OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Hand and Power Tolls Power Tools chinese generator

I recently bought one of those cheap chinese 4 stroke generators off Ebay to use on a camping trip for a week.They are a Honda look alike.It has a remote control start as well as pull start and worked like a clock for a week. Trouble is after i got home and left it unstarted for 2 weeks it refuses to start.It will run if I put some fuel down the plug hole but thats the only way I can get it to fire.Does anyone have any clues what may be wrong??? cheers

gac,

It could be a number of things that could be causing your problems.

1. Choke not going on properly.

2. The inlet valve might not be seating properly.

3. One of the valves is sticking.

4. Carburettor could be partial blocked jet.

One other thing just check the muffler does not have a wasp nest in it.

Does it keep running properly after you prime it to start? If so, you most likely are not getting the cold enrichment system to work. That will be either a primer bulb or a choke.

It will run properly once you get it to start,it will then start with little effort.Its like the carby isn't getting fuel. They recommend on initial start up to pump the primer about 20 times but this now does not work.The choke is a vacuum type solenoid,so basically it is on till the engine starts and then the vacuum pulls the choke off.could it be the system is sucking air??The primer bulb seems to do nothing.

If the choke is automatic and it is closed when the engine is cold and not running, it is most likely OK. If the engine runs properly once it starts, there is probably no problem with the basic carburetor or the fuel system. It sounds as if your problem is with the priming system. Since they say prime it 20 times, they seem to be expecting that the priming system itself will lose prime, and you are supposed to pump air until it finally manages to achieve a liquid seal in the pump, after which it will work properly until it dries out. In other words the priming system is probably crummy, and the manufacturer knows it. This is one of those situations where you are likely to have to either fit new parts to the priming system after each week of actual use, or change the design of the priming system so it works better than the original one. Neither of those options seems all that convenient - I hope the generator was very cheap.

It is difficult to help you with a redesign of the system without seeing the machine. Difficulty priming the primer is likely to be due to one of two things: fuel level well below the primer, so it is difficult to prime the pump; or poor quality priming pump, so it is not good at pumping air. One thing you can try immediately: make sure the fuel tank is completely full whenever you try to cold-start the machine. This reduces the distance the fuel level is below the primer.

Thanks Grumpy for your quick reply.I think you have hit the nail squarely on the head. The generator came with extensive instructions as to how to initially prime it and then how to keep it primed.Also after use when not using for a while they recommend to drain the carby which i found strange??
The generator was $700 and is fairly well made,they are being sold at every caravan yard all over Australia.I primed it through the head again today and started it every half hour all day long,didn't miss a beat.I wouldn't mind spending a bit of money to make it reliable as the beauty of it is it has a key AND remote control start!!something Honda can't do in a 2kva potable generator.I think you are also right about the primer bulb the one on my yard blower is far better.I have a 2kva Honda and am considering taking it apart to see how it is primed?? I will post some photo's of the fuel system for your (and others) thoughts.Thanks again,cheers Greg

it may be an idea to check the fuel delivery to the primer its self. often things wont prime when the filters or lines get a bit crudded up. i agree with grumpy that priming systems are basically crap these days and have modified too many to count.
regards jay

One thing to bear in mind is that a really tiny leak in the priming pump intake valve will cause exactly what you are experiencing. Taking out the moving parts of the priming pump (most likely in the cavity right behind the primer bulb) and carefully cleaning them might do the trick. Remember, you are trying to get a liquid pump to work well pumping air: it doesn't take much of a leak to stop it in its tracks. Be gentle - taking Chinese plastic pumps apart and reassembling them successfully is a job for a watchmaker with a sense of humour.

I have taken some photo's to post of my generator but am not sure how to upload them. Any hints would be appreciated.

Hi Gac,

The forum help area is a good place to start or even by pressing the FAQ button at the top of the forum is good because it explains how to load pictures etc.

Click HERE to go to one of the post by Deejay regarding uploading pictures.

hopfully you can find my photos from the following link,http://www4.snapfish.com.au/snapfishau/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2179908019/a=3644159019_3644159019/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/
Let me know ifthat doesn't work

[img]http://http://www4.snapfish.com.au/snapfishau/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2179908019/a=3644159019_3644159019/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/[/img]

Hi gac, we have tried to correct the links to your pics, but have had no luck. Snapfish require log-in details to get to the tags.....Could you post your pics in "Photobucket" and follow the instructions; click HERE and all should be OK.
Best of luck with it.

Thanks Dj for your effort,by using snapfish which came with my new laptop, I was just trying to limit the number of programmes(and logins,and passwords I have already forgotten) to a minimum. Everyone says its "easy' just download "such and such a programme and away you go" and it all ends up adding to further clutter on the hardrive .But of course there is no conformity on these things so one can't complain,yet from here i can't see your "download pictures" tab??. Absolutely love this site but it is kind of frustrating to navigate around sometimes.My pics are on photo bucket but I am still unsure as to how to link them to this post.Maybee you can break it down very simply,step by step,"once more for the dumbies" Cheers GAC

dj,Hope these links work.cheers GAC

Thanks DJ for making my photo's magically appear.
Can anyone give some hints as to how to improve this fuel system (if at all possible). I changed the primer bulb today which was kindly posted by the guy I bought it from on Ebay.It still took about 60-70 pumps to get the fuel up and again once it starts it will start all day. This ,as I think i posted earlier, is unlike when I first primed and started it when I could come back the next day and kick it over with no priming. So to summaries it is basically loosing prime overnight. Any thoughts?? Cheers GAC

If you have replaced the entire primer bulb/pump, there seem to be two generic possibilities remaining: an air lock downstream of the primer bulb/pump, or an air leak or liquid lock upstream of the primer bulb/pump. If there were a downstream air lock, the pump would be unable to pump out the air inside the bulb and replace it with fuel because there was nowhere for the air to go. You would probably know if that were happening because the bulb would become difficul to pump after a few strokes. If there were an upstream air leak, air would be getting into the fuel hose when you applied suction with the primer bulb/pump. An upstream liquid lock would be something like a sticky valve in that round device you are holding in the photo. You would need to check the fuel hose connections for leaks, and examine that strange round device, which might be a fuel pump. If one of its connections or its diaphragm leaks air, or its intake valve is a bit sticky, all may be explained. We'd need a proper diagram and explanation of that rather complex fuel system to be much more helpful, I think. My guess is a serviceman would replace the priming bulb/pump, and if that didn't fix it, replace the fuel pump (if that's what the round thing is). Most likely it would be one or the other, and he'd have fixed it within ten minutes.

once again i agree with grumpy about the fuel pump. i assume the pump is one that relies on crankcase suction to form a vacuumed which opens and closes a rubber diaphragm to pump fuel through. these particular pumps are very susceptible to tearing the diaphragm and therefore restricting the vacuum and not letting the diaphragm pump.
if the fuel tank could be mounted higher than the carby then the whole pump wouldn�t be needed at all and you could do away with all the crap. if you can get a replacement pump off the bloke you got the generator for free then try that. if all else fails then you could replace the pump with a Briggs and Stratton crankcase vacuum pump which i have found very reliable in the past. this is the type of pump i explained before. this all relies on weather or not you have the option of using crankcase vacuum which i think you do
regards jay

Thanks guys for your quick responses.You guys are definately on the money, The "round thing"is definately a fuel pump of the daiphragm type pumped by crancase vacuum.You can see the line comming from the crancase in the first photo. I have very carefully pulled this apart to check for damage,and apart from being fairly basic in construction, it appears ok.When I pump the primer bulb there are air bubbles in both the bulb and the fuel filter after the fuel pump.If there was an air leak wouldn't that translate to a fuel leak at some point??

Bubbles in the fuel line means either a suction air leak, or a blocked fuel tank air vent. If it was the fuel tank air vent it would not run properly after starting, so a fuel line air leak is more likely - but check the tank vent anyway, because a high enough vacuum in the tank can cause the fuel pump to misbehave.

Check for air bubbles in the primer bulb when the engine is running - air may be entering the system steadily, but once the fuel pump starts operating, it has enough capacity to pump air and fuel simultaneously.

You would not necessarily get a fuel leak if there is an air leak upstream of the fuel pump or primer pump. Liquids are much easier to seal than air - a pinhole air leak will stop the primer from working but may not leak fuel at all.

If you are sure that there is no air leak into the fuel pump (which is under suction when you operate the primer, remember) or a malfunctioning fuel pump valve, then check the joints in the various hoses attached to the fuel pump and the primer pump.