Well, it's wintertime again here in New England and I'm just waiting for a storm to knock off my power for a week or two without a generator. I have a generator that will only run with the choke on and even with the choke on, it sometimes stalls after a few minutes. My brain automatically goes to it running lean. Here are the symptoms and things I've checked on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated since I'm absolutely baffled. I tried battling this thing a year ago with no luck. I'm giving it another shot. There must be some stupid thing I'm forgetting or missing.
Gentron 10020 Generator 420cc 15hp.
- Air filter is clean
- Runs the same way without air filter on
- It stalls when choke is off.
- Runs kind of right when choke is on, but not quite. Also, may stall after a few minutes.
- Spark plug is new and correctly gapped
- Was running fine last time I had to power the house. Then after a year (or maybe two) in storage, it was doing this odd behavior.
- I put it in storage with fuel stabilizer and I fogged the engine
- All old fuel has been drained and fresh fuel has been put in. I can 99.99% guarantee it is not fuel quality related.
- Adjusting the carb didn't remedy it.
- Bought a replacement carb, runs the same.
- I adjusted the valve lash to factory recommended. Even so, the valves were barely out of adjustment prior to doing so.
After starting it today, it smoked like crazy. Then slowly cleared up. I don't remember fogging up the cylinder wall this last time, but I must have.
What is the compression test supposed to come in roughly on an engine like this? I did a compression test last year, but I can't remember what it was. I think it was 80 psi cold, but I can't remember. I just remember thinking it was low, but still should be able to work. I also can do a leak down test.
Any ideas on what to look for? My brain keeps telling me it MUST be carburetor related, but I've done everything I can think of. Could compression loss create this issue?
Gentron 10020 Generator 420cc 15hp.
- Air filter is clean
- Runs the same way without air filter on
- It stalls when choke is off.
- Runs kind of right when choke is on, but not quite. Also, may stall after a few minutes.
- Spark plug is new and correctly gapped
- Was running fine last time I had to power the house. Then after a year (or maybe two) in storage, it was doing this odd behavior.
- I put it in storage with fuel stabilizer and I fogged the engine
- All old fuel has been drained and fresh fuel has been put in. I can 99.99% guarantee it is not fuel quality related.
- Adjusting the carb didn't remedy it.
- Bought a replacement carb, runs the same.
- I adjusted the valve lash to factory recommended. Even so, the valves were barely out of adjustment prior to doing so.
After starting it today, it smoked like crazy. Then slowly cleared up. I don't remember fogging up the cylinder wall this last time, but I must have.
What is the compression test supposed to come in roughly on an engine like this? I did a compression test last year, but I can't remember what it was. I think it was 80 psi cold, but I can't remember. I just remember thinking it was low, but still should be able to work. I also can do a leak down test.
Any ideas on what to look for? My brain keeps telling me it MUST be carburetor related, but I've done everything I can think of. Could compression loss create this issue?