If I saw you hammering on my equipment with the side of a wrench or using channel locks like you did without using the right wrench or sockets, I would kindly ask you to leave and please ask a professional from your company to come out instead. I used to do field service work and as the point-man for my company after the sale, I had damn well better represent my employer to the best of my ability. I was doing field service work in the Maglite factory in Ontario, CA. I was using a Brinkman flashlight and the shop manager asked me why I did not have a Maglite since his company bought from us, should we not buy from them? Point made loud and clear. This guy then takes my Brinkman apart and shows me every reason why Maglites were superior in every way to a Brinkman. Again, point made. The next time I was at Maglite, I had two of their flashlights in my kit! Counter-point made.
@jay I had to go through and watch the video again because I was confused what piece of equipment I was allegedly beating on with the wrench? If you were paying attention I put on the display that these are not regular cheap ass pliers they sure as hell aren't channel locks. Get a Clue and do a little more research. Just because you won't pay $65 for my style of pliers and are used to using cheap junk does not mean I am damaging anything. Let me get this straight... you're bitching about me taking apart a starter that I can smell is burnt up with my pliers wrench (that the customer will not be keeping)...🤔🤦🏻.... I had to disassembled the starter to know why this thing burned up so it doesn't happen again. Viewers like you disgust me because all you do is look for things to bitch about. Some people only want to condemn others when there wasn't a dang thing wrong with what I did. We warrantied the starter, we ate the labor and the customer didn't pay anything extra...so get your facts straight next time before condemning someone. I never said I was "the generator authority" but I have real world experience that I'm willing to share for FREE on UA-cam. Currently this video is at 52,000 views and you're the only one that said anything about that? Mmm 🤔.... It might be time for you to start a UA-cam channel?
In my opinion, using channel locks on a bolt, nut or any six sided fasteners is unprofessional. It wears out the head or nut and makes it rounded over time. Use the right tool for the job needed. Battery terminal? Use a socket or the correct sized wrench. Starter solenoid nuts? Use the right wrench size. Don't guess. Even that expensive tool rounds bolt edges if you don't completely clear the bolt when moving into a new position. Did you double wrench the terminal connector when putting the wire connector back on? Bad habits are hard to break. Use a hammer to hammer not a wrench. I have made UA-cam videos btw.
@@jayrenner1053 I don't see any videos listed under this name, list them I'm interested in seeing a professional, I bet I can find something wrong with it.
@@HVACRSurvival No UA-cam videos were ever uploaded by me under this account. However, I do have some out there with a different account name. Good luck finding them. Uploading videos does not make one a pro - decades of field work does as well as taking criticism with an open mind. People will judge you by your actions. I am just saying you should up your game if you are going to make instructional videos.
@@jayrenner1053 Admitting you will not tell me where your videos are located tells me everything I need to know about your credibility. Far as taking criticism is concerned, I have no problem if I'm wrong but in this case, I'm not. I'll be making a video real soon showing how an open-end box wrench is a piece of crap that will destroy the bolt head and nut where as mine will not. Obviously you've never used these pliers like these or you would never said channel locks. It's not my fault you don't have nice tools and you've never used quality like this. As I said you're one person out of 54,000 views that said anything. I'm done talking about this.
Great Video! Fixed my issue! During a recent neighborhood power outage my older 7kw generator did not kick in. I first thought it was the battery, but that tested out perfect. So on the inter-web I went and found this video. Watching it closely I followed the testing procedures, and sure enough it seemed like the starter pooped out. I called Generac for the correct starter number for my unit and found it on Amazon (of all places) for a great price! Plus, it arrived by 8am the next morning!! Bonus! I'm now back in business thanks to this video! 🙂
As a 20+ year Generac customer, I have never had a less than professional technician. I am about to have my 24Kw system serviced and the technician is the one who installed it from the dealer I bought it from. I always have it professionally serviced.
I keep up a 2005 model 15k Generac Guardian Plus. All it has required is several batteries, oil/filter changes and a valve adjustment. At 16 years old the NG fuel valve/regulator went out due to age. It still runs perfectly today at 18 years old. They are no more trouble than any other piece of lawn equipment, etc. Maintenance is key. 3 day oil change is required if running during a prolonged outage with conventional oil. I get a week run with Amsoil small engine oil in hurricane alley!
@@HVACRSurvival With the power out for 8 weeks after Hurricane Laura, I can tell you what happens to all sorts of generators when run day and night for weeks! The 4 standbys and 5 portables that I care for, all survived just fine while other's bit the dust. Not changing the oil and filter every few days or using too small of conductors will kill them quickly!
Why don't you use the proper tools to remove the battery cables and the starter instead of using the channel locks as the one and all tool? I never seen someone use a pair of pliers as a hammer before - until now. You certainly are a graduate from the hammer 🔨 mechanic academy. 😂
we picked up a used 90s generac 10000 that ran rough. Found a chewed spark kill wire that shorted. Fixed it, cleaned off the gen set, fresh oil, and it runs like a champ. Turns out Generac simply rebranded a 100% made in USA Briggs & Stratton industrial gen set as their own. Very high quality unit.
@@williamvaughan1218 The Chinese generators sold under names like Predator, DuroMax, WEN, etc. are the biggest problem; in medium size portable generators, their China-made knockoff Honda-clone engines are made with cheaper materials, poorer castings/machinings/bearings, etc., so they don't last, tend to fail catastrophically, and need careful break-in to run for any length of time, and they displaced more reliable engines from Honda, Briggs, Tecumseh, and Kohler. Briggs & Stratton is an engine company, and their portable generators are using Chinese engines with the B&S badge applied. Likewise for Generac, their entry level portable generators are using Chinese engines. Nowadays you can only get quality name-brand engines on generators made for contractors and sold at higher contractor pricing, like Wacker Neuson, because downtime isn't tolerated on a jobsite.
Ha😂 I had the same issue when it was new and the only co in my rural area didn’t know about the motor issue I figured it out and told him they said no it’s running fine I showed him the spark plugs that cylinder was not ! I Got Nothing Done Under Warranty because they said it was Okay. I pulled it apart and found what I thought was as the problem! A few years later the starter failed & guess what, the had Changed the design? I hope it’s the starter solenoid this time😡
I was wanting you to get a wrench, hit the starter button, and beat the starter like a red-headed step child. That's how you check for a starter that's going/gone bad on most cars.
@@fixinggrace - If your start has the solenoid jamming, so it won't start the motor, you already HAVE a broken starter. I've had to do the 'rap on the starter' a couple of times to get someone home - including myself.
I bet that starter hung up while it was running and that’s what caused the damage, in a bind from the wrong shims and spinning at high rpm’s and it got hotter than shit and melted then something shorted out and burnt that wire into.
I was going to say something about the use of channel-lock pliers until I saw the flat jaw operation. I'm old school and prefer using the correct size wrenches but that works for me.
I really like the idea of using a label maker to mark the install and service date on the battery. That is a great quick reference for you or who ever works on the machine later. I'm going to do that even for my car batteries. That part that moves gear in and out and lets it drive only one way is called a "bendix."
I'll do ya one better. Our company uses a sticker with 10 spaces on it where you can write what you did and date it. I also jot down the propane tank location so I can find it with a foot of fresh snow on the ground.
I have two Onan generators..one I bought new, a 5K, 1800 RPM tri-fuel fuel that I ran on propane for 7,500 hours and then had it rebuilt, moved to a different location where it’s running on NG now at 7,800 hours..runs like a champ! The other one is 15K, 3600 RPM running on propane, but suddenly it’s not catching so it’s got to be either no fuel getting to it..bad fuel solenoid..or points not making contact. One of these years I’ll get around to looking into it! Enjoyed your work and comments!
Rick I went to Generac when it was an off site school. Had to be bused to school from the hotel. Just wanted to let you know that the 10 kw unit has/had a breather leak and leak after it shuts down over night. The breather and gasket had to be changed. Plus the gasket needed to be cut back because it was to big. Ive had brand new units breaking the mags and engine castings. I like your generator videos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that has had a lot of problems. I don't do near as many as I did prior. I'm trying to phase out of working on them.
Had a 8kw Generac a few years newer than the model in the video, the engine appeared the same. Kept burning up starters and had trouble starting. Repair services would come out and say the starter was bad, fixed the immediate problem but never actually solved it. After some UA-cam research I decided to adjust the valve lash myself. Totally solved the problem and only took a few basic tools and a feeler gauge.
in my 25 years servicing these a valve adjustment and a spark plug will fix 90% of hard start issues. I can't fathom burning starters with the factory default of limiting crank cycles. The customers must be out there resetting the darned thing 10 times!
@@rupe53 if I left the camera run the whole time it would be an hour and a half or more, people are lucky if they can stay focused for more than 5-10 minutes 😂
I was a bit stumped by our 8kw overcrank issue it had since last week, but it turned out to be some corrosion on the gas solenoid wire connectors; there was a big dump of snow before Christmas and that left a lot of moisture everywhere and the 12 volts isn’t much push to get through some crusty corrosion. I removed and re-attached the wires and that was enough to get it fired up. It’s been running a bit unstable lately, hunting a bit so it definitely needs some kind of service, not too sure what exactly but at least it’s able to start now.
I have a 2 year old 22KW. I pay to have it monitored. It had an RPM warning which means it didn't start. I went out and got it running but the starter sounded odd. I'm in Florida. Generac had a bulletin if you get that warning in a hot climate to replace the starter. It's the exact same starter as the original. Seems odd to me but it was replaced under warranty and no more issues as of yet.
Thanks Rick for taking us along on your “favourite service call” I can’t believe you have to tell everyone repeatedly about the knipex pliers and put a text on screen to again let people know they are not regular channel locks!!
Still not a replacement for a good set of wrenches, I don’t care how good your adjustable pliers are it’s just lazy. I grew up in a mechanic’s household and I’ll ALWAYS go for the right tool for the job.
@@JeremyPeters when you do service calls that can be far from the truck or on a roof you will learn quickly how to slim down your tool bag to reduce the weight. My dad is a retired heavy duty mechanic and I have a full rolling chest of all kinds of wrench’s but I am for sure not packing that around!
@Jeremy I carry as few wrenches as possible, the only good fixed wrench is a 6pt box style. Open end wrenches are junk and strip the head. I haven't stripped a bolt yet with those.
Once again, Great Serv & Video Brother! BTW the starter retractor is called a Bendix . that washer that mounts before starter is a spacer, you need to properly adjust clearance to flywheel so the Bendix can retract properly n not stick.
Great video! Thanks. I am a new Home Owner with a Generac Generator. Currently waiting on a set of keys to get inside. (Red Light) Loved how you showed step by step testing the Battery/Contactor/starter. Funny thing about all those "Karens" out there. Great reply to them as well, LOL!
We had a 20kw Generac, side opening door panels, 27 years old, no problems, accept the muffler rusted and I replaced it with all stainless one, SS clamps, pipes, flapper, etc. We would lose main power at least once a year, sometimes ran for a few days before power was restored. Replaced the battery twice, thats over 1400 startups. I added a circuit so that if the generator attempted an exercise but produced no 240v power a local sonalert beeped so the home owner could investigate.
That starter looks very similar to what you would find on a Kohler engine. Getting a generator installed this week, went with a Briggs the Generac guy wouldn't get back to us on a quote or answer our phone calls.
Generac can't keep them supplied quick enough, he likely didn't have one to install if he sold it. Hopefully the Briggs dealer services what they sell. I've worked on a few and the technical service on those sucked. I won't work on them now after the hours of wasted time looking for information.
I've found the OEM contactor is poor quality and may contribute to burning up the starter. After replacing the contactor twice, the 3rd time I put in a Stancor 70-902 which is rated for continuous duty at 80amps. Problem solved. Also with overcrank warnings, dig through the Generac service documents as there was also a note about a weak/defective magneto in some models. Once I replaced mine, starting was much easier.
Seems like HVAC guys really have to know it all to do the job well: Mechanics and Electrics on top of the actual HVAC part of the trade. I've seen a few jobs now from HVACR Videos where it would have made a lot of sense for him to be a certified electrician since he had to have an electrician come in for some work on a few occasions.
He lives in California, their laws are really weird plus he's a small shop, we have over 100 employees and have licensed electricians, plumbers, welders, etc. so we're able to do more things underneath their licenses. Chris is more than capable of doing it, for liability reasons he chooses not to.
I like Amprobe meters , I got into them by watching you Rick 👍 I got the AMP 320 which does phase rotation but actually does have 3 leads which makes it sooooo convenient ! I use it to check for correct phase rotation on every commissioning and it has never let me down so far 👌
I have a GR 15 kw LP I have already replaced the ing pack for one cylinder it was arcing to the head because it was pinched from the factory with the shrouding so it wasn’t firing at all. No one could find it. I took it apart and figured it out and I had to replace the starter that got updated starter changed model from G. Rack 😂 I’ve been doing maintenance on it and last year it had the same issue as you showed,but I thought it was the starter solenoid failed. Then I had retina issues and I couldn’t touch it now. The hurricanes are here back again and I need to jump back on this issue. Thanks for the guide to getting the diagnosis done. I hope my starter hasn’t died again and it is just a solenoid.
Once the engine begins to run, it will rotate faster than the starter motor which will drive the starter bendix gear back down the helix and out of engagement with the ring gear. All that mechanism relies on inertia to operate.
@@InsanePacoTaco ... they are set from the factory to run 12 minutes, once a week. (you set the time) Part of the problem I saw in the field was older sets that didn't start well because they needed a spark plug or valve adjustment. The unit faults and nobody figures it out till 9 months later.
I had a problem with my 15 year old generator just clicking instead of starting, replaced battery and yet only started one time, so I replaced the starter twice with same symptom, FINALLY I got a battery with over 600 CCA (of course I had to make the cavity larger with a hacksaw) and now starts everytime for the last 2 months
Man that’s a great video too! I know someone with a generator like that one and I hope I can work on it for her if it fails. I like working on them! Thanks again!
I have the 12KW version of this series I bought as old stock to replace a few years newer 16KW that blew up. The 16KW was only a few years old when it lost the rear cylinder, I pulled pieces of the con rod and piston out through the jug. Real mess and a serious piss off for me. As for the battery? The unit is located next to my garage so I relocated the battery into the garage and installed a good quality marine 5amp smart charger. I pulled the connector on the internal charger. I also put an oil separator tank on the crankcase breather as it was sucking oil into the air filter and plugging it. Why there is so much blow bye on an engine with so few hours is a mystery. I just replaced the brushes on the generator section as one of the braided wires attaching the brushes had failed. Brushes actually looked pretty good otherwise. My top lid has completely rusted out so I swapped out the aluminum lid from the newer failed machine. Was not an exact fit and had to relocate a hinge. Overall these machines suck in my opinion. Mine is on an out island in the Caribbean and it is a constant battle to keep running. For example I’m sick of seeing that blinking overspeed led blinking. Many of my neighbors have given up on them as they have failed and eventually no one seems to want to fix them or are unable to diagnose them. They then upgrade to more expensive diesel units. I would never have purchased the Generac in hind site. Pay me now or pay me later.
I feel your pain my friend, being out there on the ocean doesn't help, that salt water attacks everything. The reason why they're one of the best selling generators is because they are one of the best price home standby generators out there but obviously quality has been laxed for quite a while. I've been begging our sales guy to not sell any generators anymore just because it's nothing but a hassle.
@@HVACRSurvival indeed for the price you do honestly get a lot for your money, just not a lot of quality to go with it. My first service call 12 years ago involved flying someone in from the main island. $$$$$. He diagnosed it as a control board, so I brought one in from the States in my luggage, but it proved not to be the problem. So almost $1000 later it was still not working. Taking matters into my own hands and studying the Wiring Diagram I was able to diagnose it as a shorted Auto/Off/Manual toggle switch, for $15 plus shipping. Salt water from a tropical storm(Irene??) got into the switch. I’ve now chosen to do all of my own repairs, which can be a frustrating anxiety ridden endeavor for a DIY person, but unfortunately necessary in my case.
Great video. I'll subscribe. I just bought this exact unit. The propane inlet line on the side you're working on in this video, on the one I bought is full of rust. I want to remove the line where it goes into the regulator behind the battery. Is the line going through the steel box just threaded into the regulator? I don't want to crack the cast housing of the regulator. Thanks.
I had a small motor like this, on a neighbors lawn mower vacuum. It was "locked up" but it turns out, that in the right conditions, they would not spin over. I spun the motor over by hand, just a inch or so, and it started again. Haven't had a problem since.
I got an 8K Generac portable generator for a house generator for two main reasons. If I ever moved I wanted to take it with me. And, I literally save over $3k not going with a stationary generator set up. It works fine and powers the house when we lose electricity. When the power goes out you can look up and down the street of the housing complex and I am the only one with lights. The only thing that failed and I have never fixed it is the battery system. I have no idea why the start battery system wasnt designed to charge when the generator run. Anyway, the battery died and I replaced it and that one bit the dust too so I just use the pull cord and it always starts within 3 pulls. I did talk to Generac and they said when I run it bi-weekly to keep everything lubed to be sure I put some kind of load on it. Even a fan would do. The idea is to keep the brushes working properly. So I do and I have had it several years through several outages and it works.
Rick brother you made a great decisions on removing that shim , I like working on gensets but by the time I get some what okay on them I don’t see any for a bit , I don’t know generators like a factory service tech would. Something different to break up the day to day keep the videos coming brother
I fully understand your struggle of not getting a lot of experience on the generators, that's a lot of why I'm not interested anymore in them. If I can't be highly proficient in repairing them then I'm not as interested.
It might have helped, I didn't think of it at the time and it likely would have worn off quickly. In the past when I have replaced the magnetos, I have brushed off the rust and painted the raw metal.
yes and no. Since these are exposed, it probably needs to be a non-detergent kind of oil. If it was fully enclosed, such as my old Ford Escort, you'd use a grease. It's unlikely to wear off as quickly as most would think, because the starter spends the bulk of its time sitting - there's little to no friction to wear off the oil. If you do a yearly maintenance, that would probably be plenty.
@@tbelding Of course if you could get in a time machine and go back 15 years and get a quality part you wouldn't have to worry about lubricating anything.....
@@2packs4sure - unfortunately, we can't control the manufacturer, or rather, the assembler. We can, however, control what happens to the part we replace.
Is this generator from before or after generac decided to just send out notice that they need "rings" for new builds and get whatever and just use it? During hurricane IDA generac standby units down here were drinking more oil when operating than the Exxon valdez leaked.
@@HVACRSurvival don’t know when it started but my local dealer axed them after hurricane ida when he was on the move 18 hours a day feeding them oil. Kohler units were problem free. Within spec is apparently up to 1 quart a day for generac. That’s just nuts.
Sold car starters for 20 years the shins where mostly for rebuild starters ,when they stone tumbled the nose piece would make the clearance to tight ,drive bendix would hit flywheel and not engage . Didn`t need for new starters .
I did this job over a month and a half ago and it is still working as far as I know, unless the customer doesn't know that it's not running. So I would say it was not needed, and that's why I showed the piece of paper instructing me to use that particular shim even though it obviously caused a problem. Just another inconsistency with generac
Hi great video I will be changing my battery to see if I can get my generator running. The one I have is same kind as in the video except mine has an hour clock. Can you tell me how I can find out how many KW is the generator and is it entrie house or not. Thank you.
@@HVACRSurvival thank you I will take a look. If the new battery does not fix the issue do I call generac to service the unit or should I call an electrician? Also any ideas on cost for a service call? Im in NJ. Thank you.
The gear at the end is a bendixg, aka gear clutch. The grease and lube dries out and the bearings bite the big one. Causing the motor to work in over drive burning the motor out.
What is that thing that looks like a stack of sockets that he can pull them apart until he gets to the correct size? I don't see that in the list of tools.
@@HVACRSurvival Briefly at 0.35 attached to the power driver and at 8.15. I couldn't find the spot where it shows you removing the smaller tip to use the next size up. Tnx for the response.
@@HVACRSurvival - When you put in something like that, it needs a bit of grease (if it's exposed, non-detergent oil is okay). I suspect that what happened is that the gear stuck and wasn't able to retract, and that started running the heat up. Everything else happened because of the heat, not the wire breaking (broken wire would actually make it stop, or run cooler)
I just bought this unit. If the unit isn't hooked up to any utilities at all. It's just sitting on the ground and the only thing hooked up is the battery. Can I get the unit to crank to make sure the engine is good? Trying to bench test a generator before having it installed.
Yeah it'll start and run just have the breaker turned off. Unhook the battery when you're done because it'll go dead if it's not hooked up to the utility.
Do you carry a quart bottle of distilled water for topping off those batteries? The main victim of the overcharging is going to be boiling the water away. (Specific gravity hydrometer is useful as well) Unfortunately, too many people - and shops - don't check the batteries. They just run them into the ground, then replace.
My refractometer has Specific gravity and I have a dedicated one. Interstate battery said it doesn't matter if its distilled like it once did so I don't worry about it anymore.
@@HVACRSurvival - Yeah...that's a company that wants you to buy new batteries. Do a quick search. Toyota Forklifts, for example, has a "how to correctly water your forklift battery" short article. It's not really so much 'distilled' as needing 'pure'. The problem is that most bottled water has minerals added 'for taste', let alone hard well water. People with water softeners, for example? Battery killer. Chlorides PLUS the minerals (potassium, calcium, and magnesium). Exide Technologies own website (One of the two manufacturers of car batteries in the US) says distilled only, and even sells their own brand of distilled. Now, they may be talking about just calcium, which is now sometimes even added into the battery plates for additional 'science'. :) It could also be they're just referring to people that check once a year or two, which means it's not really going to help much anyway. (that reminds me, I need to check my car battery)
@@HVACRSurvival ... I serviced Generac for almost 25 years and over the last 15 never had to add water to a battery. Between maintenance free, sealed batteries, and lower charge rates, it's just not the problem it once was.
@@rupe53 the new units are a lot better. That's why I haven't had to make many videos of them. I originally got into generators because I was bored with residential and light commercial but I'm into too many things now to miss with them. I lost my desire🤷
That commutator is toasted alright, is the compression that high on the engine that the starter struggles to crank? Maybe Generac needs to look into beefier starters
Is that measurement L1 or L2 to neutral or between L1 & L2? Either way sounds like a voltage regulator is bad but you should have it tested before you spend the money on a part that might not be bad.
@@HVACRSurvival perhaps you could point me in the right direction with the diagnosing it. First time I fired it up. I got 120 volts on both lines to neutral.. hooked it up to the cabin and charged all my batteries. The well pump cycled on which may have spiked and put me over 3500watts Now I'm getting 160 volts out each line.
It likely is the voltage regulator but I hate telling you that and it not be it. Kind of hard to diagnose it without checking voltages and certain particular spots, and I'm not able to do that over the internet.
@@HVACRSurvival I completely understand that. Like telling someone how to fix a car over the phone. I was just hoping that my hunch was correct. Thank you for all your help.
The newest models are a lot better. I own a 8kw gas and a 3k inverter and both are Generac. No problems from either but I take care of them and they are inside the house not outside in the weather.
Are there(to your knowledge) models that Generac makes that aren't having many problems? I'm considering getting their 7.5 kw standby model. Thank you for this video.
Most of the newer ones aren't that bad, but if you're going to spend the money on a 7.5kw you might as well as get at least a 10kw or 12kw, that way you have two cylinders instead of one. If you really don't need that much capacity and you don't need the standby option I would get one of the generac portable inverter style units. That's what I own, and I own a 8,000 kw gas unit
I had the same problem and had replaced the starter (while replacing starter I charged the battery) which seemed to work but just for 2 weeks and the same problem where the starter would just click so I contacted support and was sent a new starter and of course that also lasted a couple of weeks. At this time I figured it has to be a weak cell in my battery so I replaced the battery and low and behold after two weeks the problem came back, I finally got a much larger battery which meant I had to cut out the panel behind the battery compartment so the battery (639 cca) would fit. Now this lasts about 3 months at which point I charge the battery and it's good for another 3 months. Not a fix but I don't mind charging every 3 months
@@HVACRSurvival Because even though there was a trickle charge going to the battery, it would not have enough power to turn over the 15 year old motor without taking the battery out for a complete charge. The new battery is much stronger and has no problem turning over the engine. Remember I changed the starter twice and the battery twice BEFORE replacing with a CCA of 630
I would get a automatic trickle charger capable of doing up to 2-4 amps and mount it in there, it should do it. that way so you don't have to mess with it.
we have one of these things... it did its exercising for a few years and i changed the battery once. the first time the power went out, it only lasted 4.5 hours
They're much better than what they used to be. Make sure you maintain it and the company that installs it does a good job and you shouldn't have any problems.
I noticed another regulator in-line on this video. Can you tell me what the secondary regulators are set to in these generators? I only have a single regulator from my propane tank going directly to my generator from the propane company. 13.5" wc at the tank and it's 15 feet away from the generator. Not sure if this explains my hard startup issues or not. Many on some forums claim I need two regulators. Thanks for any input.
Depending on the size of the tank, if we're talking the 250 gallon to 500 gallon tank they'll be a primary regulator at the tank dropping it from tank pressure down to 10 psi then at the house it'll take it from 10 psi down to inches of water column.
Yes mine has the Red 1st Stage 10psi High Pressure Reg at the tank, and the Green 2nd Stage 9-13 inches of WC low pressure Reg before the generator. Generac recommends at least 10 ft of pipe between the generator and the 2nd Stage Regulator. Anything shorter and the opening/closing pulses of the regulator will cause a noticeable fluctuation in pressure and drive the speed governor crazy. You mention you have 15ft so that should be good. Inadequate pipe size and a regulator too close to the generator are apparently the most common installation problems. If you have 3/4” pipe, or heaven forbid 1/2” from your Green Reg to the generator, then I might consider increasing the size to 1”. Under light loads you might not experience a problem, but once you begin adding higher loads it could starve for gas. Larger pipe will also help with buffering against pressure pulses mentioned above. None of this however necessarily addresses your hard start issue, you may have another problem. You might want to consider buying a compression gauge and checking it just for piece of mind. A v-twin Generac can completely blow a piston and rod on one cylinder and still manage to run on the remaining cylinder after a long startup cycle. I’ve seen two of these and I’m not even a Generac tech, can’t imagine how many they see. Compression check will catch this or even a finger in the spark plug hole during crank. Generacs also sometimes come from the factory with very tight valve clearance, or maybe it’s just the valves seating during initial break-in, but I have had really tight clearances on the exhaust valves specifically. If the valve clearances have never been adjusted then I strongly recommend you have it checked, I can almost guarantee they are out of spec.
@@briand2614 ... in my 25 years of working on these 90% of hard starting issues will be spark plugs and valve adjustment. The factory says 0.002" and that doesn't allow any room for error. Go with 0.004" and set with the piston about a half inch down. Yup, these things have compression release and that will screw up your adjustment. As for gas pressures / piping, if you have a few feet of 3/4" pipe between the last reg and the unit you will be close enough to not notice any issues. (although the flutter will show on a gauge) BTW, air cooled units may need valve adjustment by 200 run hours... or sooner during break in period.
@@rupe53 agreed. Valve clearance spec is 0.002-0.004 and I always adjust to the higher end. I have checked clearance on mine after only a few hours of operation and they are too tight. After the initial break in they seem to be good for awhile. I also have a 20kw Briggs and it comes from the factory with Platinum plugs. I installed them in my Generac too. I inherited the Briggs with the house I recently purchased. I'm guessing it's at least 15 years old. I did have to replace the VR, but my impressions so far are more positive than the Generac.
@@briand2614 ... agreed, the platinum plugs will help, but that's one more thing to stock on the truck and you have to pull plugs to adjust valves anyway. I used to do them around 100 hours the first time and 200 after that.
Completely unrelated to this partial video, however I want your opinion. How do you feel about Generacs announcement they are now recommending 5w20 oil in their standby generator? Me personally, in an air cooled engine that may run for 100 hours straight (most homeowners aren’t going to shut it down periodically to check the oil) I would want thicker oil with a good additive package. I’m located in SE Texas where it can be 100° out so in all of my power equipment with a pressured oil system I run AMSOIL Small Engine 10w40 or 10w30 in splash lube systems. Does generac have a reason other than marketing for pushing this oil?
For warm weather areas I've always heard using a strait 30 weight , we use 5w30 full synthetic because we deal with the cooler weather and need it to crank over faster in the winter.
@@HVACRSurvival so y’all haven’t switched to 5w20 at all then? Generac is really trying to push dealers to the 5w20 stuff and I just don’t understand why! I have a 2021 18kw and it doesn’t even have an oil cooler! There’s no way I’m putting a 20 weight oil in it.
From what I heard we were having problems getting the generators in stock for a while. I haven't been working on many lately. I honestly am over working on generators all together, I have such a variety of work at this place that I'm ready for someone else to take my spot.
Hi Rick, one question off topic. U use super nice blue markers even to mark your Knipex tools. Can you please share the exact brand and color. Thank you. Cheers
My generac keeps cranking and cranking but doesn’t start I changed the plugs but not sure what else to do because I’m not to familiar with LP system it has a puff of blue smoke when it does start….any ideas ?
Hopefully you find out why its eating starters. Is it cranking for to long causing it to overheat? Maybe the last one toi put in was junk but that makes 2 that are junk... your on your 3rd now. Seems like a lot of starters for something that hardly sees any use.
The one I first replaced was the original, the new one was likely defective from the factory, the one in this video worked when I was done, then she bought a new outside unit.
If it runs, then it could be a bad voltage regulator,stater,brushes,control module, if it don’t run, then it could be bad magnetos, fuel solenoid or regulator. But all those are just guesses without seeing it.
If the newer Briggs and Generac home standby generators are trash, what do you folks recommend? It seems to me that these things aren't rocket science and it shouldn't be that tough to make one that would run for years in intermittent service. Does anyone make a standby generator with a Subaru Robin engine? How about one with a Honda engine? Both make very good engines and I know both make (or other folks make with their engines) portable generators, but I don't know about fixed standby generators.
Majority of the problems with Generac is with the older versions, from 2005 to maybe 2012 (-/+ 3yrs). The current year stuff is not too bad, we sell generac only because it's affordable, and that's what people want to spend. The problem is people don't want to spend the price that it requires to have a commercial grade generator or one of these diesels that everybody likes to talk about, which anybody that has any clue what's been going on lately in this world, is the diesel stuff going to be going away. The governments are trying to ban all fossil fuels. *The other large problem that you've seen in most of my videos is the customer doesn't spend money to maintain their equipment. 60% to 70% of the problems have been batteries, not keeping the proper oil level, not properly breaking in the engine, poor installation practices, and poor manufacturing and design. As a service guy I can't do anything about any of the above things, all I can do is try to fix what I have to deal with.
I had an old cranky Powermate 4000 with a Briggs 8hp I/C. Powered my whole house through many outages. But the thing drank oil and had a small gas tank so it needed constant attention every 2-3 hours. Finally I gave up and bought a new WEN GN875i which is a 7000W open frame inverter generator. I upgraded my receptacle to a 30A. This unit is awesome. It's the same as the Champion 100520 and the Harbor Freight unit (though the HF has a larger fuel tank). I scored a deal via Slickdeals and ordered the WEN for like $810 shipped to my door. Crazy. This was a few years back but the thing is awesome. I let it run all night in eco mode and it used 2-1/4 gallons. Even came with a Li-Ion battery that works great even if I let it sit 6 months or more. I did do a specific break-in and bought a magnetized dipstick (because Chonda) but I think this is a solid unit.
@@HVACRSurvival I just found your channel. How do I get on with somewhere like Generac? Sounds like you may not like them though My military mos was power generation repair in 90s and have a 2 year small engine certificate from high school in mid 90s . A shop said the other day my small engine certificate is useless bc so much has changed but I don’t believe it bc I’ve been working on small engines for weeks and just disassembled my generator that slung a rod.
If it gets power and it opens and the gas pressure is correct then it's fine. They generally don't go bad, now the fuel regulator that's a different story. The rubber hardens in them and can cause hard starts.
Thank you! I was troubleshooting one, and I was getting fuel to the fuel solenoid, it was getting power but it wasn’t allowing fuel to feed the generator when it attempted to turn on. Does this means that fuel solenoid is bad?
You used the wrong shim so it wasn't aligning with the flywheel properly. It was binding and that's why it failed. Use the thick dogbone shaped one that comes in the box with the starter kit.
@@HVACRSurvival I've probably changed a hundred of those over the years on the single cylinder engines. They're not great starters. Always just the dogbone shim for them.
@@willrobinson9575 likely what caused it to fail. Not being aligned properly. Every one I've ever replaced has had the thick shim from the factory. Replaced 2 yesterday.
The problem is that the flywheel teeth are so rusted that the bendix wheel on the starter got hung up in the flywheel, kept the starter engaged and it overheated. Clean the flywheel, coat it with a rust inhibitor and you should be ok.
@@willrobinson9575 First things first, Happy New Year. Shim's are used to insure proper clearance between the flywheel teeth and the starter gear to avoid undo stress on either. If you noticed the flywheel was severely rusted and by removing the factory shim the starter teeth were now able to ride deeper into the flywheel which is at best a temporary fix. Now that the shim is removed the factory clearance is no longer set and premature wear will happen once again. There was a reason the starter he removed went bad so fast and in my humble opinion it still hasn't been cured. The rust needs to be cleaned off the flywheel and somehow try to figure how to prevent mositure from entering the flywheel area. I personally think it's one of a few design flaw's in the Generac Generator's. I would never own one. How do I know so much? I've been the owner of a small engine authorized factory dealership (now retired ) son's took over the business since 1959
This generator model has been a total piece of junk since it was built in somewhere in 2005 - 2006 area, this is the reason why I talk so badly about this model, it caused me several service calls over the years and it just was a total failure. Between this generator and a traditional generator, I'll take my standard generator any day over this thing. The lady was an older woman whose husband just died and didn't want to deal with problems anymore, so she purchased a new outside section and reused the transfer switch. The technology has advanced so much that it just didn't make sense to spend much more time or worry on this thing. I'm not one for replacing things if they're not broke but in this case and in her situation it wasn't worth the hassle. Told her to sell the other one on marketplace to recoup some of her money.
@@HVACRSurvival Google PDG Generators. Their alternators range from 7 kW up to 500 kW and are paired with FPT, Yanmar, Perkins, John Deere, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Samson, and Kubota engines. Fuel types are diesel, LP and natural gas. They are a bit more pricey, but you get what you pay for. PDG is a higher quality than that crap you get from Generac. You can even customize your own power package.
I have an 3000i inverter generac and an 8000w RMS generac I haven't had any problems with either one of them, I think the problem is this stuff sets outside and they were built cheap.
In my video it was because the engagement system didn't retract, then when it was powered to spin it did not, which then caused locked rotor amps and melted down the brushes and the rotor. (Or it could have been because that wire was broken on the rotor.)
Back when I was an electrician, bossman sent me over to marine fisheries for a pump motor that wasn't starting. I get there and it's immediately obvious what's up, call bossman say we're gonna need a new motor, he asks if I'm sure, I say, yeah, paint's all burned off and the thing's still hot to the touch two hours on.
i recommend putting grounds wire on starter bolted to engine to reduce stressing starter too much 2nd look like it been cranking tooo long still wont started up so it just ruined starter i think more could be issues with coils lack of sparks or lack of fuel or no fuel at all cant tell because spark plugs is one way show some sing of issues
@@HVACRSurvival that aint going avoided starter from burn up i have customer that have mower and ground wire was attach to frame still wont start and burned up starter i took ground cable off frame put on engine it never have any starter issues just give you tips if it happens aging them move wire from frame to engine hope this save your self a headache having go back n buy other starter
She purchased a new outside Genset. I think she's going to sell this one. This was an older lady who recently lost her husband and didn't need the hassle of worrying about a generator because she likes to travel. I probably didn't describe it very good and my reply, it actually goes from the engine block to the same frame that the battery is grounded to. It's a heavy mesh ground cable plus the battery also attaches to the engine block at the bottom. I'm just saying it's extra grounding to the Shell casing. You can't get much better than going straight from the battery to the engine block. I appreciate any help you can give that's cool 👍👍
It depends on where you live if you have a lot of competition, depends on what else you do in addition to it, in my situation I am doing a million different things and I can't focus my time on them like I did eight plus years ago. There's no money in the warranty work, they will pay you your basic hourly rate that your company charges and it's all flat rate so you better be able to do it as quickly as they quote. Being certified is a necessary evil is the way we look at it because when you sell it you need to be able to service it and warranty it, but there's a lot of people that don't have anybody certified to work on it even though they keep on selling it.
Generac has had a fairly good reputation, except for their Chineseium inverter generators. I have an ix2000 that has a bad transformer in it, and no replacement parts are available, other than a $750 replacement board. I'm not to thrilled. It's been this way with them since at least 2013.
Just FYI, Horrid Freight is selling a replica of your parallel pliers, and they are even red. If you want to see the "counterfeit", search "10 in. pliers wrench with comfort grip".
@@FrozenHaxor I'm not a tech, but I did mechanical demolition for 10 years, and never needed a Chineseium tool like that on the job. I'm a tool nut myself. I even designed a tool for my trade for removing the backer plate for fin tube.
@@HVACRSurvival for what I've spent on Knipex, don't think I'm using any of them as hammers, but then again I'm more of a desk jockey tool a holic than real mechanic!
@Dave I feel that because I spent more money on it, it should be able to take some abuse. But I know what you mean. I've owned them now for about 5 years so they get a little beat up now, when they're brand new they never got beat like that. 😂
Word of advice to whoever owns that unit is get a new one, they are only rated to last 15 years or 1500 run hours. If you sell them a newer model of same or similar Kw wont have to change cables or gas lines so would only be cost of unit an a couple hours labor. Oh you would have to add a battery charger to newer model because there old transfer switch wouldnt have a T1
Why do these Designers not use the gen set itself as the Starter, Just add the Appropriate windings. If kohler can do it with their Vintage light Plants. Why not any one else in the Future.. Thanks Much... Mike M.
@@HVACRSurvival A friend of Mine Has one of the old ones with a 4 Cylinder eng and it uses the gen set to start it. talk about a sweet running unit The auto start will also shut it off when the load is removed. it takes a min of 100 watts to start and keep it running.
@Nspro what do you want me to elaborate on? It was just the overall environment that I seen at Kohler was more relaxed, professional and the employees were happy but that was a long time ago. When I went through the training at generac it was in the plant were actually building them, Since that time they started doing their training in a dedicated location so that you don't see how they build them. These things are built at 100 mph rush and there's no doubt in my mind why these things have so many issues because they're running them through so quickly to mass produce them.
3:49 - 4:00 "NO LONGER MADE" ......WARNING folks this happens quite alot, you spend 1000's of $$$ for one of these but in a year or two parts for it becomes obsolete, you may or may not be able to get parts for these, DON'T buy one thinking 3, 4, 5 years down the road you will be able to get parts for it. For this reason I just but the portable cheaper ones, even with those you can TAKE IT to a repair shop & not have to pay a service charge for someone to come out
What I said was this generator model was no longer made, and the starter is not used on any of the current generators. However, the parts are still available to repair it.
@@HVACRSurvival Good Luck in the future, I worked for a global known engine mfg that imports gens under MANY DIFFERENT U.S. known brand names & they ALL came from the same plant in China, I watched a container being opened from the Savannah port with over 5 different brand names on the boxes & the BOL stated ALL made in the SAME plant, wait till you CAN'T get parts in a timely manner from there. Can YOU or a customer get a COMPLETE parts illustration with EVERY part number LISTED & AVAILABLE for purchase for EACH model?? I have ASKED for such from local installers BEFORE a purchase only to be looked at like they had NO idea what I was asking
after just a few years of working on small engines lol 20 years the rust on the fly wheel is grabbing the cheep plastic gear and holding it. that old potato is not work the time to even get it apart to clean it.. when i set up hrz / frek i normal allow a unit to run a good 20 minutes to warm the oil up first..
@@tbelding after get the ring gear out of there witch is several hours work and clean it good. i normal paint them and put a dry rust preventer on it i have a silicone spray. grease or oil will attract dust and dirt witch makes thing even more sticky. this is made to be dry with no lube, and it is out in the weather, in short is was made to fail. but in this case you are putting more money in to this potato then it is worth. or as i like to say you can polish a turd and make it prity but it is still a turd.
If I saw you hammering on my equipment with the side of a wrench or using channel locks like you did without using the right wrench or sockets, I would kindly ask you to leave and please ask a professional from your company to come out instead. I used to do field service work and as the point-man for my company after the sale, I had damn well better represent my employer to the best of my ability. I was doing field service work in the Maglite factory in Ontario, CA. I was using a Brinkman flashlight and the shop manager asked me why I did not have a Maglite since his company bought from us, should we not buy from them? Point made loud and clear. This guy then takes my Brinkman apart and shows me every reason why Maglites were superior in every way to a Brinkman. Again, point made. The next time I was at Maglite, I had two of their flashlights in my kit! Counter-point made.
@jay I had to go through and watch the video again because I was confused what piece of equipment I was allegedly beating on with the wrench? If you were paying attention I put on the display that these are not regular cheap ass pliers they sure as hell aren't channel locks. Get a Clue and do a little more research. Just because you won't pay $65 for my style of pliers and are used to using cheap junk does not mean I am damaging anything. Let me get this straight... you're bitching about me taking apart a starter that I can smell is burnt up with my pliers wrench (that the customer will not be keeping)...🤔🤦🏻.... I had to disassembled the starter to know why this thing burned up so it doesn't happen again. Viewers like you disgust me because all you do is look for things to bitch about. Some people only want to condemn others when there wasn't a dang thing wrong with what I did. We warrantied the starter, we ate the labor and the customer didn't pay anything extra...so get your facts straight next time before condemning someone. I never said I was "the generator authority" but I have real world experience that I'm willing to share for FREE on UA-cam. Currently this video is at 52,000 views and you're the only one that said anything about that? Mmm 🤔.... It might be time for you to start a UA-cam channel?
In my opinion, using channel locks on a bolt, nut or any six sided fasteners is unprofessional. It wears out the head or nut and makes it rounded over time. Use the right tool for the job needed. Battery terminal? Use a socket or the correct sized wrench. Starter solenoid nuts? Use the right wrench size. Don't guess. Even that expensive tool rounds bolt edges if you don't completely clear the bolt when moving into a new position. Did you double wrench the terminal connector when putting the wire connector back on? Bad habits are hard to break.
Use a hammer to hammer not a wrench. I have made UA-cam videos btw.
@@jayrenner1053 I don't see any videos listed under this name, list them I'm interested in seeing a professional, I bet I can find something wrong with it.
@@HVACRSurvival No UA-cam videos were ever uploaded by me under this account. However, I do have some out there with a different account name. Good luck finding them. Uploading videos does not make one a pro - decades of field work does as well as taking criticism with an open mind. People will judge you by your actions. I am just saying you should up your game if you are going to make instructional videos.
@@jayrenner1053 Admitting you will not tell me where your videos are located tells me everything I need to know about your credibility. Far as taking criticism is concerned, I have no problem if I'm wrong but in this case, I'm not. I'll be making a video real soon showing how an open-end box wrench is a piece of crap that will destroy the bolt head and nut where as mine will not. Obviously you've never used these pliers like these or you would never said channel locks. It's not my fault you don't have nice tools and you've never used quality like this. As I said you're one person out of 54,000 views that said anything. I'm done talking about this.
Great Video! Fixed my issue! During a recent neighborhood power outage my older 7kw generator did not kick in. I first thought it was the battery, but that tested out perfect. So on the inter-web I went and found this video. Watching it closely I followed the testing procedures, and sure enough it seemed like the starter pooped out. I called Generac for the correct starter number for my unit and found it on Amazon (of all places) for a great price! Plus, it arrived by 8am the next morning!! Bonus! I'm now back in business thanks to this video! 🙂
Sweet 🤙.
As a 20+ year Generac customer, I have never had a less than professional technician. I am about to have my 24Kw system serviced and the technician is the one who installed it from the dealer I bought it from. I always have it professionally serviced.
Well that's awesome! A place that's kept their employee for over 20 years is miraculous to say the least.
Why aren't you checking the solenoid? What are you an idiot?
I keep up a 2005 model 15k Generac Guardian Plus. All it has required is several batteries, oil/filter changes and a valve adjustment. At 16 years old the NG fuel valve/regulator went out due to age. It still runs perfectly today at 18 years old. They are no more trouble than any other piece of lawn equipment, etc. Maintenance is key. 3 day oil change is required if running during a prolonged outage with conventional oil. I get a week run with Amsoil small engine oil in hurricane alley!
You said maintenance is key, most people don't do it until they need it.
@@HVACRSurvival With the power out for 8 weeks after Hurricane Laura, I can tell you what happens to all sorts of generators when run day and night for weeks! The 4 standbys and 5 portables that I care for, all survived just fine while other's bit the dust. Not changing the oil and filter every few days or using too small of conductors will kill them quickly!
Why don't you use the proper tools to remove the battery cables and the starter instead of using the channel locks as the one and all tool? I never seen someone use a pair of pliers as a hammer before - until now.
You certainly are a graduate from the hammer 🔨 mechanic academy. 😂
we picked up a used 90s generac 10000 that ran rough. Found a chewed spark kill wire that shorted. Fixed it, cleaned off the gen set, fresh oil, and it runs like a champ. Turns out Generac simply rebranded a 100% made in USA Briggs & Stratton industrial gen set as their own. Very high quality unit.
New ones are trash
Briggs and Generac both make engines for each other.
The older stuff from briggs is good but the new stuff is complete junk.
@@williamvaughan1218 The Chinese generators sold under names like Predator, DuroMax, WEN, etc. are the biggest problem; in medium size portable generators, their China-made knockoff Honda-clone engines are made with cheaper materials, poorer castings/machinings/bearings, etc., so they don't last, tend to fail catastrophically, and need careful break-in to run for any length of time, and they displaced more reliable engines from Honda, Briggs, Tecumseh, and Kohler. Briggs & Stratton is an engine company, and their portable generators are using Chinese engines with the B&S badge applied. Likewise for Generac, their entry level portable generators are using Chinese engines. Nowadays you can only get quality name-brand engines on generators made for contractors and sold at higher contractor pricing, like Wacker Neuson, because downtime isn't tolerated on a jobsite.
Ha😂 I had the same issue when it was new and the only co in my rural area didn’t know about the motor issue I figured it out and told him they said no it’s running fine I showed him the spark plugs that cylinder was not ! I Got Nothing Done Under Warranty because they said it was Okay. I pulled it apart and found what I thought was as the problem! A few years later the starter failed & guess what, the had Changed the design? I hope it’s the starter solenoid this time😡
I was wanting you to get a wrench, hit the starter button, and beat the starter like a red-headed step child. That's how you check for a starter that's going/gone bad on most cars.
🤣🤣👍👍👍
If it has a permanent magnet motor, you don’t want do that. If the starter wasn’t broken before it will be when you’re done.
@@fixinggrace you did not realize he was kidding?
@@fixinggrace - If your start has the solenoid jamming, so it won't start the motor, you already HAVE a broken starter. I've had to do the 'rap on the starter' a couple of times to get someone home - including myself.
I bet that starter hung up while it was running and that’s what caused the damage, in a bind from the wrong shims and spinning at high rpm’s and it got hotter than shit and melted then something shorted out and burnt that wire into.
I was going to say something about the use of channel-lock pliers until I saw the flat jaw operation. I'm old school and prefer using the correct size wrenches but that works for me.
I recorded a quick test today of my plier wrench just to show the down pressure they have when turning a nut. An open end wrench doesn't have that.
I really like the idea of using a label maker to mark the install and service date on the battery. That is a great quick reference for you or who ever works on the machine later. I'm going to do that even for my car batteries. That part that moves gear in and out and lets it drive only one way is called a "bendix."
I'll do ya one better. Our company uses a sticker with 10 spaces on it where you can write what you did and date it. I also jot down the propane tank location so I can find it with a foot of fresh snow on the ground.
@@Willam_J Only reason I buy silver Sharpies - so I can write the date on black plastic 🙂
I have two Onan generators..one I bought new, a 5K, 1800 RPM tri-fuel fuel that I ran on propane for 7,500 hours and then had it rebuilt, moved to a different location where it’s running on NG now at 7,800 hours..runs like a champ!
The other one is 15K, 3600 RPM running on propane, but suddenly it’s not catching so it’s got to be either no fuel getting to it..bad fuel solenoid..or points not making contact. One of these years I’ll get around to looking into it!
Enjoyed your work and comments!
Thanks for the feedback!
Rick I went to Generac when it was an off site school. Had to be bused to school from the hotel. Just wanted to let you know that the 10 kw unit has/had a breather leak and leak after it shuts down over night. The breather and gasket had to be changed. Plus the gasket needed to be cut back because it was to big. Ive had brand new units breaking the mags and engine castings. I like your generator videos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that has had a lot of problems. I don't do near as many as I did prior. I'm trying to phase out of working on them.
Had a 8kw Generac a few years newer than the model in the video, the engine appeared the same. Kept burning up starters and had trouble starting. Repair services would come out and say the starter was bad, fixed the immediate problem but never actually solved it. After some UA-cam research I decided to adjust the valve lash myself. Totally solved the problem and only took a few basic tools and a feeler gauge.
in my 25 years servicing these a valve adjustment and a spark plug will fix 90% of hard start issues. I can't fathom burning starters with the factory default of limiting crank cycles. The customers must be out there resetting the darned thing 10 times!
It burned up because it did not retract, I did it on the video.?
@@HVACRSurvival ... yes, you did show it hanging up on the video. Guessing you changed the shim combination one more time.
@@rupe53 if I left the camera run the whole time it would be an hour and a half or more, people are lucky if they can stay focused for more than 5-10 minutes 😂
I was a bit stumped by our 8kw overcrank issue it had since last week, but it turned out to be some corrosion on the gas solenoid wire connectors; there was a big dump of snow before Christmas and that left a lot of moisture everywhere and the 12 volts isn’t much push to get through some crusty corrosion. I removed and re-attached the wires and that was enough to get it fired up.
It’s been running a bit unstable lately, hunting a bit so it definitely needs some kind of service, not too sure what exactly but at least it’s able to start now.
I'm glad you got it going!
I have a 2 year old 22KW. I pay to have it monitored. It had an RPM warning which means it didn't start. I went out and got it running but the starter sounded odd. I'm in Florida. Generac had a bulletin if you get that warning in a hot climate to replace the starter. It's the exact same starter as the original. Seems odd to me but it was replaced under warranty and no more issues as of yet.
Good deal🤝👍👍
Thanks Rick for taking us along on your “favourite service call” I can’t believe you have to tell everyone repeatedly about the knipex pliers and put a text on screen to again let people know they are not regular channel locks!!
It's amazing how many people either don't know about them or are just not paying attention.
Still not a replacement for a good set of wrenches, I don’t care how good your adjustable pliers are it’s just lazy. I grew up in a mechanic’s household and I’ll ALWAYS go for the right tool for the job.
@@JeremyPeters when you do service calls that can be far from the truck or on a roof you will learn quickly how to slim down your tool bag to reduce the weight. My dad is a retired heavy duty mechanic and I have a full rolling chest of all kinds of wrench’s but I am for sure not packing that around!
@Jeremy I carry as few wrenches as possible, the only good fixed wrench is a 6pt box style. Open end wrenches are junk and strip the head. I haven't stripped a bolt yet with those.
Once again, Great Serv & Video Brother! BTW
the starter retractor is called a Bendix . that washer that mounts before starter is a spacer, you need to properly adjust clearance to flywheel so the Bendix can retract properly n not stick.
The only adjustment you could possibly do is out away from the flywheel. There’s no wiggle anywhere else.
Great video! Thanks. I am a new Home Owner with a Generac Generator. Currently waiting on a set of keys to get inside. (Red Light) Loved how you showed step by step testing the Battery/Contactor/starter. Funny thing about all those "Karens" out there. Great reply to them as well, LOL!
😁🙏👍👍
I agree with you 100 % Generac has come a long way. I did home stand by for 15 years. All the problems you stated I also agree with you.
Thanks Joe!, Some people don't understand where I'm coming from on these old ones but I'm sure you do👍👍
We had a 20kw Generac, side opening door panels, 27 years old, no problems, accept the muffler rusted and I replaced it with all stainless one, SS clamps, pipes, flapper, etc. We would lose main power at least once a year, sometimes ran for a few days before power was restored. Replaced the battery twice, thats over 1400 startups. I added a circuit so that if the generator attempted an exercise but produced no 240v power a local sonalert beeped so the home owner could investigate.
They were built better back then.
Just found your channel. I installed these around 2006-07. I liked this model, worked pretty decent.
Thanks for checking it out, take a look around my videos, I do a little off everything. I appreciate the feedback!
@@HVACRSurvival will do thanks!
That starter looks very similar to what you would find on a Kohler engine.
Getting a generator installed this week, went with a Briggs the Generac guy wouldn't get back to us on a quote or answer our phone calls.
Generac can't keep them supplied quick enough, he likely didn't have one to install if he sold it. Hopefully the Briggs dealer services what they sell. I've worked on a few and the technical service on those sucked. I won't work on them now after the hours of wasted time looking for information.
@@HVACRSurvival With Birggs going bankrupt, much doubt in any long term service. Briggs gens make Generacs look like gold.
I've found the OEM contactor is poor quality and may contribute to burning up the starter. After replacing the contactor twice, the 3rd time I put in a Stancor 70-902 which is rated for continuous duty at 80amps. Problem solved. Also with overcrank warnings, dig through the Generac service documents as there was also a note about a weak/defective magneto in some models. Once I replaced mine, starting was much easier.
Seems like HVAC guys really have to know it all to do the job well: Mechanics and Electrics on top of the actual HVAC part of the trade.
I've seen a few jobs now from HVACR Videos where it would have made a lot of sense for him to be a certified electrician since he had to have an electrician come in for some work on a few occasions.
He lives in California, their laws are really weird plus he's a small shop, we have over 100 employees and have licensed electricians, plumbers, welders, etc. so we're able to do more things underneath their licenses. Chris is more than capable of doing it, for liability reasons he chooses not to.
I like Amprobe meters , I got into them by watching you Rick 👍
I got the AMP 320 which does phase rotation but actually does have 3 leads which makes it sooooo convenient ! I use it to check for correct phase rotation on every commissioning and it has never let me down so far 👌
That makes me feel good🙂👍👍🤜🤛
I like the generator videos. Thanks for sharing
Thank you!, it wouldn't be too bad working on them down there where it's warmer. I hate working on these in the winter 😁
I have a GR 15 kw LP I have already replaced the ing pack for one cylinder it was arcing to the head because it was pinched from the factory with the shrouding so it wasn’t firing at all. No one could find it. I took it apart and figured it out and I had to replace the starter that got updated starter changed model from G. Rack 😂 I’ve been doing maintenance on it and last year it had the same issue as you showed,but I thought it was the starter solenoid failed. Then I had retina issues and I couldn’t touch it now. The hurricanes are here back again and I need to jump back on this issue. Thanks for the guide to getting the diagnosis done. I hope my starter hasn’t died again and it is just a solenoid.
I’m glad it helped!
Once the engine begins to run, it will rotate faster than the starter motor which will drive the starter bendix gear back down the helix and out of engagement with the ring gear. All that mechanism relies on inertia to operate.
These don't run much so these things happen. Hopefully she buys a new outside section.
@@HVACRSurvival do you think doing a monthly 15 minute run would help with longevity?
@@InsanePacoTaco ... they are set from the factory to run 12 minutes, once a week. (you set the time) Part of the problem I saw in the field was older sets that didn't start well because they needed a spark plug or valve adjustment. The unit faults and nobody figures it out till 9 months later.
"its metric, so we get our metric wrench out here" 🤣🤣🤣
I had a problem with my 15 year old generator just clicking instead of starting, replaced battery and yet only started one time, so I replaced the starter twice with same symptom, FINALLY I got a battery with over 600 CCA (of course I had to make the cavity larger with a hacksaw) and now starts everytime for the last 2 months
Man that’s a great video too! I know someone with a generator like that one and I hope I can work on it for her if it fails. I like working on them! Thanks again!
Have fun and be careful 👍👍
I have the 12KW version of this series I bought as old stock to replace a few years newer 16KW that blew up. The 16KW was only a few years old when it lost the rear cylinder, I pulled pieces of the con rod and piston out through the jug. Real mess and a serious piss off for me. As for the battery? The unit is located next to my garage so I relocated the battery into the garage and installed a good quality marine 5amp smart charger. I pulled the connector on the internal charger. I also put an oil separator tank on the crankcase breather as it was sucking oil into the air filter and plugging it. Why there is so much blow bye on an engine with so few hours is a mystery. I just replaced the brushes on the generator section as one of the braided wires attaching the brushes had failed. Brushes actually looked pretty good otherwise. My top lid has completely rusted out so I swapped out the aluminum lid from the newer failed machine. Was not an exact fit and had to relocate a hinge.
Overall these machines suck in my opinion. Mine is on an out island in the Caribbean and it is a constant battle to keep running. For example I’m sick of seeing that blinking overspeed led blinking. Many of my neighbors have given up on them as they have failed and eventually no one seems to want to fix them or are unable to diagnose them. They then upgrade to more expensive diesel units. I would never have purchased the Generac in hind site. Pay me now or pay me later.
I feel your pain my friend, being out there on the ocean doesn't help, that salt water attacks everything. The reason why they're one of the best selling generators is because they are one of the best price home standby generators out there but obviously quality has been laxed for quite a while. I've been begging our sales guy to not sell any generators anymore just because it's nothing but a hassle.
@@HVACRSurvival indeed for the price you do honestly get a lot for your money, just not a lot of quality to go with it. My first service call 12 years ago involved flying someone in from the main island. $$$$$. He diagnosed it as a control board, so I brought one in from the States in my luggage, but it proved not to be the problem. So almost $1000 later it was still not working. Taking matters into my own hands and studying the Wiring Diagram I was able to diagnose it as a shorted Auto/Off/Manual toggle switch, for $15 plus shipping. Salt water from a tropical storm(Irene??) got into the switch. I’ve now chosen to do all of my own repairs, which can be a frustrating anxiety ridden endeavor for a DIY person, but unfortunately necessary in my case.
The problem I run into is this isn't all we work on. So if all I did was work on generators it wouldn't be a big deal.
Blow by, I wonder if it never broke in properly?
Where I use to work we use to run them 5-8hrs and then change the oil. We didn't lose motors like I see now.
Great video. I'll subscribe. I just bought this exact unit. The propane inlet line on the side you're working on in this video, on the one I bought is full of rust. I want to remove the line where it goes into the regulator behind the battery. Is the line going through the steel box just threaded into the regulator? I don't want to crack the cast housing of the regulator. Thanks.
Usually it's threads right into the fuel regulator.
I had a small motor like this, on a neighbors lawn mower vacuum. It was "locked up" but it turns out, that in the right conditions, they would not spin over. I spun the motor over by hand, just a inch or so, and it started again. Haven't had a problem since.
I got an 8K Generac portable generator for a house generator for two main reasons. If I ever moved I wanted to take it with me. And, I literally save over $3k not going with a stationary generator set up. It works fine and powers the house when we lose electricity. When the power goes out you can look up and down the street of the housing complex and I am the only one with lights. The only thing that failed and I have never fixed it is the battery system. I have no idea why the start battery system wasnt designed to charge when the generator run. Anyway, the battery died and I replaced it and that one bit the dust too so I just use the pull cord and it always starts within 3 pulls. I did talk to Generac and they said when I run it bi-weekly to keep everything lubed to be sure I put some kind of load on it. Even a fan would do. The idea is to keep the brushes working properly. So I do and I have had it several years through several outages and it works.
That's what I own. None of the portables that I have seen have a battery charger built in, they usually have a external charger.
Rick brother you made a great decisions on removing that shim , I like working on gensets but by the time I get some what okay on them I don’t see any for a bit , I don’t know generators like a factory service tech would. Something different to break up the day to day keep the videos coming brother
I fully understand your struggle of not getting a lot of experience on the generators, that's a lot of why I'm not interested anymore in them. If I can't be highly proficient in repairing them then I'm not as interested.
That’s what I was trying to say lol
You made it sound more intelligent 🤛🏻
My grammar sucks🤣 but thank you!
Channel Lock type pliers or Adjustable wrenches are what we call "West Virginia" socket sets!
🤣👍
Would it have been a bad idea to spray some lubricant of some kind on the flywheel teeth ??
It might have helped, I didn't think of it at the time and it likely would have worn off quickly. In the past when I have replaced the magnetos, I have brushed off the rust and painted the raw metal.
yes and no. Since these are exposed, it probably needs to be a non-detergent kind of oil. If it was fully enclosed, such as my old Ford Escort, you'd use a grease. It's unlikely to wear off as quickly as most would think, because the starter spends the bulk of its time sitting - there's little to no friction to wear off the oil. If you do a yearly maintenance, that would probably be plenty.
@@tbelding Of course if you could get in a time machine and go back 15 years and get a quality part you wouldn't have to worry about lubricating anything.....
@@2packs4sure - unfortunately, we can't control the manufacturer, or rather, the assembler. We can, however, control what happens to the part we replace.
Is this generator from before or after generac decided to just send out notice that they need "rings" for new builds and get whatever and just use it? During hurricane IDA generac standby units down here were drinking more oil when operating than the Exxon valdez leaked.
I haven't heard of that, Usually they just don't run, eating oil has never been a issue for me.
@@HVACRSurvival don’t know when it started but my local dealer axed them after hurricane ida when he was on the move 18 hours a day feeding them oil. Kohler units were problem free. Within spec is apparently up to 1 quart a day for generac. That’s just nuts.
Sold car starters for 20 years the shins where mostly for rebuild starters ,when they stone tumbled the nose piece would make the clearance to tight ,drive bendix would hit flywheel and not engage . Didn`t need for new starters .
I did this job over a month and a half ago and it is still working as far as I know, unless the customer doesn't know that it's not running. So I would say it was not needed, and that's why I showed the piece of paper instructing me to use that particular shim even though it obviously caused a problem. Just another inconsistency with generac
Hi great video I will be changing my battery to see if I can get my generator running. The one I have is same kind as in the video except mine has an hour clock. Can you tell me how I can find out how many KW is the generator and is it entrie house or not. Thank you.
Inside the generator they have the amps it’s rated for take that times the voltage which is 250 V. That will give you your wattage.
@@HVACRSurvival thank you I will take a look. If the new battery does not fix the issue do I call generac to service the unit or should I call an electrician? Also any ideas on cost for a service call? Im in NJ. Thank you.
Been a generator tech for over 5 years. Always hated residential generators and the issues they came with
Thank you for the feedback, it's good to hear I'm not the only one not happy with the performance.
The gear at the end is a bendixg, aka gear clutch. The grease and lube dries out and the bearings bite the big one. Causing the motor to work in over drive burning the motor out.
What's the solution? Lube the gear plate?
@@HVACRSurvival you can lube it with a lithium base oil,grease. The twist splines only.
What is that thing that looks like a stack of sockets that he can pull them apart until he gets to the correct size? I don't see that in the list of tools.
Is it in this video? If so put the minute marker in your reply
@@HVACRSurvival Briefly at 0.35 attached to the power driver and at 8.15. I couldn't find the spot where it shows you removing the smaller tip to use the next size up. Tnx for the response.
That's a Bendix gear. It SHOULD have a good amount of grease on it. That one looks as dry as Betty White's back was.
🤣🤣🤣🍺🍺 I'm a refrigeration guy I'm not a engine mechanic
@@HVACRSurvival - When you put in something like that, it needs a bit of grease (if it's exposed, non-detergent oil is okay).
I suspect that what happened is that the gear stuck and wasn't able to retract, and that started running the heat up. Everything else happened because of the heat, not the wire breaking (broken wire would actually make it stop, or run cooler)
I just bought this unit. If the unit isn't hooked up to any utilities at all. It's just sitting on the ground and the only thing hooked up is the battery. Can I get the unit to crank to make sure the engine is good? Trying to bench test a generator before having it installed.
Yeah it'll start and run just have the breaker turned off. Unhook the battery when you're done because it'll go dead if it's not hooked up to the utility.
Do you carry a quart bottle of distilled water for topping off those batteries? The main victim of the overcharging is going to be boiling the water away. (Specific gravity hydrometer is useful as well) Unfortunately, too many people - and shops - don't check the batteries. They just run them into the ground, then replace.
My refractometer has Specific gravity and I have a dedicated one. Interstate battery said it doesn't matter if its distilled like it once did so I don't worry about it anymore.
@@HVACRSurvival - Yeah...that's a company that wants you to buy new batteries. Do a quick search. Toyota Forklifts, for example, has a "how to correctly water your forklift battery" short article. It's not really so much 'distilled' as needing 'pure'. The problem is that most bottled water has minerals added 'for taste', let alone hard well water. People with water softeners, for example? Battery killer. Chlorides PLUS the minerals (potassium, calcium, and magnesium). Exide Technologies own website (One of the two manufacturers of car batteries in the US) says distilled only, and even sells their own brand of distilled.
Now, they may be talking about just calcium, which is now sometimes even added into the battery plates for additional 'science'. :)
It could also be they're just referring to people that check once a year or two, which means it's not really going to help much anyway. (that reminds me, I need to check my car battery)
😂👍👍 go check it!
@@HVACRSurvival ... I serviced Generac for almost 25 years and over the last 15 never had to add water to a battery. Between maintenance free, sealed batteries, and lower charge rates, it's just not the problem it once was.
@@rupe53 the new units are a lot better. That's why I haven't had to make many videos of them. I originally got into generators because I was bored with residential and light commercial but I'm into too many things now to miss with them. I lost my desire🤷
That commutator is toasted alright, is the compression that high on the engine that the starter struggles to crank? Maybe Generac needs to look into beefier starters
That stuff that you thought was melted plastic is the putty they use to balance the rotor at the factory.
I have this exact model but I'm getting 160 volts out per leg. Do you have any suggestions? I'd appreciate the help.
Is that measurement L1 or L2 to neutral or between L1 & L2? Either way sounds like a voltage regulator is bad but you should have it tested before you spend the money on a part that might not be bad.
@@HVACRSurvival perhaps you could point me in the right direction with the diagnosing it.
First time I fired it up. I got 120 volts on both lines to neutral.. hooked it up to the cabin and charged all my batteries. The well pump cycled on which may have spiked and put me over 3500watts
Now I'm getting 160 volts out each line.
It likely is the voltage regulator but I hate telling you that and it not be it. Kind of hard to diagnose it without checking voltages and certain particular spots, and I'm not able to do that over the internet.
@@HVACRSurvival I completely understand that. Like telling someone how to fix a car over the phone. I was just hoping that my hunch was correct. Thank you for all your help.
I have a pair of those Knipex pliers. Best tool I own!
🤜🤛👍👍
thanks dude. i'm investigating generac to buy one. I'm apprehensive . Bad and cheep engineering so far.
The newest models are a lot better. I own a 8kw gas and a 3k inverter and both are Generac. No problems from either but I take care of them and they are inside the house not outside in the weather.
good advice, thank you.@@HVACRSurvival
Good job Rick.
Thanks man!
Wow, a bit to this stuff. Do you recommend these or another brand for back up generators?
I have a customer who wants a Generac...
Thanks
The newer ones are much better.
Gener JUNK!!
Rick, this was a great video. Very good troubleshooting, Thank you. Oh by the way, Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks, you too! 🤜🤛
Have you unconverted guardian 15K? We had LP and now we have NG and need it changed back (it came as NG ) is there a video?
I have not made a video for that but depending on which generator it is, it's pretty easy to do.
Nice work Rick.
I'm glad you liked it 🤜🤛👍👍
Are there(to your knowledge) models that Generac makes that aren't having many problems? I'm considering getting their 7.5 kw standby model. Thank you for this video.
Most of the newer ones aren't that bad, but if you're going to spend the money on a 7.5kw you might as well as get at least a 10kw or 12kw, that way you have two cylinders instead of one. If you really don't need that much capacity and you don't need the standby option I would get one of the generac portable inverter style units. That's what I own, and I own a 8,000 kw gas unit
@@HVACRSurvival Thank you Sir!
Good vid Rickster ... I like these type vids ... Interesting and informative ... Thx ...
🤜🤛👍👍🍺 thanks!
I had the same problem and had replaced the starter (while replacing starter I charged the battery) which seemed to work but just for 2 weeks and the same problem where the starter would just click so I contacted support and was sent a new starter and of course that also lasted a couple of weeks. At this time I figured it has to be a weak cell in my battery so I replaced the battery and low and behold after two weeks the problem came back, I finally got a much larger battery which meant I had to cut out the panel behind the battery compartment so the battery (639 cca) would fit. Now this lasts about 3 months at which point I charge the battery and it's good for another 3 months. Not a fix but I don't mind charging every 3 months
Why are you having to charge the battery?
@@HVACRSurvival Because even though there was a trickle charge going to the battery, it would not have enough power to turn over the 15 year old motor without taking the battery out for a complete charge. The new battery is much stronger and has no problem turning over the engine. Remember I changed the starter twice and the battery twice BEFORE replacing with a CCA of 630
I would get a automatic trickle charger capable of doing up to 2-4 amps and mount it in there, it should do it. that way so you don't have to mess with it.
@@HVACRSurvival I tried that and it didn't work, I guess the age of the unit make it harder to turn over
You should have put some WD on that ring gear, all the rust ain't good. Also, you like leaving the charger at 14+V ? Wouldn't 13.5V be better?
The voltage is not adjustable. It's a shit charger that the dumb asses at the factory chose to use. That's why I bitch about it every time
What model is this, had same issue. Model of the starter
we have one of these things... it did its exercising for a few years and i changed the battery once. the first time the power went out, it only lasted 4.5 hours
Sounds familiar.
I finally decided to have one installed. Not feeling real confident in the quality and dependability of a standby generator
They're much better than what they used to be. Make sure you maintain it and the company that installs it does a good job and you shouldn't have any problems.
I noticed another regulator in-line on this video. Can you tell me what the secondary regulators are set to in these generators? I only have a single regulator from my propane tank going directly to my generator from the propane company. 13.5" wc at the tank and it's 15 feet away from the generator. Not sure if this explains my hard startup issues or not. Many on some forums claim I need two regulators. Thanks for any input.
Depending on the size of the tank, if we're talking the 250 gallon to 500 gallon tank they'll be a primary regulator at the tank dropping it from tank pressure down to 10 psi then at the house it'll take it from 10 psi down to inches of water column.
Yes mine has the Red 1st Stage 10psi High Pressure Reg at the tank, and the Green 2nd Stage 9-13 inches of WC low pressure Reg before the generator. Generac recommends at least 10 ft of pipe between the generator and the 2nd Stage Regulator. Anything shorter and the opening/closing pulses of the regulator will cause a noticeable fluctuation in pressure and drive the speed governor crazy. You mention you have 15ft so that should be good. Inadequate pipe size and a regulator too close to the generator are apparently the most common installation problems. If you have 3/4” pipe, or heaven forbid 1/2” from your Green Reg to the generator, then I might consider increasing the size to 1”. Under light loads you might not experience a problem, but once you begin adding higher loads it could starve for gas. Larger pipe will also help with buffering against pressure pulses mentioned above.
None of this however necessarily addresses your hard start issue, you may have another problem. You might want to consider buying a compression gauge and checking it just for piece of mind. A v-twin Generac can completely blow a piston and rod on one cylinder and still manage to run on the remaining cylinder after a long startup cycle. I’ve seen two of these and I’m not even a Generac tech, can’t imagine how many they see. Compression check will catch this or even a finger in the spark plug hole during crank. Generacs also sometimes come from the factory with very tight valve clearance, or maybe it’s just the valves seating during initial break-in, but I have had really tight clearances on the exhaust valves specifically. If the valve clearances have never been adjusted then I strongly recommend you have it checked, I can almost guarantee they are out of spec.
@@briand2614 ... in my 25 years of working on these 90% of hard starting issues will be spark plugs and valve adjustment. The factory says 0.002" and that doesn't allow any room for error. Go with 0.004" and set with the piston about a half inch down. Yup, these things have compression release and that will screw up your adjustment. As for gas pressures / piping, if you have a few feet of 3/4" pipe between the last reg and the unit you will be close enough to not notice any issues. (although the flutter will show on a gauge) BTW, air cooled units may need valve adjustment by 200 run hours... or sooner during break in period.
@@rupe53 agreed. Valve clearance spec is 0.002-0.004 and I always adjust to the higher end. I have checked clearance on mine after only a few hours of operation and they are too tight. After the initial break in they seem to be good for awhile. I also have a 20kw Briggs and it comes from the factory with Platinum plugs. I installed them in my Generac too. I inherited the Briggs with the house I recently purchased. I'm guessing it's at least 15 years old. I did have to replace the VR, but my impressions so far are more positive than the Generac.
@@briand2614 ... agreed, the platinum plugs will help, but that's one more thing to stock on the truck and you have to pull plugs to adjust valves anyway. I used to do them around 100 hours the first time and 200 after that.
Completely unrelated to this partial video, however I want your opinion. How do you feel about Generacs announcement they are now recommending 5w20 oil in their standby generator? Me personally, in an air cooled engine that may run for 100 hours straight (most homeowners aren’t going to shut it down periodically to check the oil) I would want thicker oil with a good additive package. I’m located in SE Texas where it can be 100° out so in all of my power equipment with a pressured oil system I run AMSOIL Small Engine 10w40 or 10w30 in splash lube systems. Does generac have a reason other than marketing for pushing this oil?
For warm weather areas I've always heard using a strait 30 weight , we use 5w30 full synthetic because we deal with the cooler weather and need it to crank over faster in the winter.
@@HVACRSurvival so y’all haven’t switched to 5w20 at all then? Generac is really trying to push dealers to the 5w20 stuff and I just don’t understand why! I have a 2021 18kw and it doesn’t even have an oil cooler! There’s no way I’m putting a 20 weight oil in it.
From what I heard we were having problems getting the generators in stock for a while. I haven't been working on many lately. I honestly am over working on generators all together, I have such a variety of work at this place that I'm ready for someone else to take my spot.
where did you get that socket? that's very cool tool with all the sockets on 1
Are you talking about the flip bit from Klein?
Need a baby pair of knipex pliers wrench 86-03-150 or 86-03-125 I love mine.
Good job Rick. Good info as always.
Thanks for watching it!🤝👍👍
Hi Rick, one question off topic. U use super nice blue markers even to mark your Knipex tools. Can you please share the exact brand and color. Thank you. Cheers
There in the link my main tool box in the description.
Do u no how to switch one of these from ng to lp
Yes. It's pretty easy
My generac keeps cranking and cranking but doesn’t start I changed the plugs but not sure what else to do because I’m not to familiar with LP system it has a puff of blue smoke when it does start….any ideas ?
Best off calling for service before you waste a lot of money on parts you might not need.
Maybe deburing the teeth on the flywheel might help.A dremel tool,and then polish the teeth with a wire wheel.
Too much trouble unless it is YOUR generator. Replace the flywheel!
@@randyab9go188 ...and maybe even ( I know this sounds crazy) grease the shuttle.
Hopefully you find out why its eating starters. Is it cranking for to long causing it to overheat? Maybe the last one toi put in was junk but that makes 2 that are junk... your on your 3rd now. Seems like a lot of starters for something that hardly sees any use.
The one I first replaced was the original, the new one was likely defective from the factory, the one in this video worked when I was done, then she bought a new outside unit.
That starter motor looks like the same design as my seaflow water pump in my camper van
I got. Generator just like that in my house. put a new battery unfortunately, I can't figure out why it won't produce power. any suggestions ?
If it runs, then it could be a bad voltage regulator,stater,brushes,control module, if it don’t run, then it could be bad magnetos, fuel solenoid or regulator. But all those are just guesses without seeing it.
@@HVACRSurvival thanks man it runs I'll look into all those items.
If the newer Briggs and Generac home standby generators are trash, what do you folks recommend? It seems to me that these things aren't rocket science and it shouldn't be that tough to make one that would run for years in intermittent service.
Does anyone make a standby generator with a Subaru Robin engine? How about one with a Honda engine? Both make very good engines and I know both make (or other folks make with their engines) portable generators, but I don't know about fixed standby generators.
Majority of the problems with Generac is with the older versions, from 2005 to maybe 2012 (-/+ 3yrs). The current year stuff is not too bad, we sell generac only because it's affordable, and that's what people want to spend. The problem is people don't want to spend the price that it requires to have a commercial grade generator or one of these diesels that everybody likes to talk about, which anybody that has any clue what's been going on lately in this world, is the diesel stuff going to be going away. The governments are trying to ban all fossil fuels.
*The other large problem that you've seen in most of my videos is the customer doesn't spend money to maintain their equipment. 60% to 70% of the problems have been batteries, not keeping the proper oil level, not properly breaking in the engine, poor installation practices, and poor manufacturing and design. As a service guy I can't do anything about any of the above things, all I can do is try to fix what I have to deal with.
@@HVACRSurvival Tnx for the response. My wife and I are handy enough to be able to do the basic maintenance.
The maintenance and proper break-in is key
I had an old cranky Powermate 4000 with a Briggs 8hp I/C. Powered my whole house through many outages. But the thing drank oil and had a small gas tank so it needed constant attention every 2-3 hours. Finally I gave up and bought a new WEN GN875i which is a 7000W open frame inverter generator. I upgraded my receptacle to a 30A. This unit is awesome. It's the same as the Champion 100520 and the Harbor Freight unit (though the HF has a larger fuel tank). I scored a deal via Slickdeals and ordered the WEN for like $810 shipped to my door. Crazy. This was a few years back but the thing is awesome. I let it run all night in eco mode and it used 2-1/4 gallons. Even came with a Li-Ion battery that works great even if I let it sit 6 months or more. I did do a specific break-in and bought a magnetized dipstick (because Chonda) but I think this is a solid unit.
Proper break in his key on these motors.
Wearing a ring?
Use paint marker or sharpie for springs (to mark) or take beginning pics
I wear a rubber ring. I have a paint marker that I use in most of my videos.
@@HVACRSurvival I just found your channel.
How do I get on with somewhere like Generac? Sounds like you may not like them though
My military mos was power generation repair in 90s and have a 2 year small engine certificate from high school in mid 90s .
A shop said the other day my small engine certificate is useless bc so much has changed but I don’t believe it bc I’ve been working on small engines for weeks and just disassembled my generator that slung a rod.
Anybody can take their small generator class once that’s done then you can go to Commercial.
Is there a video on how to diagnose a bad fuel solenoid?
If it gets power and it opens and the gas pressure is correct then it's fine. They generally don't go bad, now the fuel regulator that's a different story. The rubber hardens in them and can cause hard starts.
Thank you! I was troubleshooting one, and I was getting fuel to the fuel solenoid, it was getting power but it wasn’t allowing fuel to feed the generator when it attempted to turn on. Does this means that fuel solenoid is bad?
Got to check your gas pressure, if it's too high it may not open.
Great parts. Starter goes bad after a couple of months? At least you caught the cause. Nice job
Yeah I wasn't too thrilled about that, then we got screwed out of warranty because it had been on our shelf for so long. (Thanks Genner junk! )
You used the wrong shim so it wasn't aligning with the flywheel properly. It was binding and that's why it failed. Use the thick dogbone shaped one that comes in the box with the starter kit.
I did you that one and I used the thin one that I showed the paper work recommended, I removed the thin one before I left.
@@HVACRSurvival I've probably changed a hundred of those over the years on the single cylinder engines. They're not great starters. Always just the dogbone shim for them.
It appeared that the original burned up starter didnt have the thick shim.
@@willrobinson9575 likely what caused it to fail. Not being aligned properly. Every one I've ever replaced has had the thick shim from the factory. Replaced 2 yesterday.
@@willrobinson9575 it had both just like the instructions called for.
Service the slimbob next to the scooterplate mount. Stick a wrench all over the place. Maybe jiggle the wire for a while.
Is that located next to the cooter valve?
@@HVACRSurvival maybe one day 😂
It's Metric - boogie woogie woogie! 🎶 🎵
🤣😂👍👍 I love it, that brought a smile 🙂
The problem is that the flywheel teeth are so rusted that the bendix wheel on the starter got hung up in the flywheel, kept the starter engaged and it overheated. Clean the flywheel, coat it with a rust inhibitor and you should be ok.
👍👍
But he took away a shim which made the gears fit tighter and it didnt hang up.
@@willrobinson9575 First things first, Happy New Year. Shim's are used to insure proper clearance between the flywheel teeth and the starter gear to avoid undo stress on either. If you noticed the flywheel was severely rusted and by removing the factory shim the starter teeth were now able to ride deeper into the flywheel which is at best a temporary fix. Now that the shim is removed the factory clearance is no longer set and premature wear will happen once again. There was a reason the starter he removed went bad so fast and in my humble opinion it still hasn't been cured.
The rust needs to be cleaned off the flywheel and somehow try to figure how to prevent mositure from entering the flywheel area. I personally think it's one of a few design flaw's in the Generac Generator's.
I would never own one. How do I know so much? I've been the owner of a small engine authorized factory dealership (now retired ) son's took over the business since 1959
This generator model has been a total piece of junk since it was built in somewhere in 2005 - 2006 area, this is the reason why I talk so badly about this model, it caused me several service calls over the years and it just was a total failure. Between this generator and a traditional generator, I'll take my standard generator any day over this thing. The lady was an older woman whose husband just died and didn't want to deal with problems anymore, so she purchased a new outside section and reused the transfer switch. The technology has advanced so much that it just didn't make sense to spend much more time or worry on this thing. I'm not one for replacing things if they're not broke but in this case and in her situation it wasn't worth the hassle. Told her to sell the other one on marketplace to recoup some of her money.
@@HVACRSurvival I agree and so does a leading consumer magazine. Total junk.
Have a Happy and Healthy New Year.
I really enjoy your channel
Generac is a lifelong tutorial on how to repair a generator.
I think that's the most honest and perfect description I have heard yet. 👍👍👍👍👍
@@HVACRSurvival Google PDG Generators. Their alternators range from 7 kW up to 500 kW and are paired with FPT, Yanmar, Perkins, John Deere, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Samson, and Kubota engines. Fuel types are diesel, LP and natural gas. They are a bit more pricey, but you get what you pay for. PDG is a higher quality than that crap you get from Generac. You can even customize your own power package.
I have an 3000i inverter generac and an 8000w RMS generac I haven't had any problems with either one of them, I think the problem is this stuff sets outside and they were built cheap.
Another great job 👏👍👍👍
🙏🤝👍👍
What causes the starter motor to burn?
In my video it was because the engagement system didn't retract, then when it was powered to spin it did not, which then caused locked rotor amps and melted down the brushes and the rotor. (Or it could have been because that wire was broken on the rotor.)
Have you checked the valve clearance? That engine likely has a decompression system built into the camshaft which could cause similar issues
@@nickhelstrom3503 I do not believe it has a unloader. I believe I checked the valves earlier in the year when I was first out.
That’s a wound rotor motor now I know why starters are so expensive, and they create extremely high starting torque
Back when I was an electrician, bossman sent me over to marine fisheries for a pump motor that wasn't starting. I get there and it's immediately obvious what's up, call bossman say we're gonna need a new motor, he asks if I'm sure, I say, yeah, paint's all burned off and the thing's still hot to the touch two hours on.
Wow, got to love the easier calls.
i recommend putting grounds wire on starter bolted to engine to reduce stressing starter too much
2nd look like it been cranking tooo long still wont started up so it just ruined starter
i think more could be issues with coils lack of sparks or lack of fuel or no fuel at all cant tell because spark plugs is one way show some sing of issues
It had a ground strap at the base of the engine going to the chassis
@@HVACRSurvival that aint going avoided starter from burn up
i have customer that have mower and ground wire was attach to frame still wont start and burned up starter
i took ground cable off frame put on engine it never have any starter issues
just give you tips if it happens aging them move wire from frame to engine hope this save your self a headache having go back n buy other starter
She purchased a new outside Genset. I think she's going to sell this one. This was an older lady who recently lost her husband and didn't need the hassle of worrying about a generator because she likes to travel. I probably didn't describe it very good and my reply, it actually goes from the engine block to the same frame that the battery is grounded to. It's a heavy mesh ground cable plus the battery also attaches to the engine block at the bottom. I'm just saying it's extra grounding to the Shell casing. You can't get much better than going straight from the battery to the engine block. I appreciate any help you can give that's cool 👍👍
ooh neat at least you enjoyed replacing it
Is getting training on generators a good idea or is there not a market for them
It depends on where you live if you have a lot of competition, depends on what else you do in addition to it, in my situation I am doing a million different things and I can't focus my time on them like I did eight plus years ago. There's no money in the warranty work, they will pay you your basic hourly rate that your company charges and it's all flat rate so you better be able to do it as quickly as they quote. Being certified is a necessary evil is the way we look at it because when you sell it you need to be able to service it and warranty it, but there's a lot of people that don't have anybody certified to work on it even though they keep on selling it.
Yep try and get into it and small engine repair also
Generac has had a fairly good reputation, except for their Chineseium inverter generators. I have an ix2000 that has a bad transformer in it, and no replacement parts are available, other than a $750 replacement board. I'm not to thrilled. It's been this way with them since at least 2013.
I have a medium inverter generac, no problems yet but it's fairly newer. The 8k has proved it self
Just FYI, Horrid Freight is selling a replica of your parallel pliers, and they are even red.
If you want to see the "counterfeit", search "10 in. pliers wrench with comfort grip".
I seen them, I'm sure they wont hold up like these have, being used as hammer.
They are el cheapo chinezium. Good if you need them for that 1 DIY projects, we techs don't waste our time with them. Plus we're tool nuts!
@@FrozenHaxor I'm not a tech, but I did mechanical demolition for 10 years, and never needed a Chineseium tool like that on the job. I'm a tool nut myself. I even designed a tool for my trade for removing the backer plate for fin tube.
@@HVACRSurvival for what I've spent on Knipex, don't think I'm using any of them as hammers, but then again I'm more of a desk jockey tool a holic than real mechanic!
@Dave I feel that because I spent more money on it, it should be able to take some abuse. But I know what you mean. I've owned them now for about 5 years so they get a little beat up now, when they're brand new they never got beat like that. 😂
Word of advice to whoever owns that unit is get a new one, they are only rated to last 15 years or 1500 run hours. If you sell them a newer model of same or similar Kw wont have to change cables or gas lines so would only be cost of unit an a couple hours labor. Oh you would have to add a battery charger to newer model because there old transfer switch wouldnt have a T1
I was able to confirm today that we did install a new generator at this location and reused the transfer switch.
@@HVACRSurvival awesome
@@kristopherb8046 ... adding T-1 is not a big deal unless the original conduit is filled too tight.
Why do these Designers not use the gen set itself as the Starter, Just add the Appropriate windings.
If kohler can do it with their Vintage light Plants. Why not any one else in the Future..
Thanks Much...
Mike M.
I went to the Kohler plant, it was a day and night difference between them and Generac
@@HVACRSurvival A friend of Mine Has one of the old ones with a 4 Cylinder eng and it uses the gen set to start it. talk about a sweet running unit
The auto start will also shut it off when the load is removed. it takes a min of 100 watts to start and keep it running.
@@HVACRSurvival Please elaborate if you care to.
@Nspro what do you want me to elaborate on? It was just the overall environment that I seen at Kohler was more relaxed, professional and the employees were happy but that was a long time ago. When I went through the training at generac it was in the plant were actually building them, Since that time they started doing their training in a dedicated location so that you don't see how they build them. These things are built at 100 mph rush and there's no doubt in my mind why these things have so many issues because they're running them through so quickly to mass produce them.
@@HVACRSurvival Thank you for that. It was not absolutely clear from your previous comment which was which but you just confirmed it.
Good video buddy 👍
Thanks Jeff!
3:49 - 4:00 "NO LONGER MADE" ......WARNING folks this happens quite alot, you spend 1000's of $$$ for one of these but in a year or two parts for it becomes obsolete, you may or may not be able to get parts for these, DON'T buy one thinking 3, 4, 5 years down the road you will be able to get parts for it. For this reason I just but the portable cheaper ones, even with those you can TAKE IT to a repair shop & not have to pay a service charge for someone to come out
What I said was this generator model was no longer made, and the starter is not used on any of the current generators. However, the parts are still available to repair it.
@@HVACRSurvival Good Luck in the future, I worked for a global known engine mfg that imports gens under MANY DIFFERENT U.S. known brand names & they ALL came from the same plant in China, I watched a container being opened from the Savannah port with over 5 different brand names on the boxes & the BOL stated ALL made in the SAME plant, wait till you CAN'T get parts in a timely manner from there. Can YOU or a customer get a COMPLETE parts illustration with EVERY part number LISTED & AVAILABLE for purchase for EACH model?? I have ASKED for such from local installers BEFORE a purchase only to be looked at like they had NO idea what I was asking
Copyright violation: that was my metric crescent wrench joke. I'll settle for $.75
I just need you ssn# and mother's maiden name and I'll send it to you🤣👍👍
Generac spends a lot of money on marketing. I have a Cummins.
You need to drill and shim starter work on hundreds with this issue.
after just a few years of working on small engines lol 20 years the rust on the fly wheel is grabbing the cheep plastic gear and holding it.
that old potato is not work the time to even get it apart to clean it..
when i set up hrz / frek i normal allow a unit to run a good 20 minutes to warm the oil up first..
All good points👍👍.
lack-o-grease.
@@tbelding after get the ring gear out of there witch is several hours work and clean it good. i normal paint them and put a dry rust preventer on it i have a silicone spray. grease or oil will attract dust and dirt witch makes thing even more sticky. this is made to be dry with no lube, and it is out in the weather, in short is was made to fail.
but in this case you are putting more money in to this potato then it is worth. or as i like to say you can polish a turd and make it prity but it is still a turd.