Inverter Generator Only Runs With Starting Fluid | Step By Step DIY Repair
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Inverter Generator Only Runs With Starting Fluid | Step By Step DIY Repair
If your generator won't start and only run on starting fluid you more than likely have a carburetor issue. Follow along as I show you a quick way to get it running properly again without an expensive repair bill!
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Why your generator might not be starting;
• Generator Won't Start?...
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Watch my video on how to fix a generator with no compression;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK_LP...
Watch my video on how to replace a generator carburetor;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGih0...
Why your generator might not be starting;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzOiH...
Although I don't own a generator. I still watch your videos because you have helped me in the past and you deserve the support.. Your videos are surely worth the watch. Thanks!
Right on the money. Great step by step tutorial.
I have watch plenty of "how to" videos over the years and this one ranks in the top three. Steady and simple video of the components and the work, simple explanation and great tips for people like myself who have mininum knowledge of small engine and their repairs.
For me, I purchased a Westinghouse IGen 2500 last year, ran it once for about 30 minutes, let it run until it died (all gas out of the system) and stored it for a year. Yes, I know, I shouldn't let it sit for so much time.
Several days ago, I tried to start it again with no luck. I pulled and pulled ...and pulled, no luck. It did start one time.....then five seconds later when I switched it from CHOKE to RUN, it died....and would not start again.
I found your video which gave me the confidence (hey, I can do this) but this morning, before I was getting ready to remove the air filter and carburetor boot, I tried it to start it one more time....and on the second pull, it started and ran just fine.
I"m ready for the next time it gives me trouble......Thanks again, A GREAT VIDEO!
Indeed. Old gas will pull that trick on you. Thanks Don, for sharing.
You are an excellent teacher besides being a good mechanic. I look forward to your videos each week as I have learned a great deal from you. Thank you for taking the time and effort to make these videos.
Don. How lucky can a guy be. I've got a Generac doing the exact same thing and now I can fix it. You just made my day. Thank You!
I know this is 2 years old but I’ve looked for months and it never came up until today. The layout of my gen is almost exactly like this one. I was having big problems understanding the half written instructions on mine for removing or cleaning carb, jets and filter. This was so amazing and showed me exactly how and what I needed to do. Fingers crossed I too do nor have to remove entire carb! Thanks a million!!
Years ago when my mother was still alive my folks asked me to look at their ride-on mower which would not start and would cough and backfire when being cranked . 17hp Intek , I pulled the carby bowl gave it a quick clean ( it wasn't dirty ) , pulled the flywheel to check the key ( it was fine ) , eventually became suspicious of the fuel which smelled petroly but maybe not quite right .
I decanted a small quantity into a glass and an equal quantity of fresh petrol into a second glass and set both out in the sun .
24 hours later the fresh fuel was evaporated , the fuel from the mower was still mostly there . My dad had put diesel into the fuel tank on top of the remaining petrol .
Seeing that yellow fuel at 7:15 reminded me of that troubleshooting episode from back then . Sometimes ( often ? ) the answer is very simple , you just have to find it :-)
Excellent. Appreciate your video shots as you work and the clear way you speak to explain what you are looking for and what you are doing. THANK YOU
All the waving around is making me seasick.
Dude, i cant even believe it. I inherited a small 2 stroke genny and it would only fire up with starter fluid then die. I did so much stuff to that thing that i gave up and was assuming it was just dead. I cleaned out each jet (which i hesitated to do cause carbs always seemed so touchy to me) and it ran like i just bought the thing. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Great vid Don! I'm getting those torch tip cleaners today. Been using slick bread ties up til now. They are no serrated. Best, Skip
It really amazes me that people who buy these gensets NEVER put in fuel stabilizer. It's one of the golden rules of engine maintenance. Great video.
Would you agree that using non ethanol fuel is easier with the same result? Or, does non ethanol require stabilizer as well?
@@hortyist1I'm here with this exact problem - generator not starting - runs off starter in the intake only.
I ran cali-crap gas and when the power to the house came back... I continued burning off the rest of the remaining fuel... Ran it dry (no load attached).
Then for good measure poured some Tru-fuel in and ran it for ~5min-10min. Stored the generator.
3 months later we go to use it and we have this problem. So I'm not sure what these engines are so finicky about. I'm damn near ready to get a dual fuel one that runs off propane and/or regular unleaded.
Great tips Don. Excellent video and repair. Never really work on any generators (inverters), so great to see how they are assembled. Thanks again.
Amazing!! I completely forgot that little hole!! I cleaned all the Jets on the carburetor of my generator, on the fuel bypass and everywhere that I could think of but it would only start with the starter fluid, so I decided to ask google and it brought me here! That was the reason I couldn’t get it to start after cleaning the carburetor, anyhow, thank you so much for this great video!!
You no you're a pretty smart guy and I appreciate all your video's man.thsnks
Had a generator like that but it was a Honeywell model. It would run but if you stopped it, it would not start. What I found out after reading the manual it stated to have the fuel tank full. Filled it up and it started. Found out it needed tank full to get the gas to flow to make it start. Bad design in my mind. Though I would share this
Great video! Easy to follow, very well done. It will be my go-to sight from now on.
Glad it was helpful!
Great job the idle jets are so small but you had the best job of making it a functional generator for the price of your knowledge
I had this problem on my Honda..bad gas sitting in the bowl..now I run the gas out to stall the unit then drain the bowl..no more problems😎👍
Solid video! Good order of troubleshooting steps,nothing extra, right to the point.
What did you charge for doing that kind of job. Excellent video by the way, I never seen this kind of inverter/generator before and you gave us some good insight on it. Thanks for that.
A great repair. Thank you for the video.
This video made my repair happen. Thank you Dr.
Nice, thanks Dony.
How do you deal with all the bad gas from equipment needing repair ?
Your efforts to teach are effective though often feel like I retain very little. However I found myself saying check fuel, spark and resistance on pull start - also crack fuel cap. Follow air flow from air filter to carb taking same approach on fuel pathway. You’ve shown starter fluid test before, I need to remember it in my decision tree.
Somewhere else I saw non- fuel sprayed into carb to see if it caused a hiccup, I remember nothing else about it.
Thanks, very well explained. One question, fuel cup settings, what is it for? 😅
Thank you for the info, it's much appreciated.
Good one!
Excellent information!
Found your channel and am learning a lot. I'd like to hear how much time you have invested in projects like this.
I drain the gas and put fresh gas in, and it sometimes does the trick to save on labor. I try that first because it's easy, before I go this route. Sometimes the jets arent clogged, the gas just is old and wont burn.
My 2 cents
Me too 😊
If you work on generators very much you need to get a Killawatt meter to check voltage and cycles on them. I have one and it works fine.
Great video! What happens if the gas is clean? We have a almost brand new craftsman generator that won't run until u spray it with carb cleaner but the gas is good.
So I watched your video yesterday got all excited and tried your fix as my Ai Power Yamaha powered portable generator was acting exactly as this one in your video. Tried to get their customer support to assist me, all they said was to try some seafoam in it. I tried that in it's latest oil change, added an ounce to the fuel, and yet nothing will get it to start. Except adding a few splashes of seafoam to the air filter. So if it's not the fuel injector in the carb, any other suggestions?
Great video.
Q----Can you show a no start without starter fluid only on a propane gen?...or suggest a tip? (I don't use gas on dual fuel.) Thanks
The gas becoming stale or bad don’t take long, especially in a hotter climate or if you leave your tools baking in the hot sun. Notice the yellow color in the “bad” gas . I’ve seen gas so bad it’s hard to get it to burn, even with matches. Seeing was believed as another mechanic told me of this then I tried burning bad gas of my own with matches, was hard to light. New gas is highly explosive and really burns easy.
Thank s!
Hi. I have a Generac IX2000 that won't restart after its been running. Initialially starts when cold but not after it's wrmed up. Any ideas ?
Looks like my Westinghouse i2200. Which by the way runs like a dream and is HALF the price of the overpriced Honda. I also use the tip cleaner on my Sears snowblower carb jet because getting to that carb to remove it is a BIG PITA!
Mine likewise fired up on starting fluid. I tried cleaning the jet, but doesn't appear to have worked!!
The bottom of my bowl was GREEN!!
Do I need a carb cleaning or replacement??
I have a honda 2200 that had diesel ran in it on accident. Cleaned everything out, carb, fuel pump, lines, and tank. Ran sea foam in, it will run on starting fluid, I put a good carb off my other 2200 and it still wont stay running. Just ordered a fuel pump. any other ideas?
I would have poured out any excess oil in the crankcase, setting the level at the highest mark on the dip stick. To much oil can destroy an engine just as easily as not enough oil.
Нифига язык не знаю, но всё понятно! Лайк
My Honda EG6500 generator has oil in the air filter & sputters oil out the exhaust.
I just installed a starter/flywheel & the gap is at .013
It runs awful.
Please help!
Add "stabil" to your gas and note the color changes *tip
Mate looking at the scars and cuts on your hands is like looking at my own. Small engine gods love the blood and skin
You wouldn’t believe the deteriorated fuel people have laying around in their gas cans and still using it.
happens all the time!
Labour intensive is bloody right mate! hahaha
I just opened the drain and no fuel is coming out...what should be the problem?
Ever try mechanic in a can fuel
no i haven't
I thought these are fuel injectors!
Nice vid Don. Great problem solving and diagnostic skill as always
Well done Super Don. Those are great Milwaukee drills too. Great Editing. Ethanol cause no doubt.
When using torch tip wires to clean jets remember the wires are steel and the jets are brass. Start with a smaller wire and work up. If you try to force too big a wire into the jet you could make a burr in the brass. The jet size can be fussy and a burr in there may undersize the hole or cause turbulence in the fuel flow.
@@garny3766 Tubers? Don has been fixing stuff for a long time and has saved my countless hours of scratching my head fixing stuff. As mentioned the smaller jets are for EPA not the life or performance of the engine.
@@alexrivet1732So... Does this mean if we remove the EPA jets... We actually get some real performance?
@@JoSt5646 I wouldn't say straight up performance gains. Too rich or too lean compromises power. But I'd rather be a little rich than lean.
You do beautiful work.
Always enjoy watching your videos. I find them interesting and learn heaps too. Cheers 🇦🇺
Hello. I have a Westinghouse i2500. It’s somewhat similar to this. I had same symptoms. I followed your steps and after 3 hours, I had her running again.
Thanks so much for the guide. You’re the man👍
I have a Ryobi 2300 watt that I bought when I got it it had less than 30 minutes of run time on it wasn't even broken yet and I got it used from a guy in the little side jet was what was stopped up it was surging clean the carburetor out and got it running like it should I got a fairly expensive generator for 290 bucks because it needed a jet cleaned out
Good video thanks Dony. I wonder if fresh fuel alone would have done the trick?
We are a dealer for theese under the echo bearcat name. Yes they are a pain to work on. But i have gotten pretty fast because doing the work on them. Try doing electrical problems then you want to talk about labor intensive.
Ask your guitar/string player friends for their old used strings. I've used them for years for cleaning carb jets. The 2 plain steel strings are useless, but the wound strings have are almost identical texture to the jet clearing tool in this video!
Great idea !
But ethanol is good! The experts told me so and they're never wrong.
lol
The process for making ethanol take as much energy to produce as it provides… another green energy screw up
Ethanol is what Gavin Neusom uses for hairspray.
On more mini generator that doesn't start. ARGH!!!!! Great explanation Don. You videos are the best.
Nice work as always. I’m fortunate to have a station that sells e-0 locally. I also stabilize it when new.
I hate those all in one switches since I like to shut fuel off and let the carbs run dry in generators and such.
Whether you own a generator or inverter or not the knowledge is great, Kinda wondering, do you ever age? I seen your videos of 12 years and you still look the same haha
lol
@@donyboy73 😁
The most common failure in small engines, is varnish in the carburetor. Although, I sure as heck wasn't expecting that from a brand new generator! I am thinking maybe the guy had bad gas in his can, and poured it into the generator, and it wouldn't start on that. People need to remember to use fresh gas. And if your not going to be using the gas for several months, make sure you stabilize it. Excellent work as always Don!
wow, first time i've seen this brand but it looks like it's using the same ducar engine like every other 1800 to 2300 watt inverter generator you see everywhere. from the generacs, yamahas, predators, ryobi, westinghouse, craftsman.
yes they usually are all the same but branded differently
Good job Don, it's amazing that this kind of problem occur on a brand new machine.
Thank you for sharing this procedure. Greatly appreciated. 🇨🇦❤️
Gas. Oh those US hoarders are in for a surprise UNLESS they put K1000 in those many gas containers. BTW, gas by me only up to $2.97/gallon...(US). Oh those silly panic hoarders storing gas in their hotel rooms (search the news... LOL)
So the message is don't try to save a couple of bucks by using last years gas from your garage
Nicely described and fulfilled thanks.
Saved my bacon on my Westinghouse! Yellow fuel and a plugged jet.
Thank you so much!! Almost the same machine just different color and name. Would only run wifh starter fluid. I followed your instructions and it started on first pull.
35 yr Ford tech,this reminds me of a tow in no start truck,long story short was filled with bad gas
You don't need to remove the air box to get the bowl off. Also you can use a guitar string for jet cleaning
Got a hurricane coming my way next week I’m trying this trick tomorrow!
You always use great analytical technique to diagnose the problem.
Hello donyboy73, I've made this procedure with my surging generator. It does not surge anymore, but it only starts with starting fluid. Once it starts it runs fine. Is there any thing left to be cleaned?
Another great video!.
I got a free Honda generator because it wouldn't run, it had a clogged main jet, that was it.
Customer: My generator won’t start
Donyboy: Ain’t got no gas in it . .
Mmm Hmm
it happens lol
@@donyboy73 it's a Slingblade reference....
Is your name Karl, Dony?
@@jimurrata6785 I have to watch it lol
wow sir great job thks
Great video with some great tips as always!!
As always Dony you are making us mechanics!
Great video Don. I have a Honda EU20I similar size I will be definitely bookmarking this video. Keep up the great videos.
Hi Don Have a good weekend
thanks Drew, you too!
To remove the carb without removing all the housing, you can remove the studs [by double nutting the studs] and remove the studs with the carb if needed. The carb should just slide out.
When storing my generator, I remove all the gas, run it empty, and then put a quart of stabilized 100% gas and run it for 5 minutes.
That would be a video idea Donyboy. It will save a lot of people when they try to start them when needed.
I never 'store' my generator. Unlike a lawn mower or string trimmer, a generator can be needed in an emergency so I always leave a few quarts of gas in the tank. Periodically, if I haven't used it, I drain and replace the gas.
In this case, do you suppose the gas sat in the generator for a long time, or it was old in a gas can before being put in the generator? I have never seen any gas look that discolored. I usually drain/dump gas from my power tools and run them 'dry' for any period of disuse...but generators seem to be hard to manage that way... Is it recommended that the fuel be drained as shown in the video if not regularly used? I usually just keep them topped off to minimize air/moisture reacting with the gas and vents on caps close... I guess time will tell!
Hooray, Dony! You did it again. Glad you didn't have to take the carb apart. Is that a Honda clone and are Honda inverter generators very similar?
honda are very similar
Another informative video for us DIYers. Thanks Don.
Thank you so much all it was was that jet I didn't even know it had a hole in it because it was so clogged. It runs like new now and right in time for the hurricane.
Echo mode haha, you mean eco
Don't buy a Honeywell inverter/generator. They are not as easy to work on as this unit. You have to take the whole case apart just to access everything. It is very laborious.
yes a real pain in the butt to work on!
Thanks donny boy
Thanks for sharing Don . I’ll be looking for some torch tip cleaners.
Should be a law that all bowls have drain hoses !!!!
Great diagnostic. Pretty quiet also. Thumbs up..
Awesome vid
Very Good and Instructional. I enjoyed the video!