Forum Discussion

dieseln's avatar
dieseln
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015

Honda EU3000is starting, surging issues...

My 3000 is about 10 years old - over the years i've had to rebuild/clean the carb maybe 2x... at the end of this winter (a bad one) i was having starting issues and occasional backfires.. figured i needed to clean the carb again. Cleaned the carb - still no easy start.
What the heck - i need this gen and i use it a lot - i bought a new carb from Honda (63$).. Installed it - started right up, surged a bit but after 10 minutes it seemed to smooth out quite a bit.
Shut it off - now it will not restart.

Checked gas (new gas), opened drain plug, good flow.
Checked spark: decent blue and white
Sparkplug is new but not a trace of gas or carbon - pure white like new, after previously running for 10 minutes.

Still won't start.

Any insight?
I'll clean the spark arrester tomorrow - but really.. could that do it?
Thanks,
Ken
  • dieseln's avatar
    dieseln
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2015
    Mitch, thanks.
    I always used sta-bil however when i drained the tank there was ALOT of water in it. I cleaned the petcock and tank - then put a brand new carb on it today.
    I've never adjusted the valves on it.
    I've never cleaned the spark arrester.
    Will attempt those next.

    I use it all winter to power my tractor inline water heater
    and all summer on my RV ac..
    It's been a great machine but this is getting weird.
  • MM49's avatar
    MM49
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2015
    Adjust your valves. I would bet they are tight.
    mm49
  • MitchF150's avatar
    MitchF150
    Explorer III
    Jul 22, 2015
    How often do your run it? Even with 'fresh gas', if it's had gas sit in it untreated for a month or more, that could be an issue..

    I always treat my stored gas with Sta-Bil and that's all that goes in my gen and other yard machines that get limited use.

    Mine starts on the first pull and it's about 8 years old now. I've never had the carb off of it and I run it about every 3 months or so, or when I think about it..

    Sorry I can't help with your current issue, as it does sound like you have a gummed up carb..

    Good luck! Mitch

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