Hello All,
I found this group the other day. The reason for joining was that I purchased a returned 2000i (red) from a store that sells returned merchandise. Needless to say, I got an excellent deal on the generator.
The store allows the potential buyer to test run the generators prior to purchasing since there is NO warranty, and you take your chances. I removed the generator from its box added oil and gas (provided by the store) and attempted to start it. It started on the secoond pull and ran up to full throttle since the econ switch was turned off. Plugged a fan into the gen and it ran fine. However the gen would not settle down to a steady speed. I figured it was old gas or something similar and decided to take the chance and purchased the gen.
I have lots of experience with small engines/generators, so a little tinkering on it would not be a problem. Took it home and ran a few tests. The generator would not idle smoothly with a light or no load. I hooked up a 1500 watt electric heater and it would run the heater ok. The engine was still not running smoothly. I have read several post on this forum about these gens "burping/surging/hunting" which describes what mine was doing. I unplugged the carb servo motor from the control unit and proceeded to test the engine. After all of the tests were completed, it was apparent that there was an issue with the idle/slow speed circuit of the carb. I removed the carb from the gen and proceeded to take it apart to inspect it. This is what I found.
The inside of the carb was spotlessly clean as it should be. During the very close inspection, I noticed that the idle mixture screw appeared to be screwed in all the way. This was because I could see the small brass tip in the idle circuit hole which is located down stream of the throttle butterfly. Anyway, as with most all gas engines sold in the US, the idle adjustment has a small metal plug installed in the opening to prevent adjustment. Something to do with emission standards. Anyway, I drilled a small hole in the plug, screwed a small self tapping screw into the hold and with a pair of pliers, removed the plug. I could then access the idle mixture adjustment screw. I noted how many turns out the screw was (2 complete tures from fully closed) and removed the adjustment screw. Upon inspection, I fould a small piece of brass wedged in the idle circuit opening. With a small pick and some compressed air, I was able to remove the obstruction. I cleaned up the end of the adjustment needle, and re-assembled the carb and reinstalled on the engine. Hooked the fuel tank back up, and attempted to start the engine. It took a couple of pulls, and the engine roared to life. Now I still had the servo disconnected from the control module. The engine would now idle very smoothly and down to a fairly low rpm. It also would run smoothly at high rpms too. I shut the engine down and reconnected the servo to the contol, and re-started the engine. I had the econ mode turned off at this time. The engine fired right up and ran smoothly. I turned the econ swithc on, and the engine settled down to a nice smooth low rpm idle. Everything was looking good. I hooked up several different loads to the generator and everything worked great.
Anyway to make a very long post (sorry) short, the problem with my gen was the obstructed idle circuit. Once it was cleaned out and re-set, it is now working perfectly. If anyone is having this sort of issue, and has some mechanical ability, that is where I would look to find the problen. Since the openings are so small on these carbs, any bit of foreign material in the the low speed circuit will cause the hunting issues.
Again, I am sorry for the long post, I figured some detail might help someone else resolve their unstable throttle issues.
Mitch
