# Honda eu1000i weird repair story



## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

Honda eu1000i weird repair story with a good twist!!
honda eu 1000i repair story

I am a honda repair tech, and have been to service school several times over the years.

I like so many others like a deal!!
back in 2005 after a major 2 week power out ice event here in Iowa
decided it was time to purchase a small generator so at least I could run the furnace.

my choice was an eu1000i generator
at the time they were not too heavy to carry and easy to setup.

so off to ebay to start my quest!
several bid on.. and used or broke was my choice!
well I bid pretty heavy on one that was broke.
and won that auction...
a week later it was here!
so on to the repair.

first things first off with the side cover.
oh man I think I was e screwed again!!
mud every where inside the case!!
a quick email to the seller... he did not disclose that it had been thrown in to a river!!
no kidding!!
so off with the covers and a real good super clean job!
yea some water was in the crank case as well!!
so a super clean later
and every thing was ready to start testing.
at least the electrical connections were caught in time and were not green.
new outlet for the ac.
and i removed the carb to do super clean on it.
as well as the fuel system
back together.
new oil fresh fuel new spark plug.
choke on, a couple of pulls...
no start....
hummmm
now what???
out with the service manual.
I pinned out every thing!!
all of the coils!!
and every thing was in spec!
spark tester... no spark..
well first things first pull the yellow lead to the low oil sensor.
still no spark!!
so I ordered a new coil setup and the spark module
pricy stuff...
put the new parts on...
a few pulls and nothing, and still no spark!!
after a few @$#% words lol
I went back to the service manual
what the heck have I missed??
every thing tested ok all connections were ok and now had dielectric grease on them..
check all of the grounds...
wow a real head scratcher!!
a quick call to one of the trainers at honda school..
he looked at my numbers I had faxed him and said WOW!!
he was stumped as well!!
after a few days I thought well a full tear down on the gen was next..
at this time I was getting good at tearing it down!!
carefully removed the engine from the case again.
off with the recoil, and made a flywheel puller for the mini rotor flywheel.
and it removed ok
all of the windings were still nice and clean..
a quick check for hot spots and bad solder.
but super washed the windings all the same...
not what I had expected!!
ok on to clean the rotor assy.
wait for it!!
I flipped over the rotor cup what ???
only 2 magnets?? what kind of design is that???
they were 180 deg out from each other...
I cleaned it well to get all of the dust off it..
looked real close... 
oh man a smoking gun!!
MISSING MAGNETS!!
a true what the heck moment!!
4 magnets missing!!
so a quick call in to the honda parts place and the new rotor was on the way
I also ordered a new fuel cap.
so the next day (we have one day parts from honda here)
back together.
carefully...
and ready for the moment of truth..
2 pulls!!
it was alive!!
smoked a bit as it was turned over for the repair..
a couple of min later the smoke cleared.
a test load and it was perfect!!
shut down and restart on the first pull!!
wow!!
200 bucks in parts at cost later..
it was running!
and just for test I put back on the old spark module it was still good
that is what the service manual had said should be wrong!!

well back together with the new parts... they were used now..
and I used it for 5 years!!
then I decided to change over to 2 eu2000i units so maybe I could run an ac unit in the summer.
and sold it back on ebay... yea took a loss on it...
but it sold!
I did after all get to use it for over 400 hours of run time!!
that is my eu1000i story!!

the moral of the story??
never take any ones word for what is wrong if they are selling a broke unit..
buyer beware!!
and never expect the repair manual to be the gospel!!
it may not tell the whole story of what to check!!
and always check every thing!!
the funny thing is where did the 4 magnets go??
they were not in the case!! and no left over chunks any where!!
a real who done it with a smoking gun at the end!!
I love working on honda gear!! 
at least they are made to be taken apart for service!!


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

Jees flooded out, one of the worst things that can happen to a generator lol.

Nice getting it fixed and back into service, Honda’s are definitely designed to repaired not replaced. 

I have an eu1000, 2200 (sold my 2000 to my father in-law)and eu7000. But the eu1000 is my favorite. It’s super light and just powerful enough to do whatever I need. 

My son is about 25lbs and I often pick
Him up saying “ man you weight an eu1000.” As my wife smiles and shakes her head.


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## Melson (Dec 8, 2019)

Interesting story!

Consumer oriented repair flow charts list only the *most likely* causes. Exciter rotor issues would be unusual, I'd guess.

eBay... has gotten a lot better at buyer / seller protection and remediation. Even so, I never believe all that is claimed. If it's too good to pass-up then that is the one I pass-up. 
I think the saying, 'hope for the best, plan for the worst' applies. And, buyer beware; yada yada...

In the end you may have lost money but gained valuable knowledge and experience. Life demands a price for everything.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

Melson said:


> Interesting story!
> 
> Consumer oriented repair flow charts list only the *most likely* causes. Exciter rotor issues would be unusual, I'd guess.
> 
> ...


AMEN!!
yea it is a good story!!
lol
I took that flywheel and put it on one of the 1000i units at the last honda school..
let the guys scratch their heads on that one!!

I did give them a hint that it was a real problem and it happened to me!!

they all missed it!!
some were old dogs like me..
and had never seen that issue before!

"all the best meters and test equipment are only as good as the guy running the tests!!"
"K I S S"
"keep it simple sam"

expect the unexpected!!

I always love a good mystery … and love the smoking gun at the end.

honda service needs to add check the rotor magnets to the list of things to check for sure on all eu series gens.

this is almost as good as the common loosing magnetics on the avr style units if they have been dropped or set too long.

always learning every day!!


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

lol pt barnum had it pegged!
"there is a sucker born every minute"

yea I got hit! lol
a real learning experience for sure.

most of the as is stuff on ebay there are no returns.


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