Honda EU2000 Won't Start

[hpeer]

Any ideas? It's three years old. We use it very little, have only one tank of gas through it. Used it last about a month ago, a little hard to start at first but otherwise OK.

Now I can't get it to go!

[RTB]

If your fuel is fresh, check the oil level (I keep mine just over full).

Ralph

[steamgoat]

Sometimes ,after long period of no use, mine wont start, I open the air cleaner and give it a squirt of something flamable and off it goes. Then its OK till after its next long rest.!

[BadKitty]

Make sure your gas tank is at least 1/3 full.

[kbudd]

Make sure it is not low on oil. They have an ignition lock out when the oil gets low.

[belizesailor]

Little use, old fuel...likely a dirty carb. These carbs are very small, clog easily, and can be a challenge to get the channels clean.

[cruiz9]

These are great little units but are very sensitive to old fuel and oil, try cleaning the fuel system out and changing the oil, even if it looks fresh, and you should be right to go.

[Sailmonkey]

It may help to pull the float bowl off of the carb and be sure the float needle isn't gummed closed.

[mbianka]

My Honda has been operating far seven years with only a few oil changes. Great little generator use it to to propel my boat too.

Start with the obvious:
1) Is the on/off switch in the on position?
2) Is the gas cap vent in the on position?
3) Have you set it to choke for starting?
Sometimes one can forget these simple steps.

If the Oil level is Ok then it might be a fuel issue. Maybe a blocked fuel jet on the corroborator.

[onestepcsy37]

My honda 1000 has a drain hose and valve on the bottom of the carb. Came from the factory that way so I guess they intended it to make that job easier for you.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

My honda 1000 has a drain hose and valve on the bottom of the carb. Came from the factory that way so I guess they intended it to make that job easier for you.

Handy for draining prior to storage, but unfortunately won't do much to actually clean the carb. Only way to effectively do that is to tear it down and clean it. That's true of any carb, but extremely small carbs like these are more difficult to get the internal channels clean due to their very tiny diameter. Ive had to make several attempts on my EU2000 in the past to finally get it clear.

OP: Check for spark also. I've had plug on mine get fouled a couple of times. I suspect that prolonged running in economy mode may contribute to carbon build up.

[Peters Wet]

If the fuel is old parts in the carb become varnished , the gas loses volatility after 60 days, there's a product called sea foam that you can add to your new fuel to clean it up if that's the problem

Sent from my Arc using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[socaldmax]

If all of the above checks out and the spark plug has been replaced, try bypassing the on/off switch. There is a connector about 2" from the switch, just disconnect it. If it starts with the switch disconnected, then it's probably just corroded and needs replacement.

[gunkylump]

We bought a new one this year...used it about 4 times, starting running rough. Ran rough off and on a couple of more times.....then died.

Further investigation found the spark plug wire totally off of the plug. Might be worth checking out.

gunk

[travellerw]

Yay something I can really help with... I own a small engine repair shop.

The very first thing to check is spark.. You need to know if the unit has spark. In a shop, we have a tester for this.. Without a tester, you will need 2 people. You are going to have to do the old trick of holding the spark plug to the block. Unfortunately its almost impossible on these units as the plastic case prevents access for holding the plug to the block. In this case, you take the plug out, leave the wire attached to the top, then touch a long screw driver to the block, then touch the plug body to the screw driver. Have the second person pull the unit over and watch for spark (do not touch anything but the spark plug boot on the top of the plug).

If you verify spark, then it definitely fuel. These carbs can gum up in as little as 2 weeks of no use (poor fuel, high humidity). At that point, if you are not familiar with a carb cleaning, you can try SeaFoam as suggested earlier. We have had good success with SeaFoam if you can get it into the carb. You will need to drain the carb bowl so the pump can refill the carb with fuel treated with SeaFoam.

If you have no spark, please post back and I can walk you through a couple of tests to determine if the coils are shot. Frankly %95 of issues with both 1000 and 2000 are fuel.