Honda EX650 Generator runs down

Hi,

I have this generator that keeps dying down after a few minutes of
running each time as if it keeps running out of gas.

It's been sitting around since 1990. There was no gas in the tank when
I opened it. I have no idea if it was stored properly. As I
understand it was used only a few times for about ten hours. The
engine is clean. The filter is clean. I replaced the oil, the spark
plug, cleaned and lubed the filter, put in fresh premium.

The gas runs out freely out the bottom of the carb when I release it
with the bottom screw. I assume that gas is getting to the carb, but
I'm not sure. This generator also likes me to use starting fluid in
the filter, so it can get running, but it dies down after a minute as
if it's only running on the starting fluid.

My local Honda dealership charges $89 just to diagnose this, so any
suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Randolph

 

Years ago, I had a problem with a snowblower that had been sitting for
several years. I removed the carburetor and took it to a local repair
shop and explained the problem and had them clean it. I don't remember
what they charged but I remember the bill seemed reasonable at the time
and it solved the problem.

Another option is to ask a repair shop if they have some sort of
tune-up kit you can buy for the carburetor and then buy some cleaning
fluid and clean it yourself.

The caveat, of course, is that if you mess things up, it will probably
cost more in the end to fix it than if you had simply taken it to the
repair shop to begin with.

The owner's manual indicates that the Honda EX650 has an oil alert
system that might be shutting down the engine. You might want to buy a
new sensor and see if that helps.

There's a copy of the owners manual at:
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/Gen_Own_Web/pages/pdf/31ZA8030.pdf

 

Good point--the oil should be filled to where it's just about flowing out
(if this has the slanted oil fill hole). On some Honda engines you can
simply disconnect the low-oil shutdown temporarily to see if that's the
problem but of course make sure the crankcase if full of oil first.

I have an old lawnmower with a B&S engine and it does the same thing--runs
for a minute and shuts down like it's out of gas. The problem on my
lawnmower is the governor that controls the engine speed is not holding the
throttle open enough. It works fine if I hold the throttle open after it
starts. Maybe just a weak spring or some goo somewhere.