Problem with Predator 3500 generator

[Caryc]

My nephew picked up a Predator 3500 Inverter generator at a garage sale for $150. An old lady was selling it. Her son was going to do something with it but never did. At the site my nephew tried some starter fluid in the air cleaner and it started and ran for about 5 seconds then died. We put some canned fuel in it, no ethanol and it still does the same thing. Runs for 5 - 10 seconds then dies. Air cleaner is cleaned. Any ideas about this thing.

 

[J Hamilton]

Carburetor probably needs cleaned. The jets most likely have old varnished up gas in them

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Does it have a low oil switch?

 

[marloweg]

My nephew picked up a Predator 3500 Inverter generator at a garage sale for $150. An old lady was selling it. Her son was going to do something with it but never did. At the site my nephew tried some starter fluid in the air cleaner and it started and ran for about 5 seconds then died. We put some canned fuel in it, no ethanol and it still does the same thing. Runs for 5 - 10 seconds then dies. Air cleaner is cleaned. Any ideas about this thing.

go to ebay and order a new carb all kinds of parts for them .i buy everyone i can find cheep

 

[marloweg]

carb are like 12 bucks

 

[marloweg]

also some times of is on and on is off on the fuel tank shut off last one i got for 20 bucks that was the problem

 

[Mule Meat]

Does the control panel look like this? If so.

Check oil. Will not run if the engine oil is low.

Dial - Start. . Fuel shutoff.. Start position is also choke. Turn to Run once it warms up.

ESC Throttle - Off. . Electronic Speed Control.

Start - If electric start. Pressing the button will engage the starter. Turn to on and pull the starter rope if it's manual starter.

Once running and warmed up. Turn dial to Run. ESC to On (Engine speed control).

You said the ladies son bought it to use, but never did. You should make sure the engine oil was filled before you did anything.

 

[Caryc]

also some times of is on and on is off on the fuel tank shut off last one i got for 20 bucks that was the problem

It has no fuel tank shut off.

 

[Caryc]

The first thing he and I checked was the oil level. It was full. Anybody with at least half a brain would do that.

 

[John T]

Caryc. Glad you checked the simple easy first like oil level and fuel supply.,.I’m sure you are aware of and used the correct switches and settings to start and run ??

Running on starter fluid tells me ignition is fine so my first suspect is the carb is gummed up which you may be able to remove and clean.

Next could be any inline fuel filters if it has one ?? check it !!! Insure gas flows freely from tank to carbs inlet ??? If she has good flow from tank through any filters yet still starves for fuel again I suspect the carb. I’m unsure if it has any high oil temp or low oil cutoff safety switches but if it does and the gas flow and carb are fine those are other possibilities I can think of.

John T

 

[Hobo,NC]

My nephew picked up a Predator 3500 Inverter generator at a garage sale for $150. An old lady was selling it. Her son was going to do something with it but never did. At the site my nephew tried some starter fluid in the air cleaner and it started and ran for about 5 seconds then died. We put some canned fuel in it, no ethanol and it still does the same thing. Runs for 5 - 10 seconds then dies. Air cleaner is cleaned. Any ideas about this thing.

I learned years ago on a single cylinder engine the cost of one spark plug will save you lots of grief...

 

[Geo-TH,In]

My nephew picked up a Predator 3500 Inverter generator at a garage sale for $150. An old lady was selling it. Her son was going to do something with it but never did. At the site my nephew tried some starter fluid in the air cleaner and it started and ran for about 5 seconds then died. We put some canned fuel in it, no ethanol and it still does the same thing. Runs for 5 - 10 seconds then dies. Air cleaner is cleaned. Any ideas about this thing.

Caryc
I have two 3500 watt champions.
A replacement carb from Amazon sells for less than $20.
The carb is used on many different generators.
They work fine, however the metal used to build the carb reacts to E-10.
So when I'm done using it, I remove the bolt in the bowl and drain every last drop of
gas remaining after I run them out of gas.
I also have a new carb sitting on the shelf just In case the carb fails.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

The first thing he and I checked was the oil level. It was full. Anybody with at least half a brain would do that.

Caryc
I think the low oil sensor kills the spark.
So if it starts on starter fluid, replace the carb.
$15 on amazon

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

My nephew picked up a Predator 3500 Inverter generator at a garage sale for $150. An old lady was selling it. Her son was going to do something with it but never did. At the site my nephew tried some starter fluid in the air cleaner and it started and ran for about 5 seconds then died. We put some canned fuel in it, no ethanol and it still does the same thing. Runs for 5 - 10 seconds then dies. Air cleaner is cleaned. Any ideas about this thing.

"Her son was going to do something with it..." such as, fix it?

Does it still need starter fluid to run 5-10 seconds with fuel in the tank? If it's doing that on gasoline alone, it may be the low oil shutoff switch. The low oil shutoff switches malfunction on these. Look for a sensor on the side of the block and disconnect the wire going to it.

I've also seen fuel pumps stop working. My 3500W portable (NOT Harbor Freight, just some generic Amazon thing) runs off a gravity fed external tank now because I spent multiple evenings tearing it completely apart to replace the fuel pump, only to have that pump fail again a few hours later. If you've got a way to gravity feed it you might want to pull the line off the carburetor and try that.

 

[SETX]

I have a honda generator that did the same thing. Come to find out, the dirt daubers had clogged the muffler.

 

[miangus]

Are you sure no fuel shut off. Look very carefully.

 

[Scott 730]

The first thing he and I checked was the oil level. It was full. Anybody with at least half a brain would do that.

You ask for help, and then bite the hand that feeds you. Real smooth.

 

[Caryc]

Are you sure no fuel shut off. Look very carefully.

Fuel shutoffs aren't usually hidden. They are usually right where one can see them.

 

[miangus]

Fuel shutoffs aren't usually hidden. They are usually right where one can see them.

You are correct, no fuel shut off. The manual is online. Apparently, from the starting instruction there is some kind of internal fuel shut off/maybe a pump. The instructions say it will not run if there is any ethanol in the gas.

 

[Mule Meat]

The instructions say it will not run if there is any ethanol in the gas.

Dang and people say Harbor Freight sells cheap junk..

That has to be the worlds most sophisticated small engine if it can detect ethanol in gas and refuse to start.