Diagnosing Firman Costco/ Amazon Generator That Won't Start [3 Possibilities]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2024
- In this video I go through 3 possibilities on why your Firman Generator Won't start. Generator shown is approx 3 years old and was purchased from Costco. There are other reasons as well. Depending if it's an electrical issue, or an issue where gas was left in it.
0:00 1st Possibility is Cogged Spark Arrestor. Could be Mud Dobber.
1:20 2nd Possibility is Broken Selector Switch
5:00 3rd Possibility is Carburetor Clogged Due to Gas Sitting. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Thanks for great video. I've had a Firman dual fuel for 4 years, fired it up as soon as I got it and a couple of times thereafter...but I stored it with gasoline 😞. I just now tried to start it and it don't start, gas light turns on, turns over and it just don't start. I suspect it is the carb...found your video, thanks for the breakdown. Drained the gas from the genny's tank, put in my truck and diluted it further with 3/4 tank full of premium gas to make sure it don't mess up my truck. Anyways, I took apart the carb and I smelled the fuel in the bowl and it smells kinda of musty/musky...if you know what I mean. I'm gonna clean it like you showed in video.
My preferred fuel is propane, I had just put gas to start the genny up when it was new, but I now keep 6 qty (20lb) propane containers for emergencies.
I knew better than to store gasoline in tank, but really just lost track of time (Covid really messed up sense of time...haha).
Henceforth, I'm gonna do what you recommend in your video (7:11) and let it drain for storage, if I even use gasoline...thanks for the advice.
I know long story, but my question is if the genny don't start with gas cuz the carb jets are fowled, etc. ... could I have switched over to propane and would it have started even with a messed up carb?
Meaning, does the propane go thru the same carb jets that the gasoline residue clogged up?...I'm just curious.
HI! Looks like you're still going to need to clean up the carburetor. That big hose with the clamp is the propane fuel line (if I remember right). If that fuel wound up setting in there for 4 years, you might also look in the gas tank. That one has a metal tank that could have rusted out the bottom...
Awesome!!!!! My problem was the carburetor. Thank you sir.
Excellent! So glad you got it up and running again. You're welcome..
Enjoy your videos, and your voice is like a step back in time.
Thank you so much!
One more comment. It’s important to run the machine under an electric load, to be sure the magnets and copper wires still produce the electrical field for the electricity. More complicated scientifically than that, but hook up a hair dryer or space heater 4 times a year for 5-10 minutes
Great info! Thanks 😁
Thanks much for the video !
I have a similar dual fuel Firman , and the 'Off' switch within the selector is broken loose and floating around loose. I thought the selector housing was broken! I'll take another look, and with luck, it'll be like yours, a switch.
Hopefully it's something easy!... 😊
@@JLPicard440 Just looked. The switch mounting lug is all that's broken. 😁Thanks again for the video with great close up shots.
Excellent! 😊@@Robnord1
Great video. I have one of these and js windering if it makes sense to add a fuel filter?
I think there's a mesh screen in the gas tank exit, but it doesn't hurt to have another filter.... 😀
I like looking it
Great!
Ive got one that had a catastrophic incident where the valve was impacted by the piston at least two times, and siezed the motor. Replaced the top end, the motor fires and runs smoothly but under some weird settings that ive discovered. When fuel selector and fuel valve are in the gasoline setting (full right turn) the fuel valve opens however, the fuel solenoid on the bottom of the carb bowl will not activate (pull the pin down) when the fuel selector switch is turned to the gasoline setting. I can hear it click open on the propane setting though... which I suspect is not correct as that would mean both gasoline and propane would be flowing. Somehow the solenoid on off/ for the propane/gasoline settings on teh selector are incorrect. Can the wires just be switched? I ordered a replacement dual fuel module thinking that might also be the culprit but if its just a simple wire/pin in the harness that i need to switch that would make it way easier. I've checked the wiring diagram from the Firman site however all wiring looks to be correct according to that. Wondering if it would be possible for you to caputre a video for me just showing the wire connections that you have on your machine that is working properly, both on the back side of the fuel selctor switch, and also the 12 pin wire connector on the top (dual fuel module) box inside the panel? Any help is appreciated. thanks
Aaaaaand i just watched more of the video and it showed exactly what Id asked you to show haha, Nevermind from the comment above! thank you
AAAAAAND JUST REALIZED THE SOLENOID IS REVERSED.... stupid amazon knock off carbs... the pin was actuating correctly... but it was doing the opposite the original carb solenoid was doing. Works perfect now.
Wow.. thats quite a story. I'm glad you were able to figure it out. I'm befuddled as to why the valves impacted the piston in the first place! Did the valve springs fail? When you took the head off did you notice any damage to the piston? Sorry for the questions, that seems like an unusual situation. At least I hope it is, my motor is pretty much new, but hope its not prone to these kinds of problems... 😫
@@JLPicard440 same here total mystery. When i took the valve cover off one of the pushrods was completely out from under the rocker, I’m wondering if the valve clearance got loose and jiggled free from under the rocker? No clue though i wasn’t there when it failed and the guy didn’t have much info to share on when it failed. But good to know those champion 439cc parts are pretty close to the firman ones
Cool.. thanks for the response. It kinda sounds like a manufacturer issue.. Maybe they forgot to tighten the rocker arms, or didn't adjust them correctly and caused the push rod to come out... No way to know..
So am i right understanding using propane only can effect the carburetor?
HI... Im not sure what you mean? Effect it how?
Sorry about that. Can propane cause the carb to clogg?
@@tbenson354 Oooh! That makes more sense. Thank you. In my opinion, I kinda doubt it since it comes out of the can in a gas form and not likely to contain any trash. Gas in it's liquid form is way more likely to have trash in it..
Here's one for you. I have a Firman 7500 Duel fuel. 4/5 years old. Worked fine until I pulled it out of storage this year. Red light comes on for both gas and propane. Starts with either but shuts off after 10 seconds or so. Was stored empty and since it starts, I don't think it's a dirty carb. I checked the oil level and it's fine. Disconnected the wire to the oil level sensor and nothing changed. Shuts off after 10 seconds or so. I checked and cleaned the spark arrestor. Nothing changed.
Other that pulling and cleaning the carb (that I'll probably do this weekend)... any suggestions on what to check.
HI, Do you have one of those inline spark testers? I would want to know if the ignition is shutting off. You can watch the spark as the engine slows down to see if it's still sparking. If the spark is cutting off, then you probably have some electrical issue, I doubt it's the coil.
@JLPicard440 I'll check that when I can. Carbs out getting a sonic clean right now.
Cool very good..@@paulmathis2191
Check for mouse damage.
Question; so my generator starts and runs for about 3-5 minutes and runs fine with a load on. However, it dies after 5 minutes. It will start back up just fine and run for the exact exact same time and then die. What could this be??
Good question... You might have a screen inside the fuel tank that is dirty allowing a little bit of fuel to come out. The flow might not be coming out like it should. Also, you might want to check your gas cap. Loosen the gas cap and run it and see if it wants to die with the gas cap loose... Just make sure you're outside and you keep any fuel from splashing out of the tank if it's pretty full. Another thing is make sure the fuel in the gas tank isn't contaminated with water. That's a more common problem that it would seem like, but due to condensation it can happen even if it's never been left outside..
Can you make a video on changing the solenoid
HI, thanks for the idea. I'll try.
My generator is running for a few hours then stop it keep doing it and needs more oil
9:42
Is it using the oil and stopping because it's low on oil?
great video but no help. My generator is "new" never ran it for hours in an emergency because no outages,...it is always hard to start but this time finally I checked plug NO SPARK....on a new genny? WTH?? I was hoping there is a reset or something....the plug is totally clean
Arrrgh.... I'm sure if I had it in front of me, I could find out why no spark. If you find the coil, see if that one has an electric wire attached to it. If so, unplug it. If the spark comes back then something is grounding out that wire. There are probably a few possibilities why. IF you disconnect the wire, don't let the generator start or you won't be able to shut it off since the coil ground is unhooked so take a precaution so it won't start on you.
Easier to buy a new carb and install. Gas is my choice. Swap it out every 6 months and treat with stabilizer fluid. Runs 12 hours plus on a tank. To each his own
I agree! Gas is better. Produces a little bit more power as well. My problem is, I'm lazy and I don't want to clean out the system every time. I'll wind up forgetting about it and it'll go bad and rust out the tank and carburetor. Even with Stabilizer + Non-Ethanol it'll last about 2 years max.... 😀