10forty2 wrote:
Some simple steps are:
1. Remove the fuel line from the carb input. Push the switch like you were going to start the genny and see if gasoline comes spurting out of the line. (Hint... You might want to have a bucket beneath the open end of the line and not point it at your face while you do this.)
2. If gasoline comes out when you perform step 1, then you have a carb problem. If it doesn't spurt out, then you have a problem between the gas tank and the carb. Could be a blocked filter or a bad pump, or a blown fuse or a kinked line or a cracked fuel line that is picking up air instead of gasoline.
3. If it's the carb, it CAN be cleaned successfully and put back into service without spending the $300 that Onan wants for a new carb. You will have to disassemble the bowl and needle valve and manually clean it with a solvent like Sea Foam. Most likely, it is only the needle valve that is stopped up or partially occluded with old gasoline varnish. Soak it and the bowl in the Sea Foam for about an hour and while you wait, work the float back and forth to make sure it moves freely. Brush the needle valve and bowl with a steel brush or stiff nylon brush to remove all the old, dissolved varnish and then rinse again with Sea Foam. Then reassemble and try to crank it again.
If all that doesn't work, then you're only out about 2 hours worth of work and about $10 worth of supplies.
Good Luck! Post what you find!!
Exactly what my neighbor and I did when my power washer quit working. All small engines are the same, the only real difference is what they are hooked up to. Gave the card a good cleaning and she cracked right up like brand new.
As a side note, I run Sta-bil year round in my power equipment. The maintenance dose is less per gallon than a storage dose and I never know when I am done with a piece of equipment for the year.
