Hard starting Honda 2000

When is the last time you changed the motor oil and cleaned the air filter and cleaned out the carbs on both of them? Mine almost always start with 1 pull. Of course, I drain the carb float bowl before putting away in storage.

I also keep vent closed and turn to run position too for about 5 minutes to let the float bowl fill up again before pulling the starter cord.

True temper wrote:
That's impressive, spend 2,000 on generators and have to mess with "shake" them before they will start. Any other ideas,

Some prefer dramatics ... I never "shake" mine and each of the two I've owned has almost always started on the first pull using my aforementioned procedure, even if they've been sitting for weeks. :B

That's impressive, spend 2,000 on generators and have to mess with "shake" them before they will start. Any other ideas,

SoundGuy wrote:


To start - make sure the fuel cap vent is closed, turn on the choke, turn on the ignition switch, and let the generator sit for a couple of minutes - that allows any pressure that has built up in the fuel tank to force gas into the vacuum fuel pump. After a couple of minutes, start the generator, adjust the choke, and don't forget to open the fuel cap vent. Using this procedure mine have started almost every time on the first pull.

Depending how long it has been since you filled the gas tank, a "couple of minutes" of sitting won't really change anything. A dealer told me to rock the generator side to side before attempting to start. The rocking will cause the pressure to build and aid starting as mentioned above. To see how that happens, try rocking a full, sealed gas can and then open the vent.

EU2000i starting procedure that has worked really well for me ...

Run premium ethanol free gas treated with SeaFoam
Run Mobil 1 synth oil in the crankcase
Good plug, clean air filter, clean spark arrestor

To start - make sure the fuel cap vent is closed, turn on the choke, turn on the ignition switch, and let the generator sit for a couple of minutes - that allows any pressure that has built up in the fuel tank to force gas into the vacuum fuel pump. After a couple of minutes, start the generator, adjust the choke, and don't forget to open the fuel cap vent. Using this procedure mine have started almost every time on the first pull. :)

mine was that way once too. I loaned it to a friend of my son's to use for elk season and he pulled until his fingers hurt so he took them in to have it looked at. he said the repair guy put a new plug in and turned a screw,(I don't know which one but it must have been on the carburetor) and it has started every time since then.