaning the jet orifice with wire and carb cleaner.

Even a few drops of fuel left in the fuel bowl will gum up the carb jet if left to dry. In the future, if you're going to store the genny dry, run the fuel down, and as soon as the engine starts to stumble give it full choke. This will draw the little bit left in the carburetor into the engine. I then pull the fuel line off the carb, turn on the fuel valve, and rock the genny fore, aft, port, and starboard, to make sure there's NOTHING left in the fuel tank, filter, and line. For good measure I then shoot some starting fluid into the carb and fire the engine again. This double-damned assures you the fuel system is dry.

B said...

Try running it empty next time, then running a bit of coleman lantern fuel through it until it is empty again (no varnish in lantern fuel). This generally keeps the float from sticking from residual fuel evaporating and turning into varnish and sticking the float to the bottom of the fuel bowl.
Often, putting in coleman fuel then getting it to run (after a bit of soaking time) with starter fluid will get it to clean itself.

Don't forget the fuel filter and air cleaner. Often these can get matted up, especially the fuel filter. If yer gonna store it long tern, replace the fuel filter before storing.
Air cleaner may have bugs or other detritus in it after storage.
Did you check the oil level? Some have low oil level sensors that will let them try to start, but will shut off the spark if the level gets too low once it begins to turn over.

Will said...

Be careful of running any hard wire into any jet or carb body orifice to clean/unblock it. Cutting wire normally leaves a sharp edge that can damage soft metal parts, making fuel mixtures troublesome. If needed, sand or file the wire tip. If necessary, I use strands from throttle cables from motorcycles, as this tends to be the smallest diameter steel wire you can find. Electrical copper wire strands may also work, but again, be wary of sharp ends, and don't break it off inside the carb when bending it.

The Neon Madman said...

4 years? I keep ethanol-free gas in mine, with a shot of Stabil, and fire it up for a half hour every couple of months.

Good luck - the tips people are giving you are good and hopefully you won't need it after all. But then put it on a regular schedule.

BobF said...

If you end up actually needing the gen and can't get it going, contact me. If I'm guessing
your location generally correctly you may be more likely to get more of the storm than I. I am 5 min off I-4 @ Hwy 192. bcomm at fiegelnet dottie org for the phone number and address I have two, one a heck of a lot more portable than the other and it gets great gas "mileage." Quiet, too.

Alwaysright said...

It's the low oil cutoff sensor. Just short the contacts.

Miguel GFZ said...

Change fuel line including gas filter. The rubber may be collapssing

Birdchaser said...

They should outlaw that damn starting fluid, if it doesn't run starting fluid won't help. Clean the carburetor.

taminator013 said...

Is there a manual fuel cutoff valve that could have possibly been turned to the off position?

doubletrouble said...

BP-
Try a dose of Startron in the gas- it has worked wonders in my well maintained engines. All small engines suffer from the effects of modern gasoline.

Jim R said...

Mustie1 on youtube squirts a little 2-cycle fuel in the spark plug hole after checking spark. Then he replaces the plug and checks to see if it will run at all. The idea is that the oil helps lube the cylinder and rings, whereas plain gas or starting fluid tends to wash away any residual oil.

He uses a zoom-spout oiler (the squeeze bottle with the pull-out tube) to direct the fuel into the plug hole. If the engine starts but won't stay running, he'll squirt the fuel directly into the carb throat or fill the bowl through a vent to try to narrow down the problem.

He also warns about the potential for mouse or other nests in the shroud that might block cooling air flow. If you don't get significant airflow or if it blows trash out when it starts, probably want to check that.

Your description does not sound like a closed tank vent - we had minutes of running before the engine died when we forgot that on Field Day a few years ago. Run time will depend on how much air space there is in the tank.

Low Oil Shutoff
As Alwaysright said above, it might be the low oil shutoff system. Some electric start systems will bypass the low oil shutoff while cranking. If the engine runs as long as the start circuit is engaged, but dies when it is released, that might be the cause.

I have heard of some float-type kill switches being overly sensitive and tripping when the engine is not exactly level or the oil is just at full, and adding another ounce or so masks the problem and the engine continues to run...

LindaG said...

What beans said was my thoughts. Something took up residence somewhere.
Hope you got it started, and praying God's mercy for you all.
Be safe and God bless.

Glypto Dropem said...

Mine is run once a quarter for 15 minutes under load. It always has fresh stabilized gas that includes an ethanol treatment. I shut it off by turning off the fuel valve and running it dry. All run times are logged and the oil and filter are changed every 100 hours of run time. It is a 17 1/2 year old Generac EXL 7550 that only had a couple of repairs that I easily handled myself.

Richard said...

You were somewhere before FL. Lost track of when but carbs perform differently at different elevations.

BillM said...

It will start and run for a few seconds then quit? Try the starting fluid etc, but I suspect a clogged mainjet. It's starting on the idle circuit, and when it tries to ramp up it hits the mainjet circuit and starves. Try a fresh sparkplug for giggles--had a pressure washer that would start easily and run for 30 seconds and die. Repeatedly. Tank vent? nope. Carb? nope. It was a perfectly fine appearing sparkplug, that would spark nicely out of the hole.

Peteforester said...

On the subject of clogged air cooling fins and passages; I had a Mantis tiller with a small 2-cycle engine hanging in the barn for a while. I had emptied and purged the fuel system before storing, as it only gets used a few times a year. Well, I went to use the thing and it would start and run fine for a few minutes and then stall out. It would not start until the engine cooled. Then the process would repeat itself. Fuel and fuel flow were good. Spark was good. I hung it back up in disgust. A few months later I got curious about the Mantis tiller. In the process of working on it I took off the cowling covering the cooling fins. The entire space in there was PACKED with dried mud!!! Mud dauber wasps had decided to set up housekeeping in there!!!I pulled things apart, cleaned everything out, and put it back together. The tiller has run flawlessly since then. The engine was overheating. Luckily for me, the engine "seized" just enough to shut it off. I know it's a PITA, but servicing the cooling system of an air-cooled engine should be a regular maintenance item! I actually LOST the engine on my lawn tractor because the cooling fins around the valve guides packed up. The valve guides got too hot. The valves seized in the guides. One of the pushrods shattered and peppered the rest of the engine with shrapnel. End of story. Like I said; regular maintenance item...

Kinnison said...

Reverse the particle flow. That always works for Geordie.

Terrapod said...

Don't know where you are located, but check for mice chewing through the high tension line between the spark plug and the transformer.

Have had that happen more than once on mowers and other items that get stored for long periods. If chewed through, vinyl tape the heck out of the damaged areas and that should get you running until you can buy the complete replacement part.

If it is Honda powered, they do tend to clog the one central jet that draws fuel from the carburetor bowl. Nylon fishing line works for poking through any minor blockage. One grain of sand or a tiny bit of shellac formed during the "dry" period is enough to do what you are experiencing. I just finished cleaning my son's snowblower for exactly this issue. Would "almost start" then stop. Good luck.