Generator won’t restart after running earlier tonight

[andrewkw]

I doubt anyone can help me as I can barely keep my eyes open. Outside there is freezing rain and a power failure. I wasn’t prepared for this ice storm and with not enough gas to last until morning I have been cycling generator on and off.

It’s electric start so just push button. Obviously the fuel line is open since I’ve been using it. I adjusted the choke but I really don’t know what else I could do. I verified there was still oil inside. I don’t really know anything about engines so that’s it. I did try pulling the cord and it wouldn’t start that way either.

I have one emergency emergency battery powered air pump but 4 different tanks. Fortunately with a wood stove it’s still warm inside...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Try various movement on the choke lever although you shouldn’t need it at all . Also check spark plug to assure it isn’t wet.
If not wet, you could place spark plug wire near spark plug and see if you have/get spark
Mine gas on/off switch. Assure that’s on ON if yours has one

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Do you have natural gas where you live? Or maybe propane? If I lived in a cold state and had gas I would have wall furnace in my house, just like what they have in apartments. They do not use any electricity so with no power you can still stay warm.

 

[JoshH]

What type of generator is it? As mentioned above try to adjust the choke when pull starting, (there might not be enough juice left to use the electric start). Does it sound like it's trying to turn over when you use the electric start?

It might even be worth closing off the fuel line and giving it quite a few pulls, there might be too much fuel in the cylinders to crank over. Once you give it a few pulls, open the fuel line back up and try again.

 

[andrewkw]

I tried closing the line. The freezing rain is just getting worse and worse so I lugged it back into the shed. I might try again later but phone is almost dead and I don’t even have a flashlight so might not be possible until sunrise.

It’s a Westinghouse 7,500W maybe the battery just doesn’t have enough power to restart it. I really don’t know. There isn’t much I can do. Fortunately I did have brand new batteries for my air pump.

 

[TheOne]

Wish i could help. Here is a minute video on starting with pullcord. How long has the gas been in it? Days, weeks, months? Since you have a wood stove to keep the house warm your tank should be fine on temp. You can scoop water and pour it back in to help with oxygen exchange in each tank.

 

[JoshH]

My guess is the battery has been drained from the repeated stop and starts. Or you've flooded the engine leaving the fuel line open when it wasn't running. Either way the only solution really is to keep on pulling and curse and swear along the way.... I hope things hold out the night for you!!!

Maybe take the generator inside your home and let it all warm up and dry out... was it covered from the rain while running?

 

[andrewkw]

Flooded is my guess too. I mean I don’t really take care of it but at the same time it was working fine an hour previous. It was getting some rain on it but not a lot. There is no way to get it in the house not by myself at 3:24am when I normally go to sleep before midnight. Even during the day I’d need a lot of help getting it up the steps.

Assuming I make it until tomorrow or when the power comes back I will find someone who can service it. Ideally I’d have a little generator shed closer to the house but I really don’t want to spend the money or time on something like that since I don’t plan on living here that much longer. I’ve had a 33 hour power failure in the past but it’s been more then a year for any of significance.

 

[TheOne]

Well when it gets day light i would turn off the fuel line and unscrew the carb drain bolt and drain the carb first. Then try restarting it. You can also try restarting it with the air filter off. You may just have a dirty air filter.

These small engines can be a pain sometimes. Trust me I know. I race karts and that's a carbureted Harley Davidson in my pic.

 

[HuneyBear]

Does it have an oil sensor on the engine? Do you have it level when you are trying to start it. If it has that sensor and it is low on oil it will not start. If it has that sensor and it has oil then that sensor might have went bad. You can unplug that sensor and connect those wires and it bypasses it. Only do so if it has oil and is running level. It will not run if that sensor went bad. Not sure if that will help you or not.

 

[andrewkw]

Power just came back. Have some damaged trees, some branches hit the house but doesn’t appear to be any damage. I stayed up all night stirring the tanks and loading the wood stove.

And it went back out...

And it went back on...

Tank temps dropped to 74 and 71 on the far side of the house. Will check them out more after I sleep. If I can’t figure out I’ll have to find someone to check it out and go back to always having extra gas on hand....

 

[mfinn]

Next time you have to run it for short periods of time and then shut it off, just turn the gas line valve to off so that it empties the gas going into the engine and the engine dies from lack of gas.

If by chance it happens the same way again, shut the gas valve off and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. Then with the gas valve off try pull starting it 10-12 times. Then turn the gas valve on and try restarting it with the choke off.
Sometimes this helps me clear the gas if I've flooded a small engine.

 

[motortrendz]

Sometimes if the gas is left in the tank for extended periods it gets a little sticky in the carb. The jet could be blocked or gummed up. Which could be starving the unit. Depending on if its trying to turn over while cranking will kinda give you a better idea. If you have absolutley nothing, pull the spark plug see if its wet. If it is, smell it, does it smell like gas or varnish.. if its wetyour definitly getting fuel, check for spark. Put the plug back in, lay the wire back next to the plug about a 1/4" away and crank it(or pull to start) if you see a spark you got spark. If you dont the coil is bad....

my guess honestly is that the jet picked up some ice and got clogged in the carb. Id bring it inside and let it warm up, most fuel you buy now is atleast 15% alcohol, which absorbs moisture. if you have some stabil additive put it in the tank and it should start.

I know this seems like alot for someone who isnt used to working on engines. But honestly if you watch a you tube video (I'm sure theres plenty) this is all something you can do on a bout 15 min.

If theres anything I can guide you on let me know. I've been a dealer tech (mechanic) since 99... hope all is well and that theres no real damage from the storm.

 

[Paul B]

For the next time, get a can of starting Ether. Just shoot a little in the carburetor and the thing should start even if it is slightly flooded or the plug is wet.
I keep a can on my generator and on my boat and have for decades.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I had to do that 3 times one year. Make sure the pumps comeback on, my nano tank did not and I killed everything in there, I kept them alive all night until the power came back on, I saw that the big tank was on but I did not check the nano tank. So I went to sleep and that is when they died.

 

[ccombs]

Best of luck to you!

 

[ca1ore]

Portable generators can be a real pain in the petard. I had one where the engine ran fine but the electric generating side would periodically cycle on an off. Bought a replacement that was extremely temperamental starting and quite susceptible to rain. Regular maintenance and exercising is key.

 

[andrewkw]

Thanks for all the replies. At the very least it's pointed me in the right directions to research. It's one thing to be prepared and have a generator - I have survived 33hr hour failure without issue, but now the generator is 3 plus years old and needs to be serviced. From now on I'll set a reminder every 90 days to run it for 15 minutes and actually change the oil ect. I did have a look at the clean air filter and while it was pretty grey there were no debris or anything so that is probably good.

I HAD TO go get gas before I got snowed in since I siphoned all the gas from my snowblower into my generator but now I've got 10 gallons of gas, I got gas anti freeze, starter fluid and new oil as well. I should have got a spark plug but I will pick that up in the next few days when I go get another gas can so I can have a full generator / snowblower and 2 extra.

While I have lived in the country for more then 3 years now, I still find it hard to be prepared for this. Even I should have tested everything out earlier in the day so I wasn't struggling at 2am with freezing rain pouring down on me. Where I used to live the power lines were all underground and I can only recall one power failure lasting more then a couple hours so my tanks were never at risk and simply UPS battery backups were enough. Those were easy enough to service, change the battery every 2-3 years or just buy a new one on sale.

I have seen pretty much all of my fish and they seem to be fine. In my main display the only coral I lost was the tips of a tiny pocillipora that was growing on the return pump - it was out of water overnight. There isn't much of value in the frag tank and that is the tank that dropped to 71 but the rabbitfish in there seems fine and I don't see any corals looking worse then yesterday.

 

[andrewkw]

Of course power is back out. So I have changed the oil and while changing the oil a lot appeared to have leaked out of the bottom. I did not unscrew anything as I couldn’t even loosen the nut so I just poured the oil out and filled with a new bottle. I’m not sure if I caused this or this was the original problem but the clean air filters were soaked with oil. It appeared to be coming from a gasket in there. I’ve rinsed out the filter as best I could without running water and I have them drying by the stove. Will try again as soon as they dry. What a nightmare. If I could afford a new generator I’d just go get a new one...

 

[TheOne]

Did you turn the generator upside down to pour the old oil out? Is so then yes it will come out the airbox.

If you overfilled it then it will also come out the airbox which is my guess. Since you couldn't start it up to warm the oil before draining to get it all. Always put in less oil then run to temp and add if needed.

Anyway, All you can do now is dry out the airfilter and try again. I would try pullstarting without the airfilter and letting it run for a minute. It wont hurt anything. Maybe try and get some of the extra oil out also.

If it wont run without the airfilter then you probably will need a new spark plug.