Steps to Remedy Non-Starting Generator
 

Hi All,
Have a B&S generator that's always started easily but now isn't starting. Gas is under a year old and was treated. Fuel and kill switch both turned on. Please list first steps to take to troubleshoot. Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving!

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It may be flooded or maybe you forgot to shut off the gas and run it dry the last shut down.

Things to try - remove the spark plug and crank it over a few times unchoked. While the plug is out, reattach ignition wire and crank while the base of the plug is grounded to the engine. You should get a spark. If you have any engine starting fluid, spray a burst in to the cylinder. Reinstall the plug, choke at least half and crank again. If no start repeat one more time.

I would not use stabilized gas more that a few months old. You can siphon older gas out and replace with fresh. Burn what you siphon out in your car.

Is not too uncommon for the congealed gasoline to clog up when left to sit unused in the machine for a few months of summer heat.

Go to Family Dollar and spend $2.50 on a skinny bottle of carburetor/injector cleaner and pour the correct amount into the gas tank.

If the generator has a carburetor that can be accessed, then a $3.00 aerosol can of carburetor cleaner could be sprayed down the carburetor air intake.

Carburetor/injector cleaner is a very strong solvent that works fast to unclog congealed gasoline.......and it never hurts to pour some in with the gasoline into the gas tank.

Slickcraft's advice is good. Make sure there is a spark, make sure there is gas. Also make sure the gas is good. I do the smell test, it should smell like gasoline. If it smells like varnish then it is bad. If it is bad it needs to be drained, the tank cleaned, the fuel lines cleaned and the carb cleaned. None of this is hard to do, you pretty much need a couple of tools and a can or two of carb cleaner. I would replace the fuel lines instead of cleaning them. But if you are not comfortable then leave it someone else.

My generator may go over a year or two before being needed. So I don't store gas in it. After use I change the oil, put stabil in the gas, run it for a little while, then turn off the fuel supply until the engine stalls. Mine has a drain screw on the carb bowl so I drain what's left out of the carb. Then I empty the tank completely of gas, I put that gas in my car. I remove the spark plug, put some oil (less than an ounce), then pull the cord a few times with the plug out. I put the plug back in and store out of the weather. The next time I need it, I gas it up, a pull or two and I am good to go.

Just thought of this, make sure the oil is full. Most generators have a low oil shutoff.

I have always been told to use the blue marine stabilizer Even better would be to run can gas that has no ethanthol, cost more but engines love it. fist pull always starts for me.

Hi all, thanks for the tips. I replaced the spark plug and emptied the tank/added fresh fuel with a little injector/carb cleaner. Now it will run, but only on full choke. Thoughts? It looks like I'd left the gas valve on this last six months, not sure if that'd help with the answer.

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Sounds like the carburetor is gummed up. Rebuild it or replace it. I doubt that it will clear up on its own.

In the future, shut the generator off with the fuel valve so that the carburetor is dry, or nearly so, for storage.

Lack of fuel when at normal throttle positions

Sadly the only way to fix this properly is to pull the carburetor off the engine and give it a complete cleaning on the inside .

Meaning you cant just spray it down with a cleaner in the throttle bore. Your going to have to find out what the cause of the lack of fuel is on the inside of the carburetor.

It might just be a clogged main jet or fuel passage way.

Take a photo of the carburetor before you take if off. Most of them are pretty much the same. Someone here will be able to help you without a lot less guessing if we see what you have.

Not to mention it will help you put it back together especially when you have to reconnect any linkages (on the outside) of it.

If it was running a few months ago it's probably very (fix-able). More than likely a little tiny bit of moisture has gotten inside the carburetor, caused a little corrosion with the aluminum casting or brass main jet, and blocked off something.

Jets plugged, best solution is to pull the carb off, pull it apart and clean each passage with carb cleaner. Then put it back together. Again, not a hard job, just remember how it goes back together, take pictures as you are disassembling, starting with the linkages, that will help make sure it gets put back correctly.


Sometimes you can fix this by doing the following. Remove the air cleaner, start the engine, get it spinning as fast as possible, then completely cover the intake until engine stops. This action may suck the plug through the jet and clear things out. Do it a few times, keep in mind this will flood the engine so don't choke it to get it started again. Obvious cautions here, ie don't set yourself on fire as some gas will come out the intake of the carb. And don't do this if you are not comfortable. But best bet is to disassemble the carb, clean it, and put it back together.

Excellent advice.

On ALL of my small engines I use ONLY non-ethanol gasoline.

If you don't know where to get non-ethanol gasoline then just ask around. It is out there.

Haven't had any issues with my small engines in years since dedicated use of non-ethanol gasoline. Can't overemphasize this.

Pay now or pay later.

It may clear after a while on full choke but I'm pretty sure you have blockage in at least one of your jets.

This has happened to me on a couple old motors I've work on over the years. The simplest way to solve that is to remove the bowl and bast cleaner into the jets.

Bowls can be attached in a variety of ways so I'll trust you can figure that out instead of listing a half dozen or so sets of details. If you have any worry about memory issues it is ok to take pictures.

Hopefully you don't have to remove the float to access the jet but if you do, this job should be done on a stable surface, over a cloth. There can be several itty bits that might fly.

If you do have to remove the floats, give them a little shake. If they are compromised you will feel gas sloshing inside. I don't think this is your issue today but it never hurts to eliminate it from your list.

I had a gasket problem servicing one of my generators. All other small engine carburetors I have worked on had the indentation for the gasket on the top of the bowl. This machine had it in the bottom of the main carburetor body and I had to remove it and turn it upside down so gravity could hold the gasket in place while I re-assembled everything.

Good luck!

I buy my can gas at home Depot. they have both 2 and 4 cycle gas in cans, the engines love it.

Trufuel. 6 1 quart cans in a box for $35.00 and 92octane, ethanol free.

(IMO) At this price it's good for limited use or special applications. If you don't want to run an engine on a regular basis, this product's long-term stability would be useful for long-term turn-key standby.

I doubt that it would cure an existing problem though.

Rugman, the demand must be a good bit higher where you are than here. The only time I asked about this at my local store I was advised it was a special order product which was not not stocked anywhere in this area. Which store do you get it from? If I ever need it, I might prefer a drive to waiting for a delivery. If it's the Tilton store just off 93 that would not be too inconvenient for me.

I just did a quick search of the Tilton store. No cases in store, but 110 oz cans, with oil or not, $19.97 and in Stock.

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Over $20 per gallon, no thanks.

Try Seafoam
 

I've always been a fan of Seafoam. Try adding that to the gas and letting it run awhile on full choke...it may get cleaned out without having to disassemble.

Good luck!

I have bought many times at the Home depot in natick, mass. There is always plenty on the shelf. Have not had a chance to look for it up in New Hampshire. I plan on being up this weekend and will be stopping by the Lowes in Guilford. I will ask. Are place is in the weirs, so most of my shopping is at Lowes. I am on a call Fire dept. done here and we have switched all are gas powered equipment to can gas.

I purchase the fuel for my boat at the Laconia Airport. No ethanol, low lead.
Not inexpensive. $4.10/ gallon last time. 100 octane.

Your carb has gunked up. Happened to a few different ones of mine. If your half way handy its not that hard. Take a pic before. They are usually very simple carbs and many can be found on youtube to help you. There are some ports that are not obvious like behind the choke plate. Very small. I use small wire along with carb cleaner. As was mentioned, if you have a fuel shutoff, run the engine until it stops. I just checked mine last week. It has fuel with no stabilizer thats well over a year old and it started right up.

Any luck? Inquiring minds want to know.

Hi! I pulled the carb off the other day, and the needless were definitely gunked up. They're all clean and ready to be reinstalled, but I needed a new bowl gasket as the original was swollen and no longer fit into the grooves. When I get it all together I'll post back.

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Good job, check the fuel lines, a few bucks spend replacing them will save aggravation and be sure the tank is cleaned out, plus replace the fuel filter if it has one, you should be good to go.

http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=NH

For what it's worth - gas stations that sell non-ethanol laced gas.

Another stupid government mandated additive that needs to go the way of MTBE... into history as a very bad idea.