Pressure washer surging issue

[ssspencerjr]

Question, just got a new Simpson pressure washer with a Honda gx200 engine. I’m going to call them to see what they have to say but wants to check with BITOG in the meantime. Washer runs great. No issues except after letting off the trigger of the spray gun the engine will surge for a few seconds before evening out. No issues under load or anything. Anybody have an idea?

 

[BMW Dom]

Is the top pilot jet clogged?

 

[ssspencerjr]

Is the top pilot jet clogged?

No idea, it’s brand new out of the box. Was just curious if there was an adjustment or anything I should look for.

 

[BMW Dom]

My honda was surging, had to clean out top jet on carburetor. but yea, should not be like that out of the box

 

[nbpt100]

There is no screw type adjustment where you can control the fuel mixture. Both jets are fixed. I would not worry too much about it unless it gets worse. It is only for a few seconds as you go from high load to no load. You could clean the carb if it drives you nuts and see if it helps. Most of these new machines are designed to run a bit lean. If it does get worse for sure clean the carb.

The pump is supose to switch in to bypass mode when you turn the water off. Sometimes they stick a little bit. There is a screw adjustemnt on that. That may be part of the cause of what you are experiencing. YOu should never run the machine for long with out having the water on. It can cause the pump to really heat up and causes undue wear. Check out the owners manual for how to adjust that.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I have a smaller pressure washer with the Honda OHC engine. Also have one with a B&S engine. Are you sure it's not pressure related? My parents house has weird water pressure (sometimes high, sometimes low ... sometimes it goes high and low within seconds) and the one with a Honda engine is constantly surging or not kicking up idle at all. Only at their house. The B&S one works fine there and they both work fine at my house

 

[RooflessVW]

My Briggs does the same thing.

When you release the trigger it has like a little rhythm to it for a second or two before evening out.

 

[ssspencerjr]

My Briggs does the same thing.

When you release the trigger it has like a little rhythm to it for a second or two before evening out.

That’s exactly what it’s doing. I’ve never owned any Honda other than a gcv160 on my push mower so this is all new to me. Choke, throttle, ignition switch etc.

 

[tmorris1]

I have one. I believe it is pretty normal as long as it smooths out after a second or 2. You are going from full load on the engine to idle in a second of releasing the trigger. It takes a little bit for the governor to catch up.

 

[RooflessVW]

That’s exactly what it’s doing. I’ve never owned any Honda other than a gcv160 on my push mower so this is all new to me. Choke, throttle, ignition switch etc.

I think it's pretty typical.

 

[Warlord]

Every pressure washer I’ve owned has done that. A guy could probably play around with it to stop that little surge but I’ve never cared enough to bother.

 

[jeepman3071]

I think it's pretty typical.

+1

They have fixed jet carburetors and are designed to run lean for emissions reasons. Going from load to no load quickly like a pressure washer does will cause surging for a few seconds as the governor adjusts. A few seconds is normal. If it does it constantly or immediately after starting the engine there is a carburetor problem.

 

[gman2304]

I have one. I believe it is pretty normal as long as it smooths out after a second or 2. You are going from full load on the engine to idle in a second of releasing the trigger. It takes a little bit for the governor to catch up.

^ This. I pressure washed my deck this weekend and my GCV160 does this as well. Mine is 15 years old and has always done this on releasing the trigger and going to no load, then smooths out after a couple of seconds.

 

[ssspencerjr]

+1

They have fixed jet carburetors and are designed to run lean for emissions reasons. Going from load to no load quickly like a pressure washer does will cause surging for a few seconds as the governor adjusts. A few seconds is normal. If it does it constantly or immediately after starting the engine there is a carburetor problem.

Thanks… interesting that this is normal behavior. My old one I just sold to a buddy of mine was a Briggs 675 with an auto choke. It never did this at all, granted different type of engine, brand and pump. Thought it was odd this new Honda is doing it.

 

[MacManus99]

My Chonda powered axial pump pressure washer does this as well. My dad's GX390 powered triplex pump pressure washer does too. I've always assumed it was normal governor operation, especially since you can see the governor linkage move, correlating with the surge.

 

[Woody71]

I have a 9 year old simpson pressure washer with a Honda engine that's done the same thing since I can remember, sounds fine with trigger pulled and when I let off the surge happens for about 5 seconds, almost like it's catching up.