Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Pressure washer won't stay running

Hello..I have a pressure washer that is behaving badly.

It has a Honda engine- GX160 it says. The pump is a Comet GXD 2627.

It started with it not seeming to have the power it used to have, then eventually just quitting on me- I'd have to choke it to get it started again(I'd have shot it but this was in city limits)..it would run for a bit then shut off again.

Bought a new spark plug. It ran beautifully- I had forgotten how much power it had. This was for about 30 minutes or so. The next day it ran good for the first 10 minutes..then it started acting up again. It'd die...I'd restart it...It'd die. Then it wouldn't start at all- unless I let it sit for 5 minutes- then it'd start up and run for a minute or two- then die. On and on.

I should mention that before it dies, it revs up and down up and down. I can sometimes put it at 1/2- 3/4 choke and that will stop it from doing that- but it still eventually clonks out.

It no longer has the power it had when the new spark plug was first put in..either.

Is there a simple adjustment I should be making? I'll be looking for the manual..but in the meantime any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Yeah a bad spark plug will make them act up quickly. I'd check the air filter. Clean it good and any areas around the carb intake that could be causing blockage.

How old is the gas? Did you add anything like StaBil to keep it fresh?

One more thing...... Alot of Hondas have a low oil shut off for engine protection. Have you checked the oil level? Later!

Hello and thanks for the response.

I forgot to mention I did check/clean the air filter etc- will do so again though. The gas is new and the machine itself is only about 2 years old.

The oil level is fine also...and they were all changed this spring.

I'd be surprised if I've run this thing for more than 8 hours since I bought it- new.

Is this the first time you've used it in awhile? Or has it been running fine and just went nuts on this occasion? Later!

sounds like the carb needs cleaning. surging it caused when the engine does not get enough fuel.

I know nothing about engines...why did it run so well with the new spark plug at first? Why wouldn't it start(the last times I was using the dang thing) unless I let it sit awhile? I guess I mean- how do those relate to the carb being "dirty"?


Would a gas additive be enough to "clean" it?

I've been using it probably a couple times a month and never had any problems until now.

Thanks guys

Try it without the air filter and see if it makes any difference. Paper air filters cannot be cleaned and must be replaced if dirty enough to cause a running problem. Check the plug, if it's very sooty (black) then the air filter could be your problem. It's also possible that you may have a little water in the carburetor causing this problem as well.

The previous plug was sooty. The current one isn't..but I tried what you suggested and it ran good for the few minutes I had it running. I'll be picking up a new filter in the morning and will give it a longer test.

Thanks