Honda Generator Won't Stay Running

[Puppet]

Figured it was close enough to 'bike' maintenance to put it here....

I have a Honda EU2000 generator and I can't get it to stay running. Have had it since 2009. It's run perfectly for me any time I've needed it. Didn't use it at all last summer. Made sure it worked prior to the hurricane in Oct (?) and that's the last time I touched it.

I pulled it out yesterday to clean it up and get ready to head to NYST and now I'm frustrated....HELP!!!

I siphoned out the old fuel and put fresh gas in. Later in the process I siphoned the tank a 2nd time and put some injector/carb gum out stuff with fresh gas.

I put in a new spark plug.

I changed the oil and made sure it wasn't under or over filled.

I've been through the carb no less than half a dozen times.

It sounds like it's starting and then it just doesn't 'grab'. It goes up and comes right back down. Occasionally (just to tease me, it seems) it'll stay up for 2 or 3 seconds and then die. When it's up, the "output indicator" is lit green. The "oil alert" does not come on when it dies.

Fuel is definitely getting to the carb since I have to drain the bowl and the lines every time I pull it apart to clean it (again). Everything I know indicates fuel or air, but the airbox is clean and I can't figure out what part of the carb I haven't cleaned yet. Jets are clear. Cleaner flows out the appropriate areas when squirted through, etc.

Took a quick vid to show what was happening, but having trouble uploading. Will try and get it up later...

Anyone know these small motors and can help?? Thanks!

[jbmass]

are you positive it's getting spark? Unbolt the spark plug but leave it connected to its cap. Crank the engine over and and sure you're able to see the plug creating an arc. Check to make sure the intake manifold is tight to the carb (isnt allowing any air to pass by the outside of the carb to the engine). The engine wont have enough vaccuum to pull in gas/air mixture if there is an air leak from a bad seal.

[GearHd6]

I'll bet all the rubber in that carb is shot. I've got a Honda weed trimmer that did the same thing. I went through the carb a half dozen times, finally I just bought a new carb and it ran perfect. The ethanol in the fuel now ruins the carbs on those small engine Honda's for some reason. Best thing you can do is put StarTron in ALL the gas that goes in that engine or run race gas for the last tank before it sits for a while.

By the time I added up all the rubber parts in the carb it was cheaper just to get a whole new carb.

Well now that I look at the OEM fiche that actually looks like a normal float type carb, not a diaphragm type like mine was. Disregard my post.

[GearHd6]

The fiche I'm looking at (not sure if it's the correct serial number) shows some electronic "motor" on the carb? What does that do?

[stoinkythepig]

Does it have a manual choke? If so does it affect the way it runs?

[Puppet]

are you positive it's getting spark? Unbolt the spark plug but leave it connected to its cap. Crank the engine over and and sure you're able to see the plug creating an arc. Check to make sure the intake manifold is tight to the carb (isnt allowing any air to pass by the outside of the carb to the engine). The engine wont have enough vaccuum to pull in gas/air mixture if there is an air leak from a bad seal.

Will try that with the plug. The manifold is definitely tight against the carb and all of the vacuum hoses are properly connected and not rotted out.

[Puppet]

Does it have a manual choke? If so does it affect the way it runs?

Yes, manual choke and yes it does affect it. Right now everything I'm describing is with the choke on full. Without the choke, it won't come up.

[Puppet]

The fiche I'm looking at (not sure if it's the correct serial number) shows some electronic "motor" on the carb? What does that do?

There's an 'eco throttle' mode where it electronically controls the output based on what you're asking from it, so there's a connector to the top of the carb that can electronically adjust the butterfly the cylinder side of the carb.

[Pittenger5]

Have you tried hitting it with a bigger hammer?

[Kurlon]

Yes, manual choke and yes it does affect it. Right now everything I'm describing is with the choke on full. Without the choke, it won't come up.

I'm guessing it uses a pretty simple carb like my snowblower. Should be a brass screw on the side that looks like an idle mix adjustment but is really a pilot jet. Yank that, make sure it's clean, reinstall. Do not attempt to adjust, lightly torque it down.

[Kurlon]

Actually, looking at the parts fiche, yours has a more proper carb, a separate pilot jet and idle mix screw!

http://www.hondalawnparts.com/oempar...070Z074F1300DA

[Puppet]

Yeah, it's a small, but proper carb. I'm going to pull the pilot (again), after that, it pretty much exhausts my knowledge. I figured I'd throw it out to the group.

[Puppet]

posted a vid to my facebook...couldn't get the iphone vid uploaded here. Should be public https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...1298447&type=3

[stoinkythepig]

Yes, manual choke and yes it does affect it. Right now everything I'm describing is with the choke on full. Without the choke, it won't come up.

Well, that helps. It's clearly not getting enough gas flow to the engine. Is there a fuel filter? Might be clogged.

[stoinkythepig]

Did you watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNy2lfJCEE

[Puppet]

Yeah, that was the first video I watched yesterday. I just watched his fuel filter video, though. Will have to try that tomorrow.

[Rambunctous]

Gummed up jets. Remove carb. Throughly clean. Change filter. Next time before storage run it out of gas.

[Pigman]

Run some Seafoam thru her she will purrr like a kitten.........

[Cerberus]

just from description, sounds like an obstructed main jet.
ie, enough fuel to start (low speed) but not enough to keep it going at full run.
if it has a low oil safety shut off that may impede your ability to clean the main jet..

yeah, the video clearly sounds like fuel starvation. you can hear the thing go wide open and suck air and die..

[RandyO]

carb needs cleaning, common problem with small power equipment that is not run on a regular basis on 10% ethanol

carbs need thorough cleaning

to avoid in future

1.use only stabilized gas ( marine grade Stabil, StarTron, Seafoam, etc. )

2.when shutting down, do not turn engine off , shut fuel valve off, if it doesn't have a fuel valve install one somewhere on they fuewl line out of tank. let engine run till it runs the gas out of the fuel line and stalls on its own

3. open drain at bottom of float bowl if it has one

[robert@honda]

Honda guy here...

A new carb is $106 for the EU2, so worth it to really clean it completely before replacing it. Here's a great write-up with photos and details from some guys at www.rv.net (Recreational Vehicles discussion forum). Hope it helps:

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...d/22602186.cfm

-Robert@Honda
Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding is my opinion alone.

[CBR929RE]

I'll bet all the rubber in that carb is shot. I've got a Honda weed trimmer that did the same thing. I went through the carb a half dozen times, finally I just bought a new carb and it ran perfect. The ethanol in the fuel now ruins the carbs on those small engine Honda's for some reason. Best thing you can do is put StarTron in ALL the gas that goes in that engine or run race gas for the last tank before it sits for a while.

By the time I added up all the rubber parts in the carb it was cheaper just to get a whole new carb.

Well now that I look at the OEM fiche that actually looks like a normal float type carb, not a diaphragm type like mine was. Disregard my post.

you want him to have to clean the carb again and replace rubber parts in it?

[TheIglu]

Needs a Mikuni flatslide conversion.

[Puppet]

And it's alive!!! Final diagnosis was an occlusion in a fuel line somewhere that I couldn't get to without taking apart the entire casing. (since I cleaned all the lines I could get to)

I drained the tank again and opened up the panel side so I could pull the fuel filter. The filter looked good, but I cleaned it in some fresh gas anyway. At that point I realized I couldn't get to the other end of the line or a 2nd connection without taking the outer shell completely apart, and I just didn't have the time or patience at this point in the week, so I buttoned it back up.

My last ditch effort was a heavy dose of Seafoam and some fuel back in the tank. Tried it...no progress...let it sit overnight. Tried it again last night and VIOLA! It's up and running. The Seafoam must have helped push part of the gunk through, I guess. It will sustain running with the choke on/slightly off, but not all the way off. I figure it's still partially clogged, but not quite as much as before.

For what I expect to need/want for the weekend, that will be enough. When I get home, I'll pull the complete casing apart and go through all the lines. At that point I'll clean the carb one more time to rid it of anything that has since made it's way in.

At least I wasn't totally nuts figuring it was probably a fuel issue, just a royal pain in the ass to get to the middle of the system. I will definitely be running Seafoam or Stabil constantly from here on out.

[Stoneman]

Check the fuel pickup line. Goes from inside the tank to the carb. Your problem sounds incredibly similar to a small engine problem I recently had. Did pretty much all the things you did, but it never got just right. The rubber pickup line had started deteriorating in the tank and wasn't drawing enough fuel...