Engine surge, generator

Has it been stored with gas in it?

That surge is called a "lean roll". The carb is running lean because of an obstruction in the carb.

Richard

RLS7201 wrote:
That surge is called a "lean roll". The carb is running lean because of an obstruction in the carb.

Richard

Thx. I found a thread on the Honda surging and it took me to a video. Sounds like the low speed Jet is the culprit. Also appears to be easy to clean. Remove the low speed adj screw and pop the low speed jet out, clean the small hole and back together it goes.

tealboy wrote:
Thx. I found a thread on the Honda surging and it took me to a video. Sounds like the low speed Jet is the culprit.

This problem (also called "throttle/governor hunting") is very common in small, carbureted engines. First, the carburetors are set as lean as possible from the factory. Second the jets are fixed, not adjustable.

The term "low speed jet" is really not correct. It is the PRIMARY jet. "Low speed" makes you think that it is only used at lower RPMs. In fact it is ALWAYS used and establishes the "base" fuel flow.

Cleaning small engine carburetors can be a challenge. They MUST be removed from the engine and disassembled. Take care not to tear any gaskets as they can be reused multiple times (buy spares or gasket paper with a good sharp X-Acto knife). Heated ultrasonic cleaner is the best tool, but unless you do dozens per minth, they are not worth the cost. A 1 gallon bucket of carburetor cleaner and an over night soak is also good.

Or place the disassembled carburetor in a pot of water with some lemon/lime juice or vinegar or a few drops of Dawn dish soap and boil for about 10 minutes. Probe all passages/jets with a single wire from a wire brush. Blow out.

theoldwizard1 wrote:

tealboy wrote:
Thx. I found a thread on the Honda surging and it took me to a video. Sounds like the low speed Jet is the culprit.

This problem (also called "throttle/governor hunting") is very common in small, carbureted engines. First, the carburetors are set as lean as possible from the factory. Second the jets are fixed, not adjustable.

The term "low speed jet" is really not correct. It is the PRIMARY jet. "Low speed" makes you think that it is only used at lower RPMs. In fact it is ALWAYS used and establishes the "base" fuel flow.

Cleaning small engine carburetors can be a challenge. They MUST be removed from the engine and disassembled. Take care not to tear any gaskets as they can be reused multiple times (buy spares or gasket paper with a good sharp X-Acto knife). Heated ultrasonic cleaner is the best tool, but unless you do dozens per minth, they are not worth the cost. A 1 gallon bucket of carburetor cleaner and an over night soak is also good.

Or place the disassembled carburetor in a pot of water with some lemon/lime juice or vinegar or a few drops of Dawn dish soap and boil for about 10 minutes. Probe all passages/jets with a single wire from a wire brush. Blow out.

Very helpful, thank you.

DO NOT probe jets with wire, use a bristle from a paint brush. Wire will scratch the tiny bores of these jets causing a change of flow rate.

Lynnmor wrote:
DO NOT probe jets with wire, use a bristle from a paint brush. Wire will scratch the tiny bores of these jets causing a change of flow rate.

I have been doing it for years ! A paint brush bristle is too soft. A wire brush bristle is stiff yet will bend with a small amount of force.

theoldwizard1 wrote:

tealboy wrote:
Thx. I found a thread on the Honda surging and it took me to a video. Sounds like the low speed Jet is the culprit.

This problem (also called "throttle/governor hunting") is very common in small, carbureted engines. First, the carburetors are set as lean as possible from the factory. Second the jets are fixed, not adjustable.

The term "low speed jet" is really not correct. It is the PRIMARY jet. "Low speed" makes you think that it is only used at lower RPMs. In fact it is ALWAYS used and establishes the "base" fuel flow.

Cleaning small engine carburetors can be a challenge. They MUST be removed from the engine and disassembled. Take care not to tear any gaskets as they can be reused multiple times (buy spares or gasket paper with a good sharp X-Acto knife). Heated ultrasonic cleaner is the best tool, but unless you do dozens per minth, they are not worth the cost. A 1 gallon bucket of carburetor cleaner and an over night soak is also good.

Or place the disassembled carburetor in a pot of water with some lemon/lime juice or vinegar or a few drops of Dawn dish soap and boil for about 10 minutes. Probe all passages/jets with a single wire from a wire brush. Blow out.

Baloney.

Honda carbs do not "need" to be removed to fix them, the typical issue with especially the Honda carb design is the "main jet" clogging.

This jet is easily accessed simply by removing the fuel bowl.

The using a flat blade screw driver you STICK the screw driver right up the center where the fuel bowl screw goes into.

Then you unscrew the jet.

Carefully remove the screwdriver and the jet plus the tube should fall right out.

Observe the order and direction of the parts that came out, you will need to ensure you put them back in correctly when done cleaning.

Then with a can of carb cleaner SPRAY OPEN the tiny holes in the tube and jet.

Reassemble once every hole in the jet tube is open.

You do not need special tools, you do not need ultrasonic cleaners you should not need gaskets since the bowl gasket is resuable.

Just need to take care to ensure you do not loose any of the small parts.

That's it, there is not hidden passages in this carb to warrant such drastic measures of ultrasonic bath.

This is as simple of a carb as you can get, the only downside to it is just how easy it is to clog the main jet.

Honda dealers repair shops must make a killing on these..

If all else fails, you can actually buy brand new Honda carbs dirt cheap and even better yet is the fact that all of the Chinese Honda clone engines use this same Honda designed carb and they are even cheaper ($19-$29) than the Honda brand and will bolt up and work just as well.. There are a few variations but you can typically eyeball them and find the correct carb..

There is no mystery, no smoke and mirrors and no Baloney needed for this fix.

You can even find videos on Ytube that will show you step by step on how to clean this carb design.

Gdetrailer wrote:


Baloney.

Honda carbs do not "need" to be removed to fix them, the typical issue with especially the Honda carb design is the "main jet" clogging.

This jet is easily accessed simply by removing the fuel bowl.

The using a flat blade screw driver you STICK the screw driver right up the center where the fuel bowl screw goes into.

Then you unscrew the jet.

Carefully remove the screwdriver and the jet plus the tube should fall right out.

Observe the order and direction of the parts that came out, you will need to ensure you put them back in correctly when done cleaning.

Then with a can of carb cleaner SPRAY OPEN the tiny holes in the tube and jet.

Reassemble once every hole in the jet tube is open.

You do not need special tools, you do not need ultrasonic cleaners you should not need gaskets since the bowl gasket is resuable.

Just need to take care to ensure you do not loose any of the small parts.

That's it, there is not hidden passages in this carb to warrant such drastic measures of ultrasonic bath.

This is as simple of a carb as you can get, the only downside to it is just how easy it is to clog the main jet.

Honda dealers repair shops must make a killing on these..

If all else fails, you can actually buy brand new Honda carbs dirt cheap and even better yet is the fact that all of the Chinese Honda clone engines use this same Honda designed carb and they are even cheaper ($19-$29) than the Honda brand and will bolt up and work just as well.. There are a few variations but you can typically eyeball them and find the correct carb..

There is no mystery, no smoke and mirrors and no Baloney needed for this fix.

You can even find videos on Ytube that will show you step by step on how to clean this carb design.

I agree.

I bought my second Honda EU2000i cheap because it would only run if you left it on half choke. I knew what the problem was and how easy it was to fix so I grabbed it.

I use a bristle from a brass brush from Harbor Freight to clean the emulsion tube holes. You do have to make sure to get EVERYTHING out of them, good enough isn't with these. Don't ask. ;)

tealboy, you probably already know this -- but to prevent this from happening again, use gas without ethanol if you can find it. If not, add SeaFoam or Stabil to your gas tank. And "exercise" your generator monthly under load in order to keep the carb clean. Finally, drain the carb after every use.

Yes, this is all a pain in the neck. And yes, you might be able to get away with doing some but not all of the tasks mentioned above. But if you live in a place where ethanol-free gas is hard to find (as I do), take as many precautions as you can to avoid clogged jets.

I spent a lot of money getting my carb cleaned until my local mechanic took pity on me and told me what to do. I have not been back to see him in several years.

It is shocking to me that Honda and other major manufacturers have not made a carb that will not get clogged by ethanol.