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Engine-powered Generator Problems
Hi, can you be more specific about what "recently tuned up" means? Did someone just change oil and spark plug(s)? What about the fuel filter? The air filter? The more precise you can be about what was done the more help we probably provide.
The rest of my response is pretty technical--we just don't have very much information to go on. But, it might be food for thought and possibly jog a memory or thought that will help you in troubleshooting and resolving the issue. If you can answer any of the questions below, that would also help us help you.
I have seen fuel filters that are just dirty enough that they will allow the engine to start and run at rated speed--but when more fuel is required when load is added to the generator the fuel filter just won't allow enough fuel to flow to the engine and it just bogs down.
Water in the fuel can also cause the paper elements in some fuel filters to swell and restrict the flow of fuel, also--just like dirt in the fuel/filter can. Water is heavier than fuel and will accumulate in the bottom of the fuel tank, and will eventually get sucked into the engine--through the fuel filter. (Filter manufacturers use different materials for the innards, and some are more resistant to water in the fuel than others. So, if there is water in the fuel AND the fuel filter was changed AND that filter isn't so "tolerant" of water, then that could be why the problem started after the "tune-up.")
Same for the air filter; sometimes it can be so dirty it will act similarly. If the air filter wasn't changed, or it was installed improperly (I don't know exactly what the configuration is for that particular engine) it could be part of the problem. I've even found paper towels or rags left in the air intake (from cleaning oil/fuel/dirt when changing the air filter) cause problems. (I've left a paper towel in an air intake when wiping out fuel and dirt and got interrupted, and someone else helped me find it. THAT was embarrassing!)
So, if the engine sounds like it's really straining ("bogging down") when load is added and slows down and finally dies it could be a "dirty" fuel filter and/or a dirty air filter or something left in the air intake blocking the air flow.
When you say "regulator", do you mean voltage regulator? What happens when you turn on other loads--like lights (something not so high a load as the air conditioner (A/C))? Do you know if the voltage is dipping significantly when the A/C is started? Is there a voltmeter somehwere on the generator you can watch when you apply load (first just a light, or a hair dryer on low) and tell us what happens as you add load (more lights, switch the hair dryer to high)? And, don't forget to listen to the engine as you add load (more lights and switch the hair dryer to high--and maybe even turn on just the A/C fan and not the compressor, then the compressor).
Some people refer to the engine speed control as a regulator, when in fact it is a governor (technically). AC generators have to run at a constant speed (to produce a constant frequency (60 Hz)), and the governor does that. The initial load of an air conditioner can be very high and then it generally levels out at a lower amount (I'm speaking of current--not voltage).
Lots of questions, and technical information--but you really haven't provided much information. If you're not technically inclined, or don't want to be, you might just take it to a service facility. And, if a service facility performed the tune-up you should take it back to them and tell them what's happening.
Please write back to let us know what you find out, in any case!
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Linear Mode
