Generator not starting... check your plugs! (pics)

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Messages
5,265
Location
North
I've had a Champion 4kw generator patched into my panel via 6 circuit transfer switch for years. Ever since new the generator would take a while with the electric start to get going. This morning I was prepping for the ice storm happening and couldn't get the darn thing started.

Checked oil level, ok.
Checked fuel, ok.
Sprayed quick start into the carb, nope.
Changed the spark plug - vrooom

The darn things starts on first pull now. A huge difference. It feels brand new.

Reading some history on these Chinese made Champion generators, they apparently come with really cheap Chinese made plugs.

I replaced it with a NGK BR7ES and she starts easy and purrs like a kitten now.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Torch brand plug, maybe?


Not sure. Pics above. Thoughts?
 
Originally Posted By: PeterPolyol
What was the gap like on the old one? Any buildup?


Pics above, gap was definitely wider than the new NGK I put in.

Thoughts on the buildup? I don't have much of a reference point for that.
 
This happened to me too last summer. Honda generator, NGK plug. Tried everything and put a new plug in and it fired off first pull. Weird,never had plugs go in four strokes before.
 
Originally Posted By: PeterPolyol
Edit:
Gap doesnt appear ridiculous but that carbon buildup though.


Some chunks of the carbon fell off before the picture too. Had to wipe it off my laptop
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
This happened to me too last summer. Honda generator, NGK plug. Tried everything and put a new plug in and it fired off first pull. Weird,never had plugs go in four strokes before.


Me either. First time. The limited use they get... they should last a good long time.
 
Originally Posted By: webfors
Originally Posted By: PeterPolyol
Edit:
Gap doesnt appear ridiculous but that carbon buildup though.


Some chunks of the carbon fell off before the picture too. Had to wipe it off my laptop
grin.gif



Eek-barba-durkle oh yeah, that'll do it! Maybe the ol girl is running really rich
 
Agree on plugs making a difference in starting.

Strangely, my Powerhouse PH2100PRi generator has managed to ruin two NGK CR7HSA in fairly short order. They quickly got harder and harder to start before failing completely with no spark. One of them had cracked the center insulator and I could see a faint spark between it and the shell, but it would not run. For as bad as the Torch spark plugs are reputed to be, that's what got it started again after the NGKs died.
 
Plug looks sooty but not carboned enough to prevent it from functioning. Something else probably failed.

It's rare when a spark plug fails. However, occasionally they do. I think I've had a total of four plugs fail over five decades or so and I have a lot of engines.

Seems that it's becoming more of an issue with the influx of cheap Chinese plugs now available on the market.
 
When you test the generator you should put a load on it and run for several minutes to burn the carbon off the plug.
 
Eek-barba-durkle oh yeah, that'll do it! Maybe the ol girl is running really rich

X2, Change the oil, just cuz . The ? plug in the Predator is fine, like the rest of the engine, so far. The plug is similar to The Bosch silbers I ran in my first BMW. The old Honda's plug has developed a short lifespan according to my brother. The engine is 5? HP on a log splitter that is pushing 40 yrs old.
 
Originally Posted By: mk378
When you test the generator you should put a load on it and run for several minutes to burn the carbon off the plug.


I typically do. I've been negligent the past 10 months. I typically transfer the furnace over, or just plug directly in a 2000w hair dryer and run it for 30 minutes. Definitely gets much hotter under load.
 
Originally Posted By: webfors
I replaced it with a NGK BR7ES and she starts easy and purrs like a kitten now.

Forgive me for asking, but isn't the correct cross reference for the Torch F6RTC the NGK BPR6ES? How did you land upon the plug you are using, or was it simply one you had on hand in a moment of need?
 
Originally Posted By: Astro_Guy
Originally Posted By: webfors
I replaced it with a NGK BR7ES and she starts easy and purrs like a kitten now.

Forgive me for asking, but isn't the correct cross reference for the Torch F6RTC the NGK BPR6ES? How did you land upon the plug you are using, or was it simply one you had on hand in a moment of need?


Good point! OP, do you realize you put a cooler plug in? For NGK's numbering system lower numbers are hotter plugs and vice-versa. If anything the way you run your engine, you should be putting a hotter plug in this engine, but even that is a band-aid. Is it really running that rich or is it burning oil?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top