# Firman Generator Issue



## Mkau (Dec 27, 2021)

We have a Firman Generator that we got at Costco a couple of years ago…. Have rarely used it. We went to use it during a power outage this week and when we turn the switch to gas power the light doesn’t come on so it won’t start either through the electric start or the pull start. How can this be remedied? Help please!


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

There are a myriad of reasons why it won't run, but to help narrow it down, do provide the model no.

Also, is "gas" = gasoline or propane / natural gas?

Off-hand, you're likely dealing with two problems:

1. The ignition light does not turn on either because the battery is dead or disconnected. Electric start will therefoer not work but barring other issues, it should still run using the recoil starter.
2. If it won't start using gasoline, it's likely due to bad fuel in the tank or carb or clogged fuel fuel lines, carb bowl and/or jets.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

yea pull the generator battery and load test it.
if you do not have a load tester take it to an oreillys or autozone they test them for free.
pm if you need links to order a battery online.
most good batteries are 40-100 bucks for a standard battery and 70-175 for a premium battery...
we have had real good luck with the new ion batteries in the gen sets.
they are not cheap, but they are an 10 year battery

most of the standard batteries are 1-2 years at the best unless you have a good aftermarket battery charger on them.
pm if you need links!


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## LaSwamp (Mar 16, 2021)

If the generator was put up with gasoline in the carb, then the reason it won't start now is most likely a gummed up carb. You're going to have to pull the carb off, disassemble it, and clean it out before it will run again.


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## Browse Deweb (Jan 16, 2021)

Good practice for generators is to use a battery tender or trickle charger to keep your battery charged while not in use and never leave it with gas in the tank or carburetor for long periods of time. Many people run their generators dry prior to long term storage. It is also helpful to use non-ethanol gasoline and/or fuel stabilizer to prevent water issues in the gas.


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## Mkau (Dec 27, 2021)

OrlyP said:


> There are a myriad of reasons why it won't run, but to help narrow it down, do provide the model no.
> 
> Also, is "gas" = gasoline or propane / natural gas?
> 
> ...


It is propane and gas it won’t even turn over without the fuel switch turning on the indicator light so the gas isn’t the prob and we just filled it with clear gas as well. The battery shows charged on our charger but without the indicator light on it won’t recoil start either.


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## Mkau (Dec 27, 2021)

iowagold said:


> yea pull the generator battery and load test it.
> if you do not have a load tester take it to an oreillys or autozone they test them for free.
> pm if you need links to order a battery online.
> most good batteries are 40-100 bucks for a standard battery and 70-175 for a premium battery...
> ...


The battery shows fully charged on our charger but we should still get it load tested?


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

i bet you will find the battery fails a load test


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## Mkau (Dec 27, 2021)

LaSwamp said:


> If the generator was put up with gasoline in the carb, then the reason it won't start now is most likely a gummed up carb. You're going to have to pull the carb off, disassemble it, and clean it out before it will run again.


It won’t even turn over without the indicator light coming on so it isn’t a gas issue. It’s electrical in some way. The battery says it’s fully charged on our charger but wondering if it is still an issue with that.


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## FlyFisher (Jun 30, 2018)

Engines need 4 things to run:

Fuel
Heat/Spark (in the case of a gasoline/propane/NG engine)
Compression
Air

If this is a relatively new generator that hasn't run much then chances are the compression and air intake are OK. That leaves your fuel and heat categories.

Others have touched on the fuel category so I won't reiterate that (it sounds like you have fresh gas from what I read here - but that doesn't answer the question entirely on how long any gas that has run through it before has been in it, if it was ever run on gas before or just propane).

So I will focus on the heat/spark side here - but I will touch on the gas briefly.

I don't know what specific model generator you have, so I am speaking in more broad terms, however there should be a lot of commonality with the circuits - just with smaller details that vary.

The electric start and ignition should be two different circuits. The electric start on the Firmans appears to be push-button. The "Ignition Switch" appears to be the fuel selector switch. That is, to start the generator you put the fuel selector switch in the position of the fuel you are using, then if using electric start you crank the engine over pushing the starter button. To stop the engine, or turn off the ignition switch, you rotate the fuel selector switch from the fuel type to "off".

My assumption is the electrical portion of the fuel selector switch/dial is where your issue is - more likely the electrical contacts in that switch, but perhaps the wiring also. If you are not connecting the ignition circuit you will not get spark. I would also venture a guess that the same circuit is what "arms" the electric start. That is, without that fuel selector switch's electrical connection being made the electric start will be disabled = the starter button won't work, nor will any electronics (lights included) turn on - which you have indicated is happening.

A quick note on fuel is there should be a choke on the unit. With the choke closed it should have a harder draw on the fuel to prime the carb as you crank the engine over/pull the cord. If there is a blockage in the flow of fuel, as others have mentioned already, however, this could prevent that fuel from getting in to the intake. If this is the case you would have to take apart the fuel system to find where things are blocked. However, I would make sure the electrical side is OK before going down that road.

As to the charge state of the battery - if the battery is weak you should have lights come on at least and relays/solenoids should click when enabled. The fact you are not getting a light to come on that should, to me, tells me more likely there is no connection.

For tracing the issue you may need a multimeter and the knowledge on how to do continuity checks. If you aren't comfortable with taking things apart and doing the work then I would recommend talking to someone locally there that is good with working on things. For anyone that has worked on power equipment of any kind I think this would be a relatively easy issue to trace down, but it could take some time to get through things. Even taking a carb apart for cleaning is an easy thing to do - I've done that a bazillion times on carbs of all types. It does take some time, though.

I would recommend anyone working on anything electrical related that they have a decent multimeter that does continuity, voltage (both DC and AC), and resistance - at least. Some do capacitance, amperage, and expanded voltage ranges, as well as AC frequency. Though these are nice, the big 3 are continuity, voltage, and resistance.

Best of luck with it!


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## Mkau (Dec 27, 2021)

Thank you for this!! This is very helpful info! We contacted Firman today and they were very helpful as well. We learned that if we disconnect the battery altogether it should start with the pull start. It started on first try when we did that. They are also sending us 3 new switches to try to get the automatic starter to work. I’m just happy to have it working in some capacity since we very well could have a power outage in the next day or so. Thanks again for your response!


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## FlyFisher (Jun 30, 2018)

Mkau said:


> We learned that if we disconnect the battery altogether it should start with the pull start. It started on first try when we did that.


Head scratching here.... Why would disconnecting the battery let you start it with the pull start?

If they have a relay or solenoid that has to be energized to get the ignition to work then you can't power that solenoid/relay without the battery. But it sounds like they set it up the reverse of that - the power from the battery is cutting off part of what you need to start it - likely the ignition. That sounds like a really dumb design. 

In any event, glad its working. That is one of the best things about a manual/recoil start engine - you can get it going if the starter circuit fails and if there are other wiring issues you can hot wire it pretty easy to make it work in a pinch.


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## LaSwamp (Mar 16, 2021)

Mkau said:


> Thank you for this!! This is very helpful info! We contacted Firman today and they were very helpful as well. We learned that if we disconnect the battery altogether it should start with the pull start. It started on first try when we did that. They are also sending us 3 new switches to try to get the automatic starter to work. I’m just happy to have it working in some capacity since we very well could have a power outage in the next day or so. Thanks again for your response!


Do you, by chance, have the 7571?


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

FlyFisher said:


> Head scratching here.... Why would disconnecting the battery let you start it with the pull start?
> 
> If they have a relay or solenoid that has to be energized to get the ignition to work then you can't power that solenoid/relay without the battery. But it sounds like they set it up the reverse of that - the power from the battery is cutting off part of what you need to start it - likely the ignition. That sounds like a really dumb design.
> 
> In any event, glad its working. That is one of the best things about a manual/recoil start engine - you can get it going if the starter circuit fails and if there are other wiring issues you can hot wire it pretty easy to make it work in a pinch.


fly if the battery is bad disconnection of the bad battery will let the charger have voltage to the fuel selector etc.
i would not run this gen with out a proper good battery...


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## FlyFisher (Jun 30, 2018)

iowagold said:


> fly if the battery is bad disconnection of the bad battery will let the charger have voltage to the fuel selector etc.
> i would not run this gen with out a proper good battery...


There was a Generac home standby unit you guys were discussing recently where the owner fired it up and yanked the battery thinking if it was running he could take the battery to a neighbors' that had a dead battery to get it going but in the process the loss of the battery while running killed the electronics. 

I can see that for a more complex set up, but a small portable? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. They are putting Bluetooth connections in these for remote monitoring on your phones. I wonder what purpose Big Government has for spying on your generator usage?

Livin' can't be simple anymore, theys too many gadgets. 🤪


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

yea with the new gens now having c/o detection etc.
i would be super care full on the battery.

most of the battery alt systems do not have a real good regulator from the factory...
not like they should...
the battery takes all of the abuse during a run.

i put on a 20 amp buck boost unit on the ones we have here 
they help hold it to the 13.8 dc so you could use the dc port for any thing as safe.

pm if you need links for those.
it is a cool mod for the little honda inverter gens like the eu1000i, eu2000i and eu2200i gens.

a couple of months back i put a legrand off the shelf usb outlet on a eu1000i gen set.
but that works off the 120 vac power.
cool upgrade for a service truck gen set they only used for lights and a fan.
so they could charge an ipad and phone when on gen and not tie up the outlets.


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## drmerdp (Apr 10, 2018)

iowagold said:


> a couple of months back i put a legrand off the shelf usb outlet on a eu1000i gen set.
> but that works off the 120 vac power.


Clever.


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## iowagold (Jan 22, 2020)

handy as heck for the guys working remote,,,
and you do not have to drag around a bunch of chargers.
just the usb to what ever the device needs cord.


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## Mkau (Dec 27, 2021)

LaSwamp said:


> Do you, by chance, have the 7571?


We have an HO-7552


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## LaSwamp (Mar 16, 2021)

Mkau said:


> We have an HO-7552


I have a friend who got the 7571. The electric start only worked for a few days and then stopped working. Turns out, the solenoid was flaky. I think Firman may have gotten into a bad batch of parts since a lot of people were reporting issues with them in those model lines.


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## Ryan7olson7 (6 mo ago)

Mkau said:


> We have a Firman Generator that we got at Costco a couple of years ago…. Have rarely used it. We went to use it during a power outage this week and when we turn the switch to gas power the light doesn’t come on so it won’t start either through the electric start or the pull start. How can this be remedied? Help please!


None of the "lights" on a firman inverter generator light up until after the engine is running, and approximately 10-30 seconds pass and the inverter charges up it's capacitors and comes online. Read your manual closely. And follow the instructions exactly. Step one, verify your battery is charged, and battery connector is connected. Step two, turn fuel knob to the gasoline selection. Step three, turn large red switch to on. Step four, hold down little red battery power restore switch for 3 seconds. Step five pull choke knob out and push large red switch to start. Step six, when engine starts, immediately push choke knob in and wait 20 seconds... Green status lamp, hour/volt meter, and Eco will throttle down if selected. 

Read your manual. Regardless of generator a dead battery will not prevent it from running. 

Check for spark, fuel at/in the carb, and compression. If you have those things, you will have a running generator.


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## Ryan7olson7 (6 mo ago)

Ryan7olson7 said:


> None of the "lights" on a firman inverter generator light up until after the engine is running, and approximately 10-30 seconds pass and the inverter charges up it's capacitors and comes online. Read your manual closely. And follow the instructions exactly. Step one, verify your battery is charged, and battery connector is connected. Step two, turn fuel knob to the gasoline selection. Step three, turn large red switch to on. Step four, hold down little red battery power restore switch for 3 seconds. Step five pull choke knob out and push large red switch to start. Step six, when engine starts, immediately push choke knob in and wait 20 seconds... Green status lamp, hour/volt meter, and Eco will throttle down if selected.
> 
> Read your manual. Regardless of generator a dead battery will not prevent it from running.
> 
> Check for spark, fuel at/in the carb, and compression. If you have those things, you will have a running generator.


One last thing. It will not run without oil in it....


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## OrlyP (Oct 19, 2021)

Ryan7olson7 said:


> None of the "lights" on a firman inverter generator light up until after the engine is running, and approximately 10-30 seconds pass and the inverter charges up it's capacitors and comes online. Read your manual closely. And follow the instructions exactly. Step one, verify your battery is charged, and battery connector is connected. Step two, turn fuel knob to the gasoline selection. Step three, turn large red switch to on. Step four, hold down little red battery power restore switch for 3 seconds. Step five pull choke knob out and push large red switch to start. Step six, when engine starts, immediately push choke knob in and wait 20 seconds... Green status lamp, hour/volt meter, and Eco will throttle down if selected.
> 
> Read your manual. Regardless of generator a dead battery will not prevent it from running.
> 
> Check for spark, fuel at/in the carb, and compression. If you have those things, you will have a running generator.


But the OP doesn't have an inverter generator. 

The fuel indicator will light up RED when switched to either gas or LP. Said lights will turn GREEN when the engine starts.

It said so.... in the manual.


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## Ryan7olson7 (6 mo ago)

Then I guess *I *should have read the manual. My bad for assuming it was a whisper series.


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## LaSwamp (Mar 16, 2021)

Ryan7olson7 said:


> Then I guess *I *should have read the manual. My bad for assuming it was a whisper series.


It's not a whisper series. It's a 3,600 rpm model, so it's not going to be very quiet. 

Didn't Firman have some issues with a batch of that model from around 2019? I remember Costco sold a lot of them.


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## Rene (Feb 5, 2021)

LaSwamp said:


> It's not a whisper series. It's a 3,600 rpm model, so it's not going to be very quiet.
> 
> Didn't Firman have some issues with a batch of that model from around 2019? I remember Costco sold a lot of them.


I bought my t07571 in Jan of 2021 from costco. So far so good. Fired it up about 3 weeks ago for a maintenance run and it started right up and ran for about 45 minutes with load. No problem.


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## EDR (21 d ago)

I'm pretty embarassed to share this here, but I was experiencing the exact same issue. Firman 7571 purchased from Costco about 2 years ago but never fired up. I'd put the wheels on and done the other setup steps (or so I thought). With the major storms happening now I decided I'd better fire it up just in case. Filled with oil, attached my LP tank, followed startup steps - nothing. No light on the control panel. Bought an auto battery charger to charge the battery which was obviously dead. Except it wasn't - hooked up the charger and it showed the battery at 100%.

I relented and called Firman - they had me check a connector leading from the neg. battery terminal. Sure enough, the two ends of the battery cables were still zip-tied together. I thought for sure I followed all the steps but apparently missed that one.

Once I connected those two leads the gen fired up immediately.

TL,DR: make sure you connect the black battery cables


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 28, 2021)

Welcome to the forum EDR!


EDR said:


> Once I connected those two leads the gen fired up immediately


Chalk it up to just one of those things that happen and you learned from it. The main thing is you solved it and are up and running and ready 👍


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