Geocritter: Re - California interference: A couple of years ago my 7kw Onan started to stall under load. I removed the carb from the generator and stripped it down. I found a bit of crud partially blocking the needle valve so I blew everything out with compressed air. Since the gen set was 15 years old I figured it might be time for a carb overhaul.
I headed off to my local Onan dealer and asked for a carb rebuild kit and was told that:
1. Due to California emissions rules it's against the law to touch the carb - if there's a problem you just throw it away and we'd be happy to sell you a new one for $800. (Must be a special Canadian price)
2. The carb is factory sealed anyway so you can't take it apart.
I already had the carburetor in pieces. I'd apparently missed the part about it being 'factory sealed'.
I declined the offer to sell me a new carburetor. I re-installed the old one and the generator has been running fine every since.
