So you guys want to laugh. It has been almost a year since this thread and I am still having issues with my generator. I have run it the hour every other month or so and I didn't think much about it because the last time I had to run it all weekend was when I was in Indianapolis for the motorcycle races.
My camper was in the shop for a lot of the spring and I told the dealer that I had a fuel pump issue with my generator...... they checked the carb and said that the adjustment on the carb wasn't working anymore and told me I needed a new carb... I said no, it is the fuel pump. They said that if my fuel pump was running it was pumping. What a crock. The pump runs.. it doesn't pump well. So we went round and round and I told them just to not touch it because I thought they were being idiots and it just made me mad.
Fast forward a while now when I am prepping for another long trip...
So I go out and my genny runs for a bit and then stalls out, I put a load on it, and it runs and then stalls out. When it is running it is running great so me and that whole carb issue just don't jive. So I start troubleshooting, my genny always takes priming more than once to get it to start (read fuel pump issue) and then when it starts, it runs rough till it can get a good vaccuum and pull fuel in and then it starts to run better. So I go out, prime it... it runs... then quits. For giggles, I put a hose on the carb drain and open the drain screw... NADA drop. So I hit the primer button... it won't even fill the carb bowl. So I start to trouble shoot some more... I pull the fuel hose off the carb and stick it in a bottle and prime. It trickles a bit and then changes sound and starts to flow so I am thinking it may not be the fuel pump. So I pull the carburetor and take the fuel filter off and pull the float bowl and make sure that the needle and seat aren't stopped up because I am thinking that if the needle is stuck that it could be causing enough pressure buildup to make the fuel pump start bypassing and not feeding anymore. I get it apart and clean it up and make sure it isn't plugged and put it back together. I have to prime it 3 times to get it to fire back off (read still think fuel pump issue) and the pump changes sounds again and fills the fuel bowl on the carb and the genny starts. Runs great... for about 20 minutes and dies. At this point I am thinking that the stinking needle and seat can't be stopped up again so just for giggles, I stick the piece of fuel line back on the carb bowl and open the drain.... once again, NADA gas there.
I didn't like the clamp that was on the fuel line at the filter on the side of the carburetor so I left it off and was going to replace it with a better clamp before I ran it much. When it died again, I pulled the fuel hose off the carburetor and hit the primer button.... STINKING FUEL PUMP WOULDN"T EVEN PUMP FUEL WITH NO RESTRICIONS.... I TOLD THEM IT WAS A FUEL PUMP ISSUE BUT NOOOOOOOOO.
So now I am looking for a fuel pump so I can get my genny working like it was supposed to over a year ago. I think I am going to mount a pusher pump back at the tank so it doesn't have to suction fuel 40 feet before it gets to the fuel pump and causes it to burn the new pump out.
That has been my biggest issue the whole time... an intermittent fuel pump that pumps when it wants to and doesn't when it opts out. .... Maybe this will help someone else with their problem diagnosis.