pressure washer problems

[J_J]

That Does make alotta sense to me amp. The engine ran when i disconnected it from the pump but it seemed to be a little rough. You got me thinkin now. Dont know how i could put a load on it off hand but thanks for that idea. Wish I could get this thing going , I need it. All my equipment is real dirty. When the engine runs ( with pump on it ) it goes up to full rpm, stays there for a few seconds... then its like ya flipped the off switch, it dosent bogg down at all, it just dies.
Bob

Bob,

I am assuming that you have checked the Cylinder head pressure and the oil is above the oil shut off level. If the engine runs fine for a minute or two and suddenly dies, with pump off, then it sounds like fuel starvation. I am thinking that when you start the engine, it is running on the fuel in the carb. and when the bowl is empty, the engine will die. Make sure that the float and seat are working properly. Take the bowl off and see if gas is coming into the carb. See if there is any water in the bowl. I believe that there is a bowl bleed screw in the side or bottom of the carb. Then check the floats ability to shut off the fuel. Not enough or to much fuel will choke or kill the engine. Since you said it was running rough, a clogged main jet could cause your problem. I would take the main jet out and check it with a wire and blow through it to see if the jet is clear. About the only other thing I can think of is to see if the spark is there at all times. Did I mention to check pump oil. It should be non-detergent 30w.

I have a similar pressure washer with a 13 hp Honda engine driving a belt driven pump. I have done all the things that I am telling you.

The only way to test your pump is with a good running engine. If your pump can put out 5 gpm, take a 5 gal bucket of water and run a small length of stiff hose in the bucket and the other end connected to the input and start the engine, If the pump can pump the 5 gal out of the bucket in 1 min, then the pump is working. Don't expect very much pressure out of the pump, until you attach the gun and nozzle.

If the engine will stay running and the pump goes into bypass made, with the gun trigger in the on position, then the gun is clogged, or the tip is clogged. Remove or change the tip and see of any water is coming out.

Are you starting the engine with the throttle in the fast mode. You should also pull the trigger on the gun before you start in order to have a clear path for the water to flow. It takes a lot of force to overcome the spring tension of the unloader. A pressure washer engine at idle may not be able to overcome this.

 

[bobcatoh]

Change the spark plug!

 

[bob_wood]

Bob,

I am assuming that you have checked the Cylinder head pressure and the oil is above the oil shut off level. If the engine runs fine for a minute or two and suddenly dies, with pump off, then it sounds like fuel starvation. I am thinking that when you start the engine, it is running on the fuel in the carb. and when the bowl is empty, the engine will die. Make sure that the float and seat are working properly. Take the bowl off and see if gas is coming into the carb. See if there is any water in the bowl. I believe that there is a bowl bleed screw in the side or bottom of the carb. Then check the floats ability to shut off the fuel. Not enough or to much fuel will choke or kill the engine. Since you said it was running rough, a clogged main jet could cause your problem. I would take the main jet out and check it with a wire and blow through it to see if the jet is clear. About the only other thing I can think of is to see if the spark is there at all times. Did I mention to check pump oil. It should be non-detergent 30w.

I have a similar pressure washer with a 13 hp Honda engine driving a belt driven pump. I have done all the things that I am telling you.

The only way to test your pump is with a good running engine. If your pump can put out 5 gpm, take a 5 gal bucket of water and run a small length of stiff hose in the bucket and the other end connected to the input and start the engine, If the pump can pump the 5 gal out of the bucket in 1 min, then the pump is working. Don't expect very much pressure out of the pump, until you attach the gun and nozzle.

If the engine will stay running and the pump goes into bypass made, with the gun trigger in the on position, then the gun is clogged, or the tip is clogged. Remove or change the tip and see of any water is coming out.

Are you starting the engine with the throttle in the fast mode. You should also pull the trigger on the gun before you start in order to have a clear path for the water to flow. It takes a lot of force to overcome the spring tension of the unloader. A pressure washer engine at idle may not be able to overcome this.

J_J did check the pump oil level and engine oil level but not equiped to check head pressure. The engine runs ok with pump disconnected. I took two bowls off the engine and they looked clean and gas Was coming into engine. If I disconnect hose and wand , water comes out of unloader valve while engine is running but engine stalls after a few seconds...so that would eliminate hosw, wand. nozzle being clogged, correct. ? I do pull wand trigger to release pressure before starting engine.


Really appreciate all the input and help guys. With my schedule being quite busy and my limited knowledge of pressure washers I think I am ready to take the whole problem to my local pressure washer repair place ( if I can find their address ) I have done about all that I can and have time for. Again, thanks for all the replys

Bob

 

[bob_wood]

Change the spark plug!

I can start the engine with one or two pulls every time and it runs for a few seconds. Would the engine want to start at all if the plug was bad ?

Thanks for the input

Bob

 

[Taylortractornut]

My hot water washer did the same thing with my Vangaurd engine I tried everything not wanting to take it in for repair. come to find out it was a small piece of plastic bag in the tank it would suck down infront of the fuel line after running a minute. It turned out it was the little plastc piunch out from a plastic bag. when I filled up at the staion that bag was used to cover the nozzles is my best guess.

 

[J_J]

I unhooked the pump from the engine and the engine seems to run fine but the pump load is somehow killing the engine. Guess I should be troubleshooting this problem with the pump hooked to the engine. With the pump hooked up, I do see the choke lever go to full choke when the engine stalls.. any idea what That means? Does it on its own. Thanks for the input Tom

bob

Bob,

You said you saw the choke move.

The choke lever is not supposed to move except when you move it. The only thing that should move around the carb, is the governor. If it is touching the choke lever in any way, it might throw the choke on and kill the engine. Since the trouble started, have you been able to run the engine for at least 15 min?

 

[bob_wood]

Bob,

You said you saw the choke move.

The choke lever is not supposed to move except when you move it. The only thing that should move around the carb, is the governor. If it is touching the choke lever in any way, it might throw the choke on and kill the engine. Since the trouble started, have you been able to run the engine for at least 15 min?

when i had the original unloadervalve on i remember seeing the choke lever move to the closed position ( suddenly ) when the engine stalled. i'm not sure that happens now... When I unhooked the pump I run the engine for ....maybe a minute.... seemed ok so I hooked the pump back up. Think I should unhook the pump again and run the engine for awhile ? Problem is there I dont have a load on the engine that way. If I could isolate the problem to the pump or to the engine would be a Great start ! Hate to give up on this thing .... but I have to work tomorrow to keep the wife happy...

not sure which piece would be the govenor ... maybe i'll pull the breather and stuf off and see if I can see anything that looks like it is rubbing together...

Thanks J_J

Bob

 

[J_J]

Yes, run the engine with no pump on, and no air cleaner so you can see if anything is moving . You will know by the sound of the engine if it is running correctly. If it can run 15 min, move the throttle lever from fast to slow and back several times.

The governor is a lever attached to a shaft going into the engine, close to the bottom of the engine. There will be some springs on the top of the governor lever. It tries to regulate the speed that you set by the throttle. While the engine is running, you can tell if the governor mechanism is working correctly by pushing the governor lever. The engine will speed up and try to push the lever back where it was. To set the correct governor speed, you need a tachometer and the engine manual.

http://www.hondaengines.com/Engines_owners_manuals/ownersmanuals/31ZH9600.pdf

http://www.honda-engines.com/Engines_owners_manuals/ownersmanuals/37Z5F602.pdf

Check the sediment bowl as on page 25.

One other item. Take off the exhaust deflector cap and clean the spark arrestor. If it is clogged up, the engine will not run good, perhaps stalling out.

 

[bob_wood]

Yes, run the engine with no pump on, and no air cleaner so you can see if anything is moving . You will know by the sound of the engine if it is running correctly. If it can run 15 min, move the throttle lever from fast to slow and back several times.

The governor is a lever attached to a shaft going into the engine, close to the bottom of the engine. There will be some springs on the top of the governor lever. It tries to regulate the speed that you set by the throttle. While the engine is running, you can tell if the governor mechanism is working correctly by pushing the governor lever. The engine will speed up and try to push the lever back where it was. To set the correct governor speed, you need a tachometer and the engine manual.

Ill give that a try J_J, maybe tomorrow after work. At least I can try to find the governor and see if it seems to be working. Like to get this fixed myself ( with Your help ) as I have spent all my money on a new valve I have the Honda GX390 13HP I bought the unit in 97 .... Ive never done anything to the engine except change the oil ... and blow out the airfilter... Think I ought to put a new plug in it ? The engine stops so suddenly and consistantly ....seems load related to me... but I'll havea closer look at the engine. The link you sent is the manual I have . I have checked sediment bowl and everything I could see in the manual. I have not tried fresh gas yet.....

Thanks for the help !!

Bob

 

[CCWKen]

I hate to be the one to say it; But, I told you so. I think your problem is fuel flow. When I mentioned pressurizing the tank, this temporarily clears any blockage in the fuel strainer. The real fix would be to disassemble the strainer and clean it. It's item #23 in the picture below.