Fixing The Cheapest Generator, starts but won't stay running.

what's up everyone and thank you for stopping by the channel today's project is this tailgater generator and the problem is that it starts but it won't stay running let's take a good look at it find out what's wrong with it and hopefully we can fix it in this video we try and repair this generator however it may not be the exact repair you need to make to yours we'll explore other options later in the video now this has to be the cheapest generator on sale at the time i remember seeing this on sale for about 99 during the holidays and for a two-cycle generator that's a really good deal now what can you do with a tiny generator well there's a label on the side that tells you exactly what this generator should be used for and i hate to say it it's not a lot but at least you'll have power now this thing is literally covered with information and warning stickers i count seven on the fuel tank alone and i'm glad to say all of them have great information on them that apply to most generators except for those that have four cycle engines now this is when i noticed our first problem there seems to be some fuel leaking around the gas cap i want to open it up and see why it's leaking now so this generator came with fuel and it appears the tank is completely filled to the cap now i can understand why it's filled all the way for the most run time but this can cause a major problem there needs to be some air space in the tank so the cap can vent properly i don't think this is our problem but it needs to be addressed the next thing i want to do is start it up and see the problem firsthand [Music] as you just saw the generator started just fine and as i slowly turned the choke off it finally died when it was in the run position this means we'll need to get to the carburetor and inspect it for any problems the first step is to remove the filter cover then we can remove the nuts and the bolt to remove the side cover this i'm not going to completely remove the side cover but to get more room i'll disconnect the wires for the on off switch and the circuit breaker after taking the fuel line off i'll loosen the drain bolt and empty the gas out of the bowl now because of the governing linkage you can't just simply slide the carburetor off the engine studs so to get around this problem we have to remove the studs first put on one of the nuts on the stud backwards followed by the other nut then grab the back nut and then tighten the outer nut now you can turn the back nut along with the stud to remove it from the engine after that remove the nuts and do the same thing for the other stud after that work the governor linkage and the spring off the carburetor don't lose this carburetor gasket otherwise you may have some starting problems after removing the bowl nut and the bowl we can see that the bowl itself is clean so the jet won't be clogged with debris however after removing the jet and looking through it i can barely see light through the hole so a partially clogged jet is causing our problem there's just enough fuel getting through it but not enough to run off choke i'm gonna use a piece of thin wire to clean the opening and once i can see light through it i'll reinstall the jet and put the carburetor back together also when reinstalling the bowl make sure you clock the drain bolt towards the fuel port now once the carburetor is back together reconnect the governor linkage and spring replace the gasket and the studs now use the same method to install the studs as taking them off this time though turn the nut clockwise now after reconnecting the fuel line and replacing the other gasket replace the side cover and reconnect all the electrical connectors now before i try and start this generator i want to drain some of the fuel out of the tank to make sure that the cap is venting air like it's supposed to [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] as you can see it started and ran after moving the choke to the run position so the partially clogged jet was the problem it's always suggested to run your generator a few times through the year and don't forget to put a load on it to make sure it's still producing power another reason why your generator would start and not run in the off choke position is a missing gasket on the carburetor to the engine now the gasket seals the mating surfaces and without it the airflow through the carburetor may not be enough to work properly so my question is how often do you test run your generator once or twice a year or maybe more i hate to say it but i don't test run my generators enough but i also leave my tanks empty if i left gas in the tank i would have to test run them at least four times a year thank you for watching i really appreciate your time here please feel free to ask any questions and i hope to see you in my next video

Channel: Home Garage

Views: 55,492

Keywords: troy, troybilt, troy-bilt, poulan, craftsman, craftsmen, homelite, murray, yardmachine, husqvarna, honda, briggs, power, pressure, washer, wash, cleaner, nozzle, handle, engine, predator, deck, patio, car, van, wood, dirt, oil, stains, gas, flush, treat, home, garage, inside, house, synthetic, mineral, non, detergent, detergant, proper, maintian, maintenance, spring, fall, detail, finish, grass, spark, filter, wand, hose, wheel, tire, generator, generater, jinny, powermate, pull, rope, electricity, electric, outlet, emergancy, black, out, outage, harbor, freight

Id: MC1Vt-yNpsY

Length: 8min 25sec (505 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 18 2020